Thank you NetGalley for a preview read of this book.

"The internet was simultaneously the best and worst thing that had happened to antiquarian bookselling."

Peter Briscoe's book, Between Memory and Oblivion, is a story of a bookseller struggling with the shift of hard copy books shifting to digital versions and the fate of the hard copy books thereafter.

Briscoe's writing style is straight forward. The book is too long to be consider a short story but too short to be considered a novel; I'd call it more of a tale or novella. The plot is clear demonstrating the interconnected events however, the characters are not really developed. Additionally, I believe the main character, Michael Ashe, and his trysts would have been better inferred rather than unreserved. For this reason, the book should only be read by someone 18+. Finally, the historical information was accurate and was relevant to the plot.

I believe the idea behind the book is very relevant and the book itself would receive higher ratings if the plot and characters were more developed as well as a better balance to the story overall. I didn't feel there was anything drawing me into the story and therefore the justification for my rating. A quote from this book I wish the author would have considered, "...coped by going home and narrowing his gaze to a single book that he could lose himself in."

1.5 ⭐

Blurb: “Michael Ashe, a young antiquarian bookseller in Los Angeles, must confront the fact that his once-thriving business is collapsing. Even librarians have turned their backs on books, while pouring money into electronic data. But Ashe refuses to admit defeat. He continues to hunt for rare tomes in Mexico City and Paris, while struggling with his loneliness and searching for a woman to love. Along the way he learns the startling story of the best-read man in France. A man who founded a great library to preserve knowledge against the ravishes of time. This revelation leads Ashe from mere attempts to save his own livelihood into a public battle to save the life of books themselves. A tale about the exotic and romantic world of international rare bookselling, and a cry of alarm about the demise of the printed book, the decline of reading, and the conflict between print and digital culture.”

The Plot: Umm…what did I read? For some reason, I was so confused about what was going on. Books were included, so that was clear and so was Michael’s mission. But I thought the inclusion of his love life (or lack, thereof) was unnecessary and sloppy. I skimmed through the parts where he was sleeping with his colleagues, wondering who “Miss Right” was. Like bro, what do you want? At first he’s complaining about being alone, but then he doesn’t want to commit in a relationship because of his job or his lifestyle or his sleeping partner is married or just a one week fling. 🤦‍♀️I knew who he was going to end up with, so the ending was predictable and not very satisfying.

The Writing: Peter Briscoe is a great writer. He really is, but I don’t know about his plots. This is the only book I’ve read of his, so I’m not going to judge or assume that he can’t write good plots.

The Characters: Michael was…interesting. I don’t think he knows what he wants, which is why he’s single. Might be harsh, but it’s true. I’d go out of my mind if I was with someone like him. He’s also a little bit clueless. I can’t really say anymore about his character. I liked Maria, his employee. She was bright, funny, and aware of her surroundings. I wish the book was about her. 😂

Overall Thoughts: I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like this book. The only bits I did like were Maria, the books, and Briscoe’s writing. Other than that, I was confused about Michael’s intentions and his character arc. It felt bland and I know it could’ve been a good book if approached a different way.

I received a free digital arc from the publishers via NetGalley. All opinions and statements are my own.

#BetweenMemoryandOblivionANovel #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley! 3.5⭐️ Michael Ashe is a young rare book dealer whose business is in decline due to the surge in electronic capabilities. Passionate about his profession of safeguarding rare books into learning libraries, he’s horrified to find they may be destroyed to digitize them. When his new relationship is jeopardized by different viewpoints, he takes a stand. A fascinating novella that inserts history into the storyline. Felt that due to the very short offering, the lengthy interspersed historical information was a bit lengthy and unbalanced the book. The author notes run-on sentences but he himself fell into this pitfall himself several times. Good it felt unbalanced.