Rating: 
Summary: soul shattering
Review: Azzopardi's new book outclasses the excellent 'the hiding place' in every way. The end of this book goes through you like a wrecking ball. Compare it to Trevor's 'the life of Lucy Galt' and Coetzee's 'Age of Iron'. Azzopardi in a new voice in modern literature, one which speaks lowly but with terrible power.
Rating:
Summary: A book about all of us obsessed with "things"
Review: Azzopardi's technique of going back and forth between present and various times in the past is a little difficult to get used to. She did it in her first novel, "The Hiding Place," as well. But once you get so far into her story, you see that the way she has organized it is a careful reconstruction of how memory chases us, how so much remains buried, and when it does surface, it comes in fits and fleets, in a dream-like dance. This is the process of becoming conscious that the great psychiatrist, Carl Jung, pioneered. Patricia/Lillian/Winnie isn't just a sad old homeless woman Azzopardi means for us to pity and think, "There but for the grace of God go I." Winnie is those among us--and we are legion, as the demons said to Christ--who have let objects usurp the place in our lives that real feeling, actual people, and the truth of events should hold. Looking at Winnie this way, we see that her actual poverty is our poverty of soul, regardless of economic status, which we hide from ourselves by acquiring things as some sort of cushion against facing up to our alienation and despair. When we save "artefacts" from our past and the pasts of those close to us, it is to remember only what was not painful and to color falsely what was reality. But finding meaning in life involves shedding the things AND the illusions and taking on the despair. Hope is on its other side. Azzopardi is a fascinating master of character and words, and her work so far is some of the best I've read ever. She truly captures the nature of the human problem at the beginning of the 21st century and points us in the direction of its solution.
Rating: 
Summary: "I was no one to anyone¿"
Review: By all accounts Trezza Azzopardi's REMEMBER ME is a dark gloomy novel set in England during the 1930's and 1940's. A box of keepsakes is stolen from a woman who is swatting in an abandoned house and she is determined to recover the goods - her only worldly possessions. Switching from the past and present the reader slowly uncovers the woman's secrets. The protagonist is a young girl with "tell tale" hair who is continuously abandoned, forgotten, and passed among the family after the death of her mother. Throughout her young life each caretaker gives her a new name but is emotionally absent to take care of her needs. She is essentially left to herself while growing up and is often taken advantage of. To make her life more complex she has a gift of seeing ghosts that interferes with her vision of reality. During her childhood she was convinced that the ghosts were responsible for taking away her mother, and later in adulthood her gift was used to capitalize on the grief of the war widows and others who have deceased loved ones. She routinely roams the streets resembling a homeless person with no real purpose or ambitions. The first half of REMEMBER ME is slow and daunting. Azzopardi's prose is described as "spellbinding" on the book's cover but I found it to be lackluster and opaque. I was more confused as the story progressed, and I admit that I was tempted to give up on several occasions. About halfway through the story dramatically picked up and some of the pieces started to come together, and I started enjoying it for the first time. But despite this my overall impressions of this book are jaded. There were simply too many questions left unanswered, or answered in an effective manner. I wanted to sympathize with the main character for her neglectful childhood but the book's eccentric strange tone prohibited me. It's too bad because the plot first appeared to be interesting and I was looking forward to enjoying this book.
