Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

Title: Stella Bain

Author: Anita Shreve

Pages: 272

Year: 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Note: I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads, First Reads giveaway in exchange for my honest opinion.

     This is an interesting look at memory loss.

     Stella Bain is an American woman who is found wandering in an exclusive garden in London in 1916. She only has memories going back a few months. Surgeon August Bridge and his wife Lily selflessly take her into their home and try to help her regain her memory.

     The premise of this story is very good. The slow development of the main character as well as the revelations of her past intrigued me.

     The problem that I did struggle with was it was written in the third person. Yet whenever it went into a long period of dialogue it seemed odd to me, like it had an uneven flow to it. I’m not sure if it switched from the third person or not. It just felt awkward.

     I do recommend this book based on the quality of the storyline. Yet I felt that with the distraction from the third person presentation/dialogue issue I can only give it a 4-star ranking.