The Long Forgotten

The Long Forgotten – AD sent for review

As a confirmed bookworm I always love the opportunity to review books.  It means that I get the chance to discover some really wonderful stories and I have one of those to share with you all today.  The Long Forgotten is written by David Whitehouse and was published through Picador.  It’s quite simply a rather lovely novel and a little different from others I’ve read recently.

The Long Forgotten

In The Long Forgotten we meet Professor Jeremiah Cole who discovers the black box flight recorder of flight PS570.  It’s a flight that went missing thirty years ago.  We are also introduced to a young man called Dove in London.  He’s a bit of a misfit and he’s remembering someone else’s past.  He seems to be remembering the life of a New York cleaner called Peter Manyweathers and his obsession with rare flowers from the 1980’s.

As the story progresses we learn more about each of the characters, and their stories.  Dove was abandoned as a baby and ends up being fostered and then adopted by an older couple.  Whilst he knows that they love him, he constantly fears being abandoned again and is known to rage when he’s fearful.

Cole is not impressed with the fame his discovery has brought him.  He wants to know why the plane crashed but isn’t interested in the fanfare that surrounds his story.

Peter Manyweathers is another loner, he cleans up after dead people and struggles with relationships.  Then he discovers a love letter in an old book, a letter which talks about some rare flowers.  This letter will send Peter on a journey, where friendships will be made and lost and where love will be found.

At the beginning of The Long Forgotten you think that these three men are in no way connected, but as the story unfolds, their lives become intertwined.  The characters are believable, and you really want Peter to find all the flowers he searches for, and to find love.  Dove is so troubled, and for him to uncover the story of someone else’s memories, you feel will lead him to find some peace in his own life.

It’s such a beautifully written book, that you can’t fail to be caught up in it from beginning to end.  There are some lovely twists in the story and it leaves you filled with hope.  A great read, that I can thoroughly recommend.  I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference (I earn from qualifying purchases).

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review

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