I've seen this as an old black and white movie several times and was curious to read the book. Reading something you've seen on the screen, or watching something on the screen that you've already read on paper always bring a bit of disappointment -- and it doesn't always matter which side gets the disappointment.

The story consist of 4 parts. Part I (and the book doesn't cover them necessarily in this order) is Charles Renier's life prior to WWI where he is raised in an affluent family. Part II finds Charles serving in the war and injured, an injury that finds him with a complete and utter void of knowing who he is or where he came from. He spends 2-3 years being transferred from hospital to hospital to end up in an asylum. Part III finds him falling off of a curb and re-injuring himself and awakening to the knowledge of who he is but now with no knowledge of where he has been for the past 2 years. Part IV finds him finally recalling his "missing amnesia years" and he goes looking for answers. Short synopsis, but there you have it in a nutshell.

There were a few differences from the screen version to the written version, and in all honesty I think I found the screen version more believable. I enjoyed the book, but reading a story plot that you already know can be a bit daunting and there was much of the book I felt was bogged down with details and descriptions that didn't bring value or clarity to the story. I found myself having to skim through some of it just to get to some dialogue.

All in all, I'm glad I read it but I'm ready to find me a random book I know nothing about and curl up on the couch with it for a few hours.