Recursion by Blake Crouch

Recursion by Blake Crouch – Audio

Book Blurb:

Memory makes reality.
That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent. 
As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it. But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

My Review: 4 stars

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Recursion had me on my toes, as did the author’s last book, Dark Matter. Crouch is a master at making the reader think outside the box. Recursion brought me to a world in which we could live in alternate timelines.

As you probably know, sci-fi is definitely not my go to genre, and after enjoying two of Crouch’s books, I’ve learned that it’s the story behind the science that appeals to me. This book deals with time travel (love that) but this time travel is way different. It’s about going back in time to make different choices and relive your life again from that moment. As we know, all choices end in consequence, so if everyone relived a memory, the world’s timeline would be significantlly altered. Think of wars being relived, illnesses, deaths and so forth, but these shifts can wreak havoc on everyone else in existence. It’s really a no win.

That’s the brunt of the book minus the major science talk. I did feel over my head at times, but I didn’t mind because I was more invested in the characters than the concept and science of False Memory Syndrome. These characters became so real and so fragile to me. The reasons why they wanted to redo a memory varied, and for one scientist, it was purely a way to give dementia patients back some of their beloved memories. Wouldn’t that be an amazing feat?  

Overall, this is a different book that will stretch your imagination in ways you’d never thought possible. I definitely recommend this one if you want to go out of your comfort zone and read a new genre. 

Quotes I liked:

I know everything feels hopeless to you in this moment, but this is just a moment, and moments pass.” 

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. 

“Time is an illusion, a construct made out of human memory. There’s no such thing as the past, the present, or the future. It’s all happening now.” 

“Life with a cheat code isn’t life. Our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain. That’s what it is to be human – the beauty and the pain, each meaningless without the other.” 

“He has made peace with the idea that part of life is facing your failures, and sometimes those failures are people you once loved.” 

“Because memory…is everything. Physically speaking, a memory is nothing but a specific combination of neurons firing together—a symphony of neural activity. But in actuality, it’s the filter between us and reality. You think you’re tasting this wine, hearing the words I’m saying, in the present, but there’s no such thing. The neural impulses from your taste buds and your ears get transmitted to your brain, which processes them and dumps them into working memory—so by the time you know you’re experiencing something, it’s already in the past. Already a memory.”