The Memento by Christy Ann Conlin

I have known Christy Ann Conlin for a few years. I can’t remember when we actually first met, but I have always enjoyed our coffee dates.

She’s given me lots of advice on my own writing projects and we share the same birthday. You can’t get better than that!

When I heard Christy Ann had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it!

Here’s what the website says:

Haunting Gothic elements are exquisitely re-imagined in this strange tale of madness, murder and dark secrets set on the rugged Bay of Fundy coast by the acclaimed author of Heave.

The Memento tells the story of Fancy Mosher as she lives and works in the servants’ quarters at Petal’s End, a formerly illustrious private land surrounded by dense forest belonging to the famed Parker family.

Since the Great War, the estate has been slowly crumbling at the same rate as the family’s reputation. Fancy grows up listening to her family’s ghost stories and watching the Parkers from a safe distance with her best friend, Art, but the summer she turns twelve she not only learns that her family has been hiding a terrifying truth about who she is and what she is capable of, she also begins to experience firsthand the magnitude of secrets and horrors held within the estate’s walls and buried in its lush gardens–secrets and lies that come to haunt Fancy and the large, fabulous cast of Petal’s End, all of whom refuse to move on from a dying way of life.

Christy Ann Conlin gives us a lyrical and chilling meditation on human nature and the manner of recollection in this captivating ghost story where webs of memories haunt and distort reality and ultimately destroy those who weave them.

My Thoughts

Before The Memento was launched, Christy Ann and I had talked quite a bit about the writing process, and where some of the ideas had come from. I couldn’t wait to see them in print. I wasn’t disappointed!

I love reading books that take place in the area because you can perfectly imagine the scene. You can picture the Bay of Fundy shoreline and know how remote areas on the North Mountain can be. It’s the perfect setting for a novel. Especially a scary one.

Throughout The Memento you are left wondering what is real, or what in the past haunting the characters. I loved the interwoven ghost stories (especially the one from Japan as I used to live there!) and not knowing which character was actually in charge of the story.

Because we are going to be reading the book with our book club, I kept thinking about a lot of discussions I want to have:

1. How much are we a product of our parents? Are we bound to repeat their behaviours? Did any characters break free of their parents’ fate?
2. What happens when we ignore or try to change the past? Are we every fully able to do this? Or, will the past always come back to haunt us?
3. How does the isolated, remote setting of this book influence the story? Could this story have taken any other place?
4. What happens to Melissa?

Baking with the Memento

I love to bake, so I always pay attention to what special food is mentioned in the book. The characters in The Memento mention several times a Lady Dundee cake.

I had to investigate. My British husband says this is a common cake in the UK.

I found a few recipes on Pinterest. Be sure to read the instructions fully as they are all made slightly different. Some require soaking the cake in cheesecloth afterwards, or soaking the fruit beforehand.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/134474738852875504/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/134474738852879852/

http://outlanderkitchen.com/2014/12/09/dundee-cake-from-drums-autumn/

The result is a lovely cake that is a cross between a fruit cake and a Christmas pudding with a pretty decoration on top!

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