The Memory Palace

Mira Bartok's The Memory Palace is a memoir about Mira's experience growing up with a schizophrenic mother, an absent alcoholic father, an abusive grandfather and a grandmother who is quietly depressed.

A memory palace is the house in our head with many rooms that compartmentalize our memories. Mira Birtok shares her story while furnishing her memory palace with the memories that have made her into the woman she is. The focus is on her relationship with her mom, but she does also touch on her failed relationships. One of the more interesting ones is an ex-husband, who although she doesn't say is schizophrenic, all of the signs are there.

Norma Herr had already a couple of nervous breakdowns when she married Paul Herr, a charming when sober much-older writer. When their second daughter, Mira is four years old, Paul abandons his family, forcing Norma to move to Cleveland to be close to her parents. From then on, Norma suffers schizophrenic episodes every three or four weeks. As her daughters grow older, the episodes become more intense and more frequent. The girls are forced to lock themselves in their room by barring the door with a dresser to guard against their mother's nightly interrogations. Finally, when the girls are grown up and living their own lives, Norma threatens Mira with a broken bottle during one of her schizophrenic episodes, thus forcing Mira and her sister, Natalia to change their names so that their mother won't find them.

Norma is homeless on and off for the next 17 years. Natalia cuts off all contact with her mother, while Mira continues to exchange letters and packages with her via a post office box.

About 12 years into her estrangement from her mother, Mira is in a car accident and suffers brain injury. Dealing with the many side effects, including an unreliable memory and sensitivity to light and sounds, gives Mira a glimpse of what it must be like for her mother, constantly trying to block out the unwanted noises.

I really enjoyed The Memory Place, although at times I found it kind of boring. Mostly when the author would describe her work and her fascination with nature. Although the novel is a memoir about Mira's experience, every time she took some time to delve in her life outside of her relationship with her mother, I found myself really bored and just biding my time until we'd return to her mother's story.

4/5