BOOK REVIEW: Who Am I (Jane C.R. Reid)

 

I finished Who Am I in one sitting on a Saturday morning. I haven’t done this for a while, thinking I would just take a brief read for one or two hours before my daily task, but what the heck, I kept turning the pages. 

The plot keeps me going as it flows. It’s an easy read with an entertaining plot as the readers follow the journey of a woman who has just lost her memories. Going back to a home she doesn’t remember, with a stranger as her husband, she also learns that she was not a pleasant person in her past. The circle she was in and belonged to was superficial, filled to the brim with shallow people who stroked each other's egos and over-the-top appearance. The main character, Freya, can’t even bring herself to restore her hairstyle. She recognizes nothing from her past, including herself. 

This book is entertaining. I imagine that while it would make an excellent soap opera or drama, and the plot is not unpredictable, it does a good job in portraying the horror of losing grip of reality. The realization that you don’t even like yourself would take a toll on anyone, and when trusting yourself becomes something that is questionable, too, it would be the horror beyond comprehension. The main character experiences that, plus the fact that no one else believes her. The emotional journey shows satisfying character growth.

 The supporting characters play big roles as well. There are satire and humor in how out of touch and artificial the ‘elites’ can be, and sadly, it’s very realistic, as we live in a clown world. Their actions are, unfortunately, believable, from the gossipy housewives to professionals whose service and silence can be bought. People who think money is the answer to everything, and sometimes it is indeed the motivation for many, whether they are being forced to comply or whether selling their souls is also an option.

4.5 rounded up to 5