Between Memory and Oblivion: A Novel
by Peter Briscoe
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Pub Date 1 Aug 2025 | Archive Date 3 Sep 2025
Palo Verde Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
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Description
Michael Ashe, a young antiquarian bookseller in Los Angeles, must confront the fact that his once-thriving business is collapsing. Even librarians have turned their backs on books, while pouring money into electronic data. But Ashe refuses to admit defeat. He continues to hunt for rare tomes in Mexico City and Paris, while struggling with his loneliness and searching for a woman to love. Along the way he learns the startling story of the best-read man in France. A man who founded a great library to preserve knowledge against the ravishes of time. This revelation leads Ashe from mere attempts to save his own livelihood into a public battle to save the life of books themselves. A tale about the exotic and romantic world of international rare bookselling, and a cry of alarm about the demise of the printed book, the decline of reading, and the conflict between print and digital culture.
A Note From the Publisher
eBook: ISBN 9780963489838
Aleksandar Milosavljevic Alek of 99designs
eBook: ISBN 9780963489838
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9780963489869 |
PRICE | US$12.95 (USD) |
PAGES | 142 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

Book Review: Between Memory and Oblivion by Peter Briscoe
A Poignant Elegy for the Printed Word
Peter Briscoe’s Between Memory and Oblivion is a melancholic yet deeply resonant ode to the twilight of physical books and the souls who cherish them. The novel follows Michael Ashe, a young antiquarian bookseller in Los Angeles, as he grapples with the collapse of his once-thriving business in the face of digital dominance. Briscoe’s prose is rich with bibliophilic reverence, weaving Ashe’s personal struggles—financial ruin, identity crises, and a quixotic love for the tactile magic of books—into a broader meditation on cultural memory and obsolescence. The narrative thrums with quiet urgency, balancing wry humor with existential sorrow, as Ashe navigates a world where the value of printed pages is fading faster than ink on parchment.
Key Strengths
-Thematic Depth: A layered exploration of nostalgia, capitalism’s erosion of art, and the quiet rebellion of preserving beauty in a disposable world.
-Character Nuance: Ashe is a flawed but deeply empathetic protagonist—his stubborn idealism and self-sabotage feel achingly human.
-Atmosphere: Briscoe immerses readers in the scent of old paper and the creak of wooden shelves, making the bookstore itself a character.
Potential Considerations
-Pacing: The introspective, character-driven plot may feel slow to readers craving high drama.
-Niche Appeal: Those less enamored with book culture might miss the emotional weight of Ashe’s battles.
Score Breakdown (Out of 5)
-Concept & Originality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – A love letter and a eulogy, penned in margins.
-Prose & Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – Lush as a leather-bound tome, with sentences that beg to be underlined.
-Character Depth: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Ashe’s journey lingers; secondary players could use more pages.
-Emotional Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Quietly devastating, like a bookmark left in an abandoned book.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – A story that clings to the ribs like the scent of old libraries—impossible to shake.
Ideal Audience
-Bibliophiles who’ve mourned a shuttered bookstore or dog-eared a favorite passage.
-Fans of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry or 84, Charing Cross Road, craving stories about the lives books save.
-Anyone who’s ever pressed a flower (or a receipt) between pages and called it keeping time.
Gratitude
Thank you to NetGalley and Peter Briscoe for the advance copy. Between Memory and Oblivion is a testament to the stubborn, necessary act of remembering—and the fragile magic of holding history in your hands.
Note: Review based on an ARC; minor refinements may appear in the final edition.
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