Such an interesting premise, the possibility of removing unwanted memories allowing the sufferer to move on with their life unhampered by an unbearable incident in their past. The story was fast paced and gripping but sometimes hard to follow as it moved from one protagonist to another. I found that I was really involved with a character and then it would switch to another and some characters were definitely more interesting than others.

I was left strangely unsatisfied at the end, not with the ending but the feeling that something was missing, something a bit deeper and more thought provoking. Overall a good read but possibly not as good as it could have been.

Not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps, stop/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me.

This book is completely different to anything I would normally read - I didn't realise it would be so sci-fi/science filled from the description. But I was pleasantly surprised once I got into it.
I found it quite slow going in places, but it held my interest and once I got my head around all the characters and their stories I found myself invested in all of them.

All in all an enjoyable read and one I would recommend to others.

Deletion of unwanted memories to help people get on with their lives sounds too good to be true, and as this story shows us, it is.

The premise of this book was very good, the plot line intriguing. However it was very long winded and at times I found myself skipping over the narrative. This really needed a good editing and perhaps a reduction in characters, as there was too much going on that was of little interest. It was as though several independent stories had been shuffled together to make one book, and at times the plot plodded along.

Thank you NetGalley.

As Jo Harkin mentions in her acknowledgements she has thoroughly researched some scientific facts behind this fictional tale of a world in which people are able to have difficult or traumatic memories wiped providing they do not relate to a possible crime. There are two kinds of wipe known to the public: one where the patient knows they have had a memory removed and a second where the knowledge of the wipe is also removed. When patients begin experiencing glimpses of their old memories it becomes clear that the 'cure' may be worse than the original problem. The novel follows a number of patients as they struggle with the dilemma of whether or not to have their memories restored, including those who, thanks to a new legal warning, have been made aware that they had had a memory wiped when they previously had no idea. The repercussions force the reader to ask themselves the question are you better off not knowing about bad things that happened in the past or do we need memories to help us heal? The writer manages to create the feeling that this is happen in our own times (an alternative reality) rather than a futuristic setting. This is a really enjoyable and thought provoking novel which I would happily recommend to anyone wanting a well written novel.

An absorbing novel about trauma and memory.

This is a well thought-out story about the impact of the fictional technology of memory editing on the lives of some well-drawn and interesting characters. That technology is shown to have some strengths and some value, but the key limitation is that people will only pay thousands of pounds to edit out a memory which really troubles them, which means that almost every patient is troubled and unstable in some way. The technology is also open to exploitation by organised crime, but is this actually abuse when it removes the motivation for killing someone?

Most of the characters have opted not to know that their memory has been edited, and this raises problems of its own, such as attempts to get further edits to deal with the problems left behind by the first. And that’s before evidence emerges that the edits are potentially reversible. It’s a tale of problems posed by technology, to which moral solutions have to be found.

The other message of this novel is that a “peaceful life” could be an oxymoron for some individuals and that they may feel they have to choose between the two. That’s a realisation which stands independently of the technological environment of this novel.

I recommend this novel with five stars mainly because it shows that obliterating a traumatic memory may simply leave a patient ill-equipped to cope with the after-effects of that trauma. I have no confidence that the technology described here is going to remain fictional forever, or even for very long, so it’s worth thinking about before it all comes to pass.

At times I could not put this down, at other times I found myself struggling to pick it back up. I think this is because, although the premise is original, the chapters were slightly too long, with the narrators’ voices being too similar. I did enjoy this book and will be keeping my eyes peeled for this authors future releases.

Tell Me an Ending is such a clever and intriguing concept. I found it a little overwhelming at times, but the writing is good and it's definitely a thought provoking read. I think it would also make a brilliant television series.

This book really hooked me totally from the first few pages. It's the story of different people who have all had their memories altered by the slightly sinister Nepenthe, where changing a person's brain has become quite everyday. People erase traumatic memories, uncomfortable situations, and sometimes they don't know it's been done because it's not been their own choice. Anyway, you know how sometimes in books where there are different stories, you are more invested in some stories than others? Here I wanted them all, they were all equally interesting. The novel is totally believable I think, in that we would in some cases choose to erase memories if we could and I won't spoil the story by giving any clues about what happens. I so wanted to know that sweet vulnerable Mei was going to be okay, or that the lovely Noor would feel better soon so I could have happily read more. I'm not sure what happened to Finn in the end, maybe I read too quickly (and too late into the night) but I loved him as well. It's a book that I shall recommend to people definitely. Don't be put off by it sounding a bit Sci fi, because it didn't seem so once you accept the basic premise of the book. It would make a fantastic TV series I think.

The synopsis and basis for this book sounded like it would be a fascinating read, unfortunately I found it slow and at times uninteresting. I could not full emerge myself into the book.

Nepenthe, a tech company has mastered a way to remove unwanted memories and had been doing so successfully for many years. Some previously unknow side effects come to light, leading Nepenthe emailing previously clients informing them they had previously had their memories removed and offering the chance to have those memories back.

This felt like a collection of short stories with a similar background rather than a one book. There was no overall leading characters, and i, unfortunately, found the whole book a little mundane and found myself in a number of occasions asking if I had missed something.

