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1-Page Summary of The Book of Memory
Overall Summary
The Book of Memory, a novel by lawyer Petina Gappah, is composed of the recollections and reflections of a woman who has been sentenced to death. She was accused of killing her adopted father. Her story unfolds as she writes down her version from memory while awaiting an appeal trial in prison. The narrative reveals new information about what happened leading up to and following the man’s death.
The novel begins with a woman named Memory explaining how she is alienated from society because of her albinism. She was born in Mufakose, where superstition rules and people are cruel to those who are different. She has been imprisoned for a crime she did not commit, but she’s determined to survive this ordeal by using the knowledge that she acquired at Cambridge University to help herself and others around her.
Memory begins to unravel the story of her life’s transformation from a poor township to a highly cultured professor’s house, filled with books and servants. She recalls growing up in Mufakose Township. She remembers feeling like an outsider as she listened to music with her mother, who was very traditional. The scratch of a record player evokes memories of falling in love with music and praying that one day she’d own a tambourine.
The author also contrasts the music she remembers from her time in Mozambique with that of her life in Cambridge. The former is characterized by songs of sorrow, such as when an inmate dies due to neglect and protest songs sung by inmates.
Memory is aware of how oppressive colonialism has been to black people and the influence that white power plays in it. She also understands her own identity, especially since she was adopted by a white family. Her adoption had an impact on her life because of the way it affected her sense of belonging and cultural identity. She remembers when she fell in love for the first time at seventeen, but Lloyd didn’t approve of it because he thought she would end up hurt or disappointed. Memory’s education involved biblical references as well as literary ones, which helped shape who she became later in life. She often felt torn between two worlds: Western culture and African culture; both were important to her, though one may have been more accepted than the other depending on where she went.
Memory writes about her journey from poverty to wealth and how she had to find meaning in the different classes. She also talks about how her skin condition changed when a doctor healed it, allowing her to finally appear normal. She says that books helped save her because they allowed several stories to be told as long as there is someone willing to read them and think about them.
The ending of the book is still unclear. Memory, who has been in prison for a while now, hasn’t had any luck with her legal case. The outcome of her murder conviction turns out to be less significant once she has recounted her experience. Despite being in such a bad situation, Gappah suggests that writing and language can help someone reconcile many conflicting traumas and failures into one cohesive story that gives them agency over their own life.
