On June 14, Thomas Christopher Greene released a new book on an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. The novel, If I Forget You, moves slowly at first but blossoms into the beautiful love story of two souls who should never have parted ways.
The book is about a poet, Henry, and a socialite, Margot, who fell in love in their college years. However, life conspired against them and they were forced to split at the height of their love affair. Twenty years later, they meet by accident on a city street and their lives are forever changed.
Greene has a matter of fact writing style, but his descriptions tend to be poetic. It’s a good fit for a story about a prize-winning poet. While the story really takes its time getting us where we need to go, we enjoy ourselves along the way.
To be honest, I really didn’t like Margot for most of the book, but Henry kept my interest. He was a sensitive character with a love for life and regret of past wrongs. Margot seemed self-centered to me and I thought she went about her divorce in a rather unforgivable way. However, by the end, I had warmed to her after seeing her through Henry’s eyes. His love for her made me like, if not love her too, and simply realize they were meant to be. Their history was beautiful, even if she wasn’t always so.
Most of the way through the book, I was thinking I would only give this story three stars. However, after a twist I didn’t see coming and a magnificent ending, I was sure it was a solid four. I’ve never read Greene’s previous novels, but his prose in If I Forget You was lovely. You have to admire someone who can keep your interest as a story slowly unfolds into something stunning. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a realistic, and less lusty, romance novel.