Update. Stefan Merrill Block to appear in debut author panel on July 9, 2008. Details on schedule page.The Story of Forgetting was chosen as "Best First Novel" in the 2008 Rome International Festival of Literature.
Stefan Merrill Block writing on Alzheimer's in his family for The Guardian (UK).
Stefan Merrill Block on NPR's Weekend Edition.
"[An] emotional roller coaster ... 'The Story of Forgetting' is as true to the anguish of [its] questions as it is ablaze with love and vitality ... Mr. Block taps into the life force that gives [his characters] a human, heart-wrenching answer ... a fresh, beguiling novel."
--From Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Block ... [is] actually sewing with great skill [the] Isidora fairly tales into the heart of the larger narrative. ... Concentrate now, savor the moment because this is a debut worth remembering."
-- From Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, NPR
"**** (out of four). What The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time did for autism, Block’s multi-layered debut—about the importance, and pain, of memory—acheives for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease"
-- From People Magazine
Anita Sethi:"Extremely moving and very beautifully written."
Boyd Hilton: "Incredibly satisfying."
Lemn Sissay: "I really, really enjoyed this book."
--From BBC Book Panel with Simon Mayo (UK)
"This assured and complex story is one of great sensitivity, awareness and beguiling experience... we receive a story that, like its characters, is difficult to predict at any point. And therein lies its essential vitality."
-- From Christopher Bantick, the Australian (AU)
"Magical and Scientific. Block…is a talent to celebrate and remember."
-- From Bob Minzesheime, USA Today
"... this astounding debut captures an air of the fantastical while presenting one family’s heartfelt battle with Alzheimer’s ... Block displays an innate gift for developing believable characters each with his own distinct voice. The result is a story that’s compulsive and transporting."
--From Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Using allegory and fable, two cleverly contrasting narrators and a dash of science, The Story of Forgetting is a memorable read... tenderly written"
-- From Elisabeth Easther, New Zealand Herald (NZ)
"Blisteringly good ... The redemptive qualities of storytelling are gloriously displayed in this astonishing first novel, which confirms Block as a strong new talent."
--From Melissa Katsoulis, The Financial Times (UK)
"...overflowing with meaning and vitality... ...a triumph of a novel...The Story of Forgetting is a book fizzing with creativity and ingenuity. Science and imagination unite to form a double helix of glorious finesse".
--From Charlie Lee-Potter, The Independent, Sunday Review (UK) (June 22, 2008)
"This is one of those rare works of near-genius... Block writes with the certainty and originality of a Nabokov or a Faulkner... A story about people, which is... touching, inventive and intelligent".
--From Virginia Ironside, The Independent (UK) (May 30, 2008)
"Full of an unexpected hope and optimism... The concept of 'a world alongside this one' of fairy-tale and fantasy as a means by which the innocent and suffering may escape from cruel reality is an intriguing one, explored with confidence and compassion"
--From Amanda Craig, Daily Telegraph (UK)
"Nuanced yet intensely personal literature ... [Block's] investment in vivid character development pays off handsomely in a tightly structured narrative that moves flawlessly from start to finish ... The brilliance of 'The Story of Forgetting,' poetic and spiritual, is undeniable."
-- From Steve Giegerich, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Block creates the kind of stark, realistic characters sure to prompt eager comparisons to the 'heavies' of American literature...[A] triumphant debut....matches emotion on the page with writers twice his age"
--From Kirkus Reviews, 35 Promising Debuts
"'The Story of Forgetting' is an engrossing, well-written exploration of what it means to remember -- and forget."
-- From Lisa McLendon, The Wichita Eagle
"Stefan Merrill Block seems to have a knack for turning unpracticed steps into waltzes. "
-- From Ellen Matsushita, Chicago Tribune
"...fast-moving and raw without being emotionally heavy-handed: Block's characters share despair through apathy and awkwardness, not fireworks... Block tells an emotionally demanding tale with honesty and charm."
-- From Nathan Heller, Slate Magazine
"Block weaves together his disparate narrative strands with a deft hand, tingeing his tale with a lovely touch of the fantastic."
--From Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly
"STEFAN MERRILL BLOCK is a talent ... [he] can write big: By tracing [a] lineage through generations, he gives his narrative scope and power. But it’s the intimate moments—husbands, wives, sons, and daughters devastated by the effects of Alzheimer’s—that make The Story of Forgetting, well, unforgettable."
--From Mike Shea, Texas Monthly
"...what makes this novel special is Block’s grasp of the emotional devastation wrought by Alzheimer’s ... the melancholy that must accompany even the closest bonds once this disease has struck. A sensitive fictional interpretation of family tragedy."
--From Kirkus Review
"Funny ... inventive ... tender ... The Story of Forgetting may be about the slow erosion of memory, it's also a monument to memory, to how, long after the objects of our affection forget us, they still live on for us in heartrending, near-tactile detail."
--From Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
"Here, for once, is a debut that doesn’t derail three-quarters of the way through, or irritate you with its precociousness ... Mr. Block has made something very beautiful out of something very ugly."
-- From Hillary Frey, The New York Observer