I particularly enjoyed the book in many of its aspects, from the most evident to the more subtle ones. The book is set in Quito, Ecuador, where Anti and Fabian live. They are two teenagers attending an international school, and the story is told by Anti, who pays tribute to Fabian’s memory (we are informed from the first page that he has passed away). The plot is centred on a journey to find the Amnesia Clinic, a place where people who lost their memory are welcomed and taken care of. Fabian, in fact, thinks that this is the place where his mother lives: his parents died in a car accident, but her body has never been found, thus giving Fabian a spark of hope. The exotic background of Ecuador is depicted in a magnificent way and the characters are well characterized. The topic might sound cliche at first, but the novel treats adult topics like grief and delusion wonderfully, creating a sort of modern bildungsroman.

I particularly enjoyed the book in many of its aspects, from the most evident to the more subtle ones. The book is set in Quito, Ecuador, where Anti and Fabian live. They are two teenagers attending an international school, and the story is told by Anti, who pays tribute to Fabian’s memory (we are informed from the first page that he has passed away). The plot is centred on a journey to find the Amnesia Clinic, a place where people who lost their memory are welcomed and taken care of. Fabian, in fact, thinks that this is the place where his mother lives: his parents died in a car accident, but her body has never been found, thus giving Fabian a spark of hope. The exotic background of Ecuador is depicted in a magnificent way and the characters are well characterized. The topic might sound cliche at first, but the novel treats adult topics like grief and delusion wonderfully, creating a sort of modern bildungsroman.