Rating: 
Summary: "Truth is, as you get older, things get further away"
Review: Memory, suffering and loss are the themes of this rather abstract and densely imagined book by Trezza Azzopardi. I can't say this is one of my favourite books of the year - the story takes a little too long to develop and Azzopardi's method of switching backwards and forwards in time becomes, at times, a little blurred. But the story is still a quite elegant and engaging study of one woman's anguish and torment and of the puzzle of a life at last reclaimed. Narrated in the first person by the seventy-two-year old Winifred - homeless and abused time after time by those she's trusted - she is content to sit on park benches watching the world go by, or read the "free sheets" for furniture she can't afford to buy. She would rather not recall the past, but after a young girl robs her of her suitcase and wig - her only material possessions - she is propelled out of her exile, and forced on a journey to find the thief. Remember Me is a cerebral venture, a journey of the mind and memory. Winifred must confront her stolen life and her time living as a young girl against the backdrop of the Second World War. In fragments and illusions, she is gradually forced to take stock of how abuse, long obscured have bought her to a dilapidated house on the edge of nowhere. She recalls the upheaval caused by her mentally ill Mother, and her disaffected father; and the betrayal by her strict and domineering grandfather, her embittered, sallow Aunt Ena and the kindness offered by the lodger, Mr. Stadnik. She also recalls Joseph Dodd, her lost and only love, a young man who she meets in the country. As Winifred pieces together her life, she realizes that she is not only searching for a thief, but she is searching for a life that was lived, and at once, irretrievably lost. Remember Me requires a close reading as Azzopardi peppers the narrative with many subtle and understated clues to Winifred's life. The story unfolds slowly and mellifluously as Winifred's identity and her "mistakes" are gradually revealed. Like her Mother, Winifred feels an affinity with the spirit world and is trained to see ghosts -she sees herself in reflection, "the girl looking back at me from underneath, like a premonition of what was to come" Winifred sees "future ghosts", memories stored on top of one another; she's building a "tower without bells" and later, she will bring them down in an earthquake of her own making. Full of poetic imagery, Remember Me draws a sharp contrast with the dreamlike quality of Winifred's youth and her ambling, wondering and solitary present life. Azzopardi uses short, sharp, yet incredibly descriptive sentences to create a world of reverie and emotion. This is a complex and opaque novel, full of feeling and passion. Michael
Rating: 
Summary: Futile effort
Review: OK... I tried... and kept trying. I could not finish this book. (a rarity for me.) As much as Patricia was suffering... so was I --- with the writing. It was like trudging thru a bog.
Rating:
Summary: Futile effort
Review: OK... I tried... and kept trying. I could not finish this book. (a rarity for me.) As much as Patricia was suffering... so was I --- with the writing. It was like trudging thru a bog.
Rating:
Summary: There But For the Grace of God....
Review: REMEMBER ME may well be the saddest, most depressing book I've ever read, yet it is still one of the very best. The protagonist of REMEMBER ME, seventy-two year old Patricia/Lillian/Winifred, is one of those women that many of us pass by every day, yet give little thought to. She's one of the elderly, one of the homeless, one of the mentally ill, one of the forgotten. In REMEMBER ME, Trezza Azzopardi makes sure that we never forget these sad people again but make no mistake, this is not a book about "social conditions;" this is a book about one woman and her fight to live. REMEMBER ME is quite definitely a character driven book and Patricia/Lillian/Winifred is quite definitely an unforgettable character. Patricia/Lillian/Winifred (she goes by various names in various sections of the book) spends her days as most of the homeless do...scouring trash cans for something to wear or, worse yet, something to eat, sitting on benches hoping for a handout, or picking up useful (to her) litter from the side of the street. Winifred (which is the name she uses on the street) is slightly luckier than many of the homeless...she at least has a place to bed down at night, and, rundown as it is, it at least protects her more than a cardboard box would have done. One chilly night, as Winifred is getting ready to go to sleep, something happens that forces her to evaluate her life and ask herself how she came to be in the dire circumstances she is in. As we learn the details of Winifred's lost life, Azzopardi takes us through as series of flashbacks, much as she did in her wonderful debut novel THE HIDING PLACE. And, while THE HIDING PLACE and REMEMBER ME are similar in structure, REMEMBER ME is a little slower paced. It takes a little longer to draw the reader in, but once it does, the payoff is more than worth it. