Scarecrow Has A Gun - Michael Paul Kozlowsky

Fiction (Speculative)

Rating: 8.5/10

There is a theory, unwavering for many, that in a single frame of The Wizard Of Oz, the scarecrow has a gun.  It’s the nebulous grasp we have on perception this illustrates that forms one of the key bedrocks of this complex and intriguing book. The other key is memory…

Sean was there when his wife was murdered but is tormented by the fact that he cannot recollect a single detail of how it happened.  Nearly two decades later, just as his life is back on track, he is involuntarily awarded membership into a bizarre group of widowers assembled by his eccentric boss. Where at each meeting they receive challenges, sometimes odd and unsettling, sometimes deadly. 

At the latest the prize is the Memory Palace, a box that allows its possessor to relive every moment they have ever experienced, all playing out on screen.  When Sean wins, he becomes obsessed with plugging in, sure that all the answers are in there. What he finds instead are more questions.

Are you yourself? Or a variation, an imposter? Do we look at photographs and create moments to go along with them in our mind?

While brilliant and impressive, this book is not in the least tranquil, ceasely flaunting the lies that we tell, even those we tell ourselves.  And how we tend to manipulate our own memories to fit a narrative of our own design. This book is going to make you think, a lot.  But it also proffers an amazing mystery, one with a rather jaw dropping resolution.

My thanks to NetGalley, Imbrifex Books and the Author for the advanced readers copy.

Book Pairing(s): Recursion by Blake Crouch, Seven Visitations Of Sydney Burgess, Doctor Sleep by Stephen King