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There are currently 28 member reviews
for Turn of Mind
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Cindy A. (Bryan, Texas)
A Fascinating Look at Declining Memory
Turn of Mind is a unique murder mystery in which the prime suspect, a former surgeon, suffers from progressive dementia. She struggles to remember that her friend and neighbor, Amanda, is dead, but has no memory of the event. The reader learns about events as Jennifer recalls them, or when she hears others discussing them, or reads back entries in her memory journal. A lengthy middle section barely touches on the murder plot, although it is still fascinating as it provides an intimate view of Jennifer’s mental decline from her own perspective.
The murder victim, who was Jennifer’s best friend, is an odd duck. She comes across as a woman who was difficult and full of jealousy; it is hard to see why Jennifer forged such a strong friendship with her, but that just adds to the mystery.
One of the best facets of Jennifer’s character is that, no matter what her mental state, she always demands the respect due to her. She reminds us that even those in the last stages of Alzheimer’s are human beings who should be treated with dignity. The ending is somewhat controversial, but I think few readers will object to it.
Turn of Mind works better as a psychological novel than as a murder mystery, since the majority of attention is given to Jennifer’s state of mind and her decline, but it is fascinating nonetheless.
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Kristen H. (Lowell, MA)
Rollercoaster...
Turn of the mind took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. It combines the sadness of having the family member perspective of watching a loved one become a shell of themselves, the couple of perspectives, when they are lucid and when they are not, from the family member with Alzheimer's in many different situations, as well as a murder mystery all wrapped up into one. A Great read.
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Erin S. (Springville, UT)
Unreliable narration at its best!
LaPlante's brilliant writing made me feel that I was suffering dementia along with the main character. The mystery element is the central plot but is not what makes this book interesting. It is getting to know the flawed characters through the unreliable narration. I did not want to put the book down, and I am still thinking about it a week later.
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Corinne S. (Paoli, PA)
Who Murdered Amanda?
Alice LaPlante writes a murder mystery interwoven with a heart-breaking journey of Dr. Jennifer White, who is an orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. LaPlante keeps the suspense high as I try to piece the puzzle of events together from the fog of Jennifer's diminished memory. I found that I had to pay attention and the desire to solve the murder kept me turning the pages. Book clubs would enjoy learning what this disease is like through the eyes of Jennifer, her daughter Fiona, and her son Mark. Each character has a different perspective of how Jennifer is able to function when she fades in and out of reality. Can Jennifer live at home? What does it feel like to have your mother not know who you are? Can you love someone who is not cognitively aware? How do you respect the woman, your mother, and keep her dignity when she can disappear out the door in the freezing snow with hardly any clothes on? Turn of Mind reminds me of the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
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chetyarbrough.com
DEMENTIA
"Turn of Mind" scares the pants off aging parents and their children.
Alice LaPlante expertly puts a reader into a dementia burdened mind. The main character, Jennifer White, is a doctor spiraling down a darkening rabbit hole. The reader searches for truth between imagination and remembrance. A murder has occurred and the prime suspect is the 61 year old doctor.
The scare of the story is not the murder; it is the terror of forgetting and the burden of living. Doctor White tries to remember faces and names. She raises hell with her family and nursing staff. Her two children are reluctantly compelled to commit her to a complete care facility because Dr. White's dementia exceeds a care giver's ability to manage her at home.
LaPlante's story is a fairly good mystery but it is most interesting because it reminds a reader of the tragic and scary consequence of dementia. The poor, at least today, have Medicaid for this long life disease. The rich have insurance. The middle class have bankruptcy. "Turn of Mind" is a primer on what dementia means to a sufferer and his or her family.
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Katherine Y. (Albuquerque, NM)
Super compelling book
This book was just gripping. I put aside some other books just to read this one and finished it easily over the course of two evenings. The real strength of the novel is in the rich personality of the main character. The "mystery" itself is not very compelling, but watching the brilliant main character deal with the loss of her own "self" is riveting. Explores a subject that has been underaddressed in modern literature. Several areas of the book would be very interesting book group discussion topics: female friendships, marriage and what makes a person him or her
"self"?
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Jon V. (Mechanicsburg, PA)
A solid effort, but falls short
The inherent danger of a disjointed narrative is the way it keeps a reader from becoming immersed in a story. We are constantly jostled and thrown around. I appreciate that LaPlante gives good reason for it -- a narrator with dementia -- but ultimately, the story just didn't grab me. She made an ambitious play by telling a story through a broken mind, but the result is less than spectacular.
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