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There are currently 28 member reviews
for If I Forget You
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Sandra G. (Loveland, CO)
Devoured this book in a day!
A reader does not need to love all the characters in order to love a novel. That is true for me with If I Forget You. It grabbed me in the first few pages. What could Henry have done to make Margot behave as she did on page 11? Even when I later learned what Henry had done, I still sympathized with him and was angry with Margot. I was angrier yet when her ultimate betrayal was revealed.
Greene's beautiful flowing prose really made me care about Henry, a self-proclaimed outsider. He was a good, kind, sensitive man mourning a loss for 20 years. On the other hand, I disliked Margot, a women who took for granted her privileged upbringing and wealthy socialite lifestyle. When I finished the book, I felt it had really been Henry's story, an unbearably sad story. I keep thinking about his comment: "The cruelest thing in the world is the march of time."
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Virginia W. (Chapel Hill, NC)
If I Forget You
If I Forget You is delightful afternoon or two of reading. It follows Henry and Margot as they meet and fall in love in the 1990s and moves back and forth between that time and 2012 when they meet again. As the decisions that define their lives play out, it is impossible not to like them both and feel for their struggles. The story is of love and loss and life's endless set backs and possibilities. The language is sparse get beautiful and moving. When I finished this book, my first thought was "there should be more". As I imagined several continued story lines, I realized that this was the author's intent: to let the reader's imagination run free and enjoy the musings. This is a story that resonates and stays strong long after the finish.
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Janet, Peninsula Public Library, NY
Lasting Love, Long-Held Secrets
If I Forget You is a lovely, well-written novel of reunited former loves which will take the reader on a sentimental journey to a time in the recent past when socioeconomic and religious differences were still major roadblocks in a relationship. Filled with flashbacks to the time when Henry Gold, a Jewish poet-professor at New York University, and Margot Fuller, a wealthy WASP with an overbearing father, were in love at a small liberal arts college, the novel's begins with a chance encounter on a New York City street between the star-crossed lovers who now carry scars and baggage from their lives apart. In this simple yet multi-layered story, Greene uses gorgeous language to deliver a poignant, thought-provoking reflection on how long-held secrets can have a devastating effect.
Recommended for fans of domestic fiction such as Us by David Nicholls and Life Drawing by Robin Black.
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Diane S. (Batavia, IL)
If I forget you
A common enough plot, Henry and Margo meet in college, fall in love. Henry is from the working class, Margo from the very wealthy. Something happens and they are forced to separate. Seeing each other twenty years later, many truths come to light. So what happens next?
This book has some beautiful lines, beautiful thoughts. Margo thinks of how well Henry knows her because he knew her when she was young, knew the inside of her not just the façade she presents to others, the façade she uses to get through her days. Other insightful thoughts are littered throughout this story. It is very well told, alternating between the past and the present, between the thoughts of Margo and Henry. So mentally this was a very good book, but I never felt an emotional connection, the heart was missing. The tone almost seemed clinical, matter of fact and I felt as if I was experiencing it from a distance.
So while I enjoyed this story, enjoyed the prose. I just didn't love it like I did book:The Headmaster's Wife.
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Kathleen W. (Appleton, WI)
If I Forget You
I had a really hard time reviewing this book. I read the book non-stop about two weeks ago and can't stop thinking about it. This should merit a very positive review. It is also beautifully written. So what is my problem? The book is simply too full of cliches and stereotypes for me. Does the world need another book about a wealthy and beautiful college woman who falls for a talented but poor budding poet? Other characters in the book fall predictably into their assigned roles. I think book clubs could have great discussions using this book as a launching point.Obviously this is just my opinion, but I can't imagine many male readers who would like this book. In the acknowledgments the author claims that this is not autobiographical,yet his last paragraph leads me to believe that a memoir may have been a more honest way for him to tackle this story.
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Jeanette L. (Marietta, GA)
If I Forget You
This is a beautifully written book about an intense love between two people of two different social classes who are forced apart to find each other again after 20 plus years, in one way it is actually a sad story which shows us even today that the world is full of prejudice and those that have a lot of money control everything including people's lives.
I don't like books written in the third person as this one is, however I did get used to it and enjoyed the telling from Henry's side and Margot's side which painted a complete picture of what happened all those years ago and what was going on now.
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Audrey M. (Overland Park, KS)
If I Forget you
There were a number of things that I liked about this book:
1. I liked the technique of shifting back and forth between Margot and Henry. It allowed me keep touch with what both of them were thinking.
2. I think that both Margot and Henry were well written characters. I felt I understood who they were at each point of the story.
3. I think that both Margot and Henry made choices that were logical for the people they were.
4. I highly recommend this book.
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