Thank you NetGallery for providing me with an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

The main premise of this book is very interesting.
Imagine a world where you can delete unwanted memories, and also forget that you have had them deleted. You are then offered the chance to have these memories returned.
This is what Nepenthe offers.
There is also the problem that these deleted memories may leave traces behind.
The book follows Noor, a psychologist who works for Nepenthe, and is having doubts about their methods. Also Mei, William, Finn, and Oscar, who have all been affected by the process, and are struggling in various ways.
As their stories unfold, the ethics of the whole process are questioned, in a very thought-provoking way.
I enjoyed the book, but it was sooooooooooooooooooo long-winded, it needed a good edit, the basic tale is very good, but it does go on and on and on……..

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

Although this is not my usual genre I was really intrigued by the premise. Four people receive an email telling them that they have had a traumatic memory removed and they have a chance to get it back. Each must decide what is the best decision for them.

This had a lot of potential but unfortunately the story did not pull me in. It has a really slow start and although it did get more interesting when we got into the characters who had a memory erased it still wasn’t fully keeping my attention. I felt by the end that this could have just been a short story collection. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected as I had a fixed idea in my mind on how the story would end.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as written by Kazuo Ishiguro is how I would pitch this quiet and thought-provoking novel.

Tell Me An Ending explores the pros and cons of memory deletion through the lenses of various personal stories that are loosely interconnected. The book provides no easy answers to most of the questions it poses, which, after having read the book, I would argue is the point.

I loved the beautiful prose and the slightly dissociated tone of the writing. Some parts read like you were uncovering a memory yourself.

For a novel with such a dystopian premise, I was surprised how grounded and realistic the story actually was. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is an example that comes to mind for this kind of quiet speculative fiction.

I was invested in some of the characters more so than in others, but all of them were complex, layered and full of silent desperation.

The ending was impactful and a few parts at the end had my eyes well with tears.

The pacing is a bit slow in the beginning, but after about 40% I was firmly hooked and could not put this book down.

(Thank you to NetGalley, Jo Harkin and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions in this review are my own.)

I was given an ARC of this story and I was fascinated from beginning to end.

I’ve always been intrigued by how the mind works and even written about it, so when I saw the description of this book I was delighted to receive a copy. The story involves memory and the removal of such due to trauma of some kind.

The characters bring to life the concept – Finn, Mei, William, Oscar – while lurks the ‘evil’ of corporations. Noor is the central character, a psychologist who works for the corporation in London. She’s certainly complex but her moral code is high, though she is emotionally stunted, while Louise is a mystery in many ways.

As the backgrounds of each character unfold, the plot unravels and my fascination deepened.

The writing style was like an explosion of ideas, thought and feelings, fast-paced and compelling. I liked the switches between characters that slowly gave insight into what was happening.

For me, the concept was gripping and made me think about how important memory is in making us who we are – so when it’s taken, what will that mean?

A thought-provoking and persuasive read, which I highly recommend.

I was completely gripped by this book and couldn't put it down. The way in which the various characters were interlinked was clever, but believable, and I felt that all the characters were appealing and convincing. The book certainly provides food for thought with regard to the role our memories play in making us who we are, and the extent to which memories can just be erased, and whether that is desirable. Definitely a book I would recommend.

A tech company, Nepenthe, can help people remove unwanted memories and have done so successfully. But now, thousands of people are receiving an email telling them they had a traumatic memory removed. They have no recollection, but are being given the chance to get it back. For the people involved, they must decide whether to find that missing piece of memory or leave their life exactly as it is. For Noor and Louse, working at the clinic, the repercussions of the reinstatement of memory is far reaching, both personally and professionally. 

I love secrets and this novel just reinforces that, combined with the sci-fi element, it was just so interesting and unique. I flew through this novel, exploring each of the characters missing memories and lives. The synopsis is spot on when it describes it as sharp, dark and devastating -  it was all of those things and truly explored the power and danger of memory. There were lots of characters and story threads running through this to remember, but aside from that it was just brilliant and definitely one I recommend.

I loved the premise of this (although not sure I am completely on board with the science!).
Wipe out a bad memory- make life more bearable?
Following the story of Nepenthe from the perspective of Noor, who works there and a handful of patients who have been treated there the book delves into the traumatic memories removed from William, Mei, Oscar and FInn and how they have lived their lives since.
The impact of the process, now being offered up for reversal following a legal precedent being set is different for each person and each is faced with deciding if they want to fill in the gaps in their memories and face the consequences.
For me the pace did slow in places and there were some parts where the jump from one narrator to another was frustratingly disjointed but overall this was a good read.

Well written and gripping but ultimately a little bit overwhelming for me. While that might sound like a drawback, it’s exactly the reason I think you should explore it if the concept appeals.

This was such an original and thought provoking premise, I don't think that I have read a book like this before and I really enjoyed it. It was well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that were flawed and complex and completely relatable. The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking about things that people - myself included - would choose to have removed from their memories - whether it was a traumatic death, a breakup, a bullying episode or so forth and whether deciding whether to get that memory back would be an easy choice - i still don't know. However, I do know that this was a truly grippingread that I couldn't put down. I really enjoyed it.

This book dragged a lot for me , and it's a big book, so that wasn't great.
I felt at times that I was reading separate short stories rather than one complete book.
Such an interesting idea, but for me, it didn't work.