I received The Rhythm of Memory by Alyson Richman as a gift from a friend I admire very much (#helenfan). It is mostly about a woman named Salome and her movie star husband, Octavio. They lead a very romantic story-book life until she is kidnapped and abused during Chile’s political turmoil in the 60’s. Richman weaves in a second love story about Salome’s therapist, Dr. Samuel Rudin, and his wife, Kaija. Samuel blames himself for his mother’s depression during Nazi Germany and Kaija is a Finnish war orphan who was adopted in Sweden. All 4 characters deal with heavy trauma from memories and the novel is about overcoming one’s own past and moving forward.
Richman incorporates history from a span of European countries, which can be a confusing idea, but she is able to pull it off without it reading like a textbook. The tone is more old-fashioned, but I enjoyed the ups and downs of emotional disasters all the characters go through.
Interesting concepts from this book: Courtship, Transference, and Childhood Trauma.
Sincerely, Loewe 