Book Review: The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff

Wally Daley is the mailman for the sleepy desert town of Bethlam, Nevada. He’s lived there for as long as he can remember, and spends almost all his free time now as an adult taking care of his ailing dad, who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s-related dementia. It’s a simple life, but it keeps him busy enough, even as he’s started to notice things about Bethlam that just don’t sit right.

While he’s on his daily rounds one day, the impossibly tragic happens. Catherine Gordon is well known around Bethlam for her large and somewhat historic collection of Barbie dolls. But on this hot summer evening, she’s about to become notorious for something far worse. As she stands in the doorway of her own home, surrounded by a bevy of alarmed bystanders, she accuses not only her husband but the rest of the town of trying to destroy her. Her rant culminates in an attempt to kill herself by slashing her own throat:

She placed her hand to her throat, and blood began soaking through her fingers. Soon her whole arm was covered in blood. “Oh, Lord,” she said. “Look what you’ve done. You killed me. Each and every one of you.”

 

I should have rushed to her side. I should have. But I couldn’t convince my body to move, so I remained where I was. There was a commotion of screams and moans and chatter. And then, moments later, the neighbors were upon her. A large man, his stomach hanging below his belt, the sweat bubbling on his forehead, got to her first. He placed his hands beneath the crazy woman and picked her up, like she was some rag doll. “Don’t let her die!” somebody shouted. “She’s too important to the cause!”

Once Catherine has been spirited away to the doctor’s, a rattled Wally finishes his route then goes home. The whole bloody incident – and the strange reference to a “cause” – are hard for him to shake. But everyone else in Bethlam just seems to want to move on from what happened. As the days pass, Wally notices more and more unsettling things about his neighbors, foremost being the way so many of them are constantly watching him.

Only one other person appears to genuinely care about what happened to Catherine. Veronica Miller is an artist with an overprotective husband. Is her husband constantly hovering out of jealousy, or is he motivated by something even more sinister? As Veronica and Wally join forces to uncover the truth, they slowly peel back the layers of their town to reveal a secret that could not only endanger their lives, but irrevocably change everything they’ve ever believed about who they are.

Jon Bassoff’s latest page-turning thriller is a surprisingly deep examination of identity and how memories shape people and personalities. Catherine herself, for example, was interviewed for a local TV program shortly before her psychotic break, talking about how her beloved collection is more than just a bunch of pretty dolls. After the interviewer asks about her husband’s opinion of her hobby, she replies:

“Oh, he’s very supportive. He understands that I don’t collect them to try and impress or set some silly Guinness Book record. I only collect them to remember.”

 

“Remember what?”

 

“My childhood. The way things used to be.” Her expression changed to one of longing, and the tone of her voice changed to one of despondency. “It’s so sad,” she said, “the way the past disappears. And all that we’re left with is souvenirs.”

 

I didn’t notice my mother standing behind me, watching.

 

“But what’s wrong with souvenirs?” my mother said. “How else could we remember? How else could we be human?”

These questions form the basis of the novel’s gripping plot, as several of our viewpoint characters band together to fight the strange circumstances that they find themselves living in. Wally, Veronica, and Catherine have all slowly realized that everything they thought they knew was a lie. Will they be able to figure out who has gone to such great lengths to give them each these semblances of a “normal” life? Perhaps just as importantly, will they be able to figure out why, without risking great harm to each other and to themselves?

The Memory Ward’s stylish execution falters only slightly towards the end, in large part due to the topics it grapples with being so tough to pin down. The novel overall is a highly entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of what makes a human being an individual person. It’s also a timely cautionary tale of what societies can allow to happen to their most vulnerable segments for a purported greater good.