First off: the story was not what I expected after reading the publisher's notes on Amazon... The book is less about the differences about perception of certain events/scene but about grieving, bad communication and the effects that lack of grieving can have. Victor, the main character, is a scientist with limited social graces and communication skills. His wife Sara was on the other hand an artist, with all the emotions and self-doubts that are usually associated with creative people. So part of the story deals with their rift because of miscommunications and false impressions. Mainly the story is about how Victor never was able to grieve Sara's death, because as a scientist he never really dealt with his feelings. So he repairs the car in which she died after a horrific car accident. He hasn't touched her office. He hangs out mainly with her relatives. And he finally loses it when he finds out things about Sara's perception of him and their marriage.
All in all, an interesting read, insightful, well written, though not necessarily a page-turner.

This book was a challenge to read meaning you had to pay attention or find yourself saying "You lost me there." It was entertaining and smart because while the story was about grief (or ignoring grief) there was plenty of humor throughout the book. The author developed the characters well and he reminded me how much I like to visit Maine.

I was really excited to read this book. I truly believed that I would gain a whole new perspective for the study of Alzheimer’s and a man's struggle to find himself after his loss. Well I learned nothing of Alzheimer’s, the brain, or anything I thought I would. I thought the book was poorly executed in the point that he could have gone many places with this theme, yet he chronicled specific instances that really didn't connect whole heartedly to anything else, except that he was living his life unaware of the world around him. Sad. In the end Victor had a meltdown and realized he hadn't grieved and or disconnected properly, which was possibly realistic. His bizarre relationship with Regina was completely confusing, and he ended up looking like the bad guy when she was the freak...bizarre. At the same time, I couldn't connect or relate to the main character, nor did I find myself caring for him either way. In order for me to like a book I need to feel for the characters, like the theme, or really become mentally a part of the world that the author created. I kept finding myself anticipating something huge or ground breaking, none of that happened. Quite disappointing.