The novel “Recursion” by Blake Crouch was published for the first time in 2019.
2018. Detective Barry Sutton intervenes in an attempt to save Ann Voss Peters, a woman suffering from False Memory Syndrome (FMS). Unfortunately, he’s unable to convince her to desist from her suicidal intentions and decides to deepen his knowledge of a syndrome that started affecting many people. This leads him to discover unexpected truths.
2007. Helena Smith is a neuroscientist who is conducting research about memory in the hope of finding a cure for her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, and for all people in the same condition. In order to achieve the developments she desires, she needs large funding, and the billionaire Marcus Slade offers to pay for her research. This allows Helena to obtain significant developments that, however, go in a very different direction from the one she imagined.
How much of a person is defined by their memories? How much would a person’s identity change if their memories were modified in some way? Are only the memories altered or is there more? These are the first questions asked in “Recursion” and they’re certainly not the last in a novel that mixes scientific speculations with others that border on philosophy.
The explosion of what is called False Memory Syndrome leads detective Barry Sutton to investigate but this is not exactly a mystery. Through Helena Smith’s point of view, the reader discovers rather quickly why many people wake up one day with the memories of a life they have never lived. That’s because Blake Crouch is interested in exploring the consequences of Helena’s research.
The developments linked to scientific speculations that are also in some ways philosophical are conducted in a story that is also full of action with a pace that tends to be fast. The novel’s structure is complex, unfolding on several timelines. For this reason, it requires attention to keep in mind the many events because this is a case where the journey is at least as important as the destination.
How the events narrated affect the lives of the characters is important from the beginning and becomes crucial in the second part of the story. What was named False Memory Syndrome represents a starting point that slowly reveals much more but in a non-linear way.
Plot developments are also used to show different sides of the protagonists’ personalities, sometimes revealing some surprises. Their personal stories are crucial in a story focused on memories, and their evolution is as important as the global events narrated throughout the novel.
The protagonists’ personal stories are central especially in the last part of the novel thanks to their awareness of what’s happening around them. For the reader, attention to the details connected to the protagonists makes all the difference between a consistent story and a jumble of events that may superficially seem repetitive.
The nature of a person’s identity, the relationship between consciousness, memories, and time are themes developed by Blake Crouch in ways I found intriguing. Given its structure and themes, “Recursion” is a novel that can particularly thrill readers interested in scientific speculations that border on philosophy. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