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but Azzopardi handles them so expertly and REMEMBER ME is one of the most compelling, moving and truly beautiful books I have ever read. I actually preferred it to THE HIDING PLACE and I loved that one greatly, though I did have a few, very minor problems with REMEMBER ME. One of the first flashbacks takes us to Winifred's christening where her father and grandfather are arguing about what name she should be given. While her father prefers Patricia, her grandfather prefers Lillian. I wondered how Winifred could possibly remember her own christening. I know some people can remember very far back into their past, but their christening? It was a bit of a stretch, but Azzopardi is such a good writer that it didn't bother me too much. During this initial flashback, we also learn about Winifred's mother and, perhaps, are given a clue as to why Winifred ended up the way she did. Winifred is, at best, "at loose ends" all her life, never really knowing a real home or a real family. Immediately after her christening, she's sent away from her parents to live and then begins a series of "moves" for Winifred, some of them necessary, all of them devastating. Each time Winifred moves (or is sent away), she seems to lose a little piece of herself in the moving until finally, she reaches a stage where even she can't be sure of who she is. Throughout the book, Winifred's red hair plays a pivotal role in her life, and not a good one at that. It is during one of her "moves" that Winifred becomes...Winifred...and loses yet another chunk of her original identity. This is a heartbreaking novel, but its grimness and depression are relieved by small acts of kindness bestowed upon Winifred. However, they are, so sadly, just "too little, too late." Azzopardi describes Winifred beautifully. This is no cliched elderly woman filled with wisdom. If anything, Winifred suffers from a lack of wisdom, but she is an individual. Azzopardi, who is one of my favorite writers, really brings Winifred to life, really makes us feel her pain, her isolation, her anger...and her dignity, for, despite her circumstances, Winifred does have dignity and it shines through this narrative like a beacon. REMEMBER ME is a slow paced novel, but it is never boring. Azzopardi is far too good a writer for that. The prose in REMEMBER ME is as elliptical and as spare (but also as beautiful) as it was in THE HIDING PLACE. The beauty of the prose stands in stark contrast to the grimness of the tale it tells. One might think this would detract from the book, or, at the very least, "not work," but this isn't the case. The sheer beauty of Azzopardi's phrases and metaphors only make Winifred's situation seem all that more grim while being a joy to read in itself. Somehow, this gorgeous prose suited this harrowing tale perfectly. REMEMBER ME is an extraordinary novel, one that is even better than the Booker nominated, THE HIDING PLACE. Azzopardi is a very intelligent writer and REMEMBER ME touches both the intellect and the emotions in about equal proportions...something I find very rare. It's not an easy read, but it is certainly one that is unforgettable. Azzopardi has crafted a masterpiece of fiction (based on a real life woman) that won't let you forget the words..."there, but for the grace of God, go I." I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in highly literary, wonderfully written fiction read REMEMBER ME. It is a masterpiece of a book and one that simply can't be forgotten, not because of its message, but because of the character of Winifred.
Rating:
Summary: Loving story
Review: The author is compassionate, loving in her treatment of our indigent neighbors. It seems vital to our humanity that we give pause to the truth that each stranger might have lost and be lost, displaced from another time, and even another life. I am impressed with the beautifully written passages, how spare and full of life in every measure. I couldn't put the book down as it reached its unpredictable end. Don't miss her first novel, The Hiding Place - it is breathtaking.
Rating:
Summary: A LOVELY CADENCED READING
Review: Trezza Azzopardi burst upon the literary scene with a hauntingly beautiful novel, "The Hiding," which was a Booker finalist. Her initial work was a heads up that here was a new writer of note. She undergirds our original assumption with "Remember Me," an equally compelling story related in lovely measured cadence through the voice of Winnie who narrates her life in flashback form. Corrie James presents a splendid reading, capturing perfectly the voice of an elderly homeless woman who is lost in the world. Winnie has precious few material possessions and suffers trauma when they are stolen from her. She begins a search for the thief and as she does so recounts a past of pain and disillusionment. Born to a mentally deficient mother and uncaring father the girl is left with a grandfather and later foisted off on an aunt. There comes a time when she is a teenager when all she knows of relatives in this world are gone. Thus begins a downward spiral during which she becomes a pawn, used to satisfy the greed and lust of others. The tale sounds depressing yet it is anything but as it is uplifted by Azzopardi's elegant prose and Winnie's gumption. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Tender and gentle, the story of a innocent
Review: Trezza Azzopardi burst upon the literary scene with a hauntingly beautiful novel, "The Hiding," which was a Booker finalist. Her initial work was a heads up that here was a new writer of note. She undergirds our original assumption with "Remember Me," an equally compelling story related in lovely measured cadence through the voice of Winnie who narrates her life in flashback form. Corrie James presents a splendid reading, capturing perfectly the voice of an elderly homeless woman who is lost in the world. Winnie has precious few material possessions and suffers trauma when they are stolen from her. She begins a search for the thief and as she does so recounts a past of pain and disillusionment. Born to a mentally deficient mother and uncaring father the girl is left with a grandfather and later foisted off on an aunt. There comes a time when she is a teenager when all she knows of relatives in this world are gone. Thus begins a downward spiral during which she becomes a pawn, used to satisfy the greed and lust of others. The tale sounds depressing yet it is anything but as it is uplifted by Azzopardi's elegant prose and Winnie's gumption. - Gail Cooke
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