Book Review: The Memory Wood

Warning: spoilers. Please note, I recommend that The Memory Wood (2020) be read without any prior knowledge of the plot; I knew nothing about it and I think this made Sam Lloyd’s debut psychological crime thriller more, well, thrilling! The book does, however, deal with some potentially upsetting themes; if you are undecided about reading it, my review will explore these themes without revealing any major twists, although some minor ones are covered. A list of trigger warnings is also available here, but it includes additional spoilers so do bear that in mind before clicking the link.

Enjoy reading, and check back tomorrow for a sketch inspired by the book!

A thicket of secrets conceals the nightmare that nestles in The Memory Wood. The plot centres around the abduction of a thirteen-year-old girl called Elissa, who is imprisoned in appalling conditions and subjected to emotional and physical (but not sexual) abuse. I navigated some of the more distressing moments with trepidation but Lloyd is sympathetic; just as a scene reaches its crescendo, he diverts to another character’s perspective and the deliciously creepy walk to the heart of the woods begins again. Three perspectives thus constitute this multi-narrative, that of Elissa, Elijah, and Mairead.

We first meet Elijah, a desperately lonely twelve-year-old who lives near the woods in which Elissa is held. He is delighted to meet someone his own age after discovering her during one of his walks, but his justifications for forcing a friendship, rather than seeking assistance, made the back of my neck prickle. Despite his warped notions of camaraderie, Elijah cares about Elissa and several of his gestures raised an affectionate smile, a reaction I did not expect to have. However, his mood switches from sweet to sour so quickly he makes his own head spin, and this unpredictability is more uncomfortable to endure than the abductor’s overt cruelty. Elijah’s complexities are wonderfully woven together by Lloyd; he has a palpable presence that seeps out of the pages.

Elissa is competing in a major chess tournament when she vanishes. Her initial panic comes with a painful price, but she is smart and chess has equipped her with a toolbox of tactics that she uses to gather information about her kidnapper and Elijah. Elissa’s narrative, like Elijah’s, conjures a rainbow of reactions; one moment I was taking tips from her survival instincts, the next I was bellowing into the book at her sheer nerve. Indeed, Elijah and her abductor assert their authority during their respective visits, but Elissa manipulates both in increasingly brilliant ways as she endeavours to escape. While my shoulders tensed every time the padlock on Elissa’s prison door rattled, hers is by far the most compelling perspective and I still think about her now, despite finishing the book some time ago.

Mairead, the detective leading the investigation into Elissa’s abduction, habitually buries herself in her work to avoid the tragedies plaguing her private life. Consumed by the case after drawing parallels between Elissa’s fate and her own, she scours the British countryside, a maternal bear who self-sacrifices to save another mother’s cub. Her narrative is refreshingly reassuring after the uneasiness emanating from Elijah and Elissa’s perspectives, but it follows a fairly predictable path that prevents her from leaping into life like they do. I did, however, mourn for Mairead, whose personal issues remain largely unresolved but, then, she is not the protagonist of this story; rather, she plays a supporting role to Elissa and Elijah by tying their timelines together with context.

It is worth noting that the timeline is not presented chronologically in the first half of the book. While each chapter title states the day to be depicted, the non-linear narrative is confusing when also grappling with its multiperspectivity. I think this is Lloyd’s intention, however; the confusion creates a sense of chaos, even fear, so that I was not just reading about Elissa (or Elijah, or Mairead), I was right there with her, trembling on the dirt floor. Each chapter is subsequently split into shorter sections, several of which are only as long as a paragraph or two; these breaks are a little annoying because they hinder the cohesion between (sometimes pivotal) moments. That being said, the scenes involving Elissa and Elijah would likely be too intense without them.

Indeed, Elissa and Elijah’s utterances compete like chess pieces inching across a morbid board; Elissa may be the only chess player but Elijah is just as calculating, and both move from offence to defence with ease to trick the other into checkmate. Elijah’s definition of checkmate, however, is not the same as Elissa’s, and they are thus playing for opposite outcomes. Conversely, a less frequent visitor with a bizarre sense of benevolence forces Elissa to perform a sadistic script; her abductor bestows punishments like gifts when she forgets lines, while a perfect production is rewarded with massive consequences. Lloyd’s antagonist is unlike any that I have encountered before, an impressive feat given the vast number of thrillers following similar themes.

This is a beautifully written novel that delivered shock after shock to my head and heart. Elissa’s fate fades in and out of focus as every answer is succeeded by more questions, until a bigger truth is thrown into relief, one lamentable lightening bolt after another. However, her abduction also forces Elijah and Mairead to face their own realities; both are trapped in fortresses of fear, and it will take nothing less than a thunderstorm of revelations to wash the walls away. Disturbing in places and disturbingly tender in others, Lloyd’s debut thriller is perfect for readers seeking a change from the canon; The Memory Wood is not quite what it seems and it is, therefore, utterly unputdownable until the bitter end.

Have you read The Memory Wood? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for similar books? Let me know in the comments!

Lydia