Memories of the Future

I was surprised to see many reviewers treat this as a work of fiction. If it is, then it is postmodern in the extreme. From my point of view, it is primarily memoir combined with critical theory. Regardless, there is no doubting Hustvedt's erudition, nor her literary dexterity and ability to combine multiple ideas into a coherent whole. Hustvedt's underlying point pertains to the role of memory and its reliability. Clearly, the 62-year-old authorial creator of this work is very different to the 24-year-old heroine (“S.H.” per the author, but also short for “Standard Hero”, per classic fiction, and “Sherlock Holmes” — for what Hustvedt is doing could be seen as detective work on her past). We are forced to consider whether the past is truly a foreign country, and further, should we return there, would our memory even be accurate? Clearly the person we were at different ages will be different, although Hustvedt makes this observation in a far more erudite fashion. Hustvedt captures the seedy charm of Manhattan in the late 1970s, especially to the eye of a first-timer from Minnesota. Throughout Memories, irrespective of your take on memory and the past, is a strong feminist narrative: S.H.'s near-rape in 1979 could not be condoned through any lens (and she describes it powerfully), but the character continues to wonder whether she could have prevented it. At the core of Hustvedt's argument is the contention that the world loves powerful men but fears powerful women (like herself). Nowhere near as accessible as What I Loved or The Blazing World, but it is worth persisting. Seven and a half out of ten.

By Siri Hustvedt