“How do you solve a mystery when you can’t remember the clues?”
It’s been a week since I finished reading Elizabeth Is Missing but the early twentieth century, a war grappled England, the enigma of dementia and the mystery of two missing cases is still haunting me. There are very few books that do that to you; a hangover or a feeling looming over for the next few hours sometimes, days together that makes you dysfunctional. This is one such whodunit with staggering descriptions, two timelines that keep switching often and the protagonist who is an eighty-year-old lady, Maud trying to find her missing friend Elizabeth and uncover what happened to her sister Sukey, another missing case that took place seventy years ago but the thing is Maud has a severe case of dementia and all that she remembers are the events that took place about five or so minutes ago – dementia. And she is determined to find out what happened to Elizabeth and Sukey when she forgets that her stove’s on or that she has enough peaches and eggs to feed an army but she forgets all about her inventory and leaves to the store to buy some more peaches and eggs only to get lost until her fifty-year-old daughter, Helen comes in search of her and gets hold of her.
Hands down, one of the best books I’ve read this year. The characters are so vivid and the storyline, even though it alters often, is bereft of the expected confusion that might arise due to the ever-altering timelines. With the ending so gripping, I might have found the best book I’ve read this year. This is a pretty old book (three years) we could call it newly old maybe? And won the prestigious Costa Book Award in 2014. No wonder!
Bottomline: a novel that throws off Stephen King vibes but with the repugnance missing.
