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Remembrance of Things I Forgot

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Synopsis

In 2006, comic book dealer John Sherkston decides to break up with his physicist boyfriend, Taylor Esgard, on the very day Taylor announces he's finally perfected a time machine for the U.S. government. John travels back to 1986, where he encounters "Junior", his younger, more innocent self. When Junior starts to flirt, John wonders how to reveal his identity: "I'm you, only with less hair and problems you can't imagine." He also meets up with the younger Taylor, and this unlikely trio teams up to plot a course around their future relationship woes, prevent John's sister from making a tragic decision, and stop George W. Bush from becoming president.

In this wickedly comic, cross–country, time–bending journey, John confronts his own—and the nation's—blunders, learning that a second chance at changing things for the better also brings new opportunities to screw them up. Through edgy humor, time travel, and droll one–liners, Bob Smith examines family dysfunction, suicide, New York City, and recent American history while effortlessly blending domestic comedy with science fiction. Part acidic political satire, part wild comedy, and part poignant social scrutiny, Remembrance of Things I Forgot is an uproarious adventure filled with sharp observations about our recent past.

Review

Bob Smith's Remembrance of Things I Forgot is a comic novel of substance, a weighty novel with flights of fancy. Written with the insight that only a stand-up comedian could glean from years of observing the species "human," Bob's gorgeous, rich time-traveling novel will not only be one of the best books of 2011, it's one of my all-time favorites. When I closed the book Sunday night, tears rolled down my cheek and I held the book to my chest knowing that all was well in the world.

In 2006, comic book dealer John Sherkston decides to break-up with his physicist boyfriend Taylor Esgard on the day Taylor's time machine is finished. Taylor has become a REPUBLICAN!!!! and honestly how can John stay with him. At the unveiling of the machine John meets Dick Cheney of all people. And no, this is not a joke - this book is based on the belief that time travel exists. In what seems like a mix-up John is sent back to 1986 where he encounters his younger self and so the journey begins. John realizes that he can possibly change the course of family history by alerting his sister Carol that she will commit suicide and that his father will drink himself to death after his retirement. So he rounds up his younger self, and then the younger Taylor and the road trip begins. Well, almost...that is until the younger Dick Cheney arrives on the scene. And then John realizes that they can possibly alter history and keep George W. Bush from the White House.

Written with a spare, no-nonsense prose, Bob Smith's novel already feels like home. His devotion to his family and friends shines through this luminous work that deserves multiple readings and a place in all of your collections. Buy it for yourself, your partner and friends.

-- Scott Cranin

Product Format Information

Book Hardcover: $23.99

Availability: In stock and ready to ship
