2 out of 4 stars
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The Stealer of Memories by Memoir Bennaroch is a novel written in a first person point of view. A narrator is a middle-aged man who is an author by profession.
The story is mainly about the nature of memory. It is divided into five parts. The first part is entitled Autobiography. He recalled the time when he met an accident at the age of eight while riding a bike. He felt confusion whether he is remembering what happened to him, if he is mentally disturbed of his works as an author, or if he has the ability to see memories that happened to other people. The second part is entitled Memories. He reminisced his experiences during his childhood. There were also dream-like scenes making the story bizarre. The third part is written in a first person point of view of Raquel, the narrator’s childhood friend and obsession. The fourth part details the narrator’s growing obsession to Raquel. The last part of the story is a combination of a dialogue and poem which gives the readers a realization of the story’s theme.
I think the most engrossing part of the story happened in the last chapter because of the effective use of style and emphasis on the theme which made a clear establishment of the title to the story. The parts were easy to understand. However, it could have been better if there was a smooth transition from one part to another.
I hate to be too formalistic in evaluating a literary work, but I cannot avoid myself from criticizing the style and format. I think there is a need to consult an English editor to improve the work. The errors I have observed are comma splice, run-on sentences, the wrong tense of verbs, improper shifting of pronouns, and inappropriate choice of words. For instance in grammar, it could have been “let the bike fly”, instead of “let the bike flying” or “Please go outside” instead of “Please went outside.” Moreover, when one uses adjectives, it must be clear to the readers what he is referring to. A line from the book says, “At looking upwards, it was the brown sock and quite ugly.” The dangling modifier is causing confusion whether the one being described as ugly is the man or the socks. I understand, though, that the author is not a native English speaker and the work has to be translated from Spanish to English.
I rate this book with 2 out of 4 stars. A story, to be effective, must not only have a good storyline. It also has to follow the structures of the English. I think the errors I have seen in the story would hinder one’s understanding of the events in the story, and would also prevent a reader from appreciating the story.
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The Stealer of Memories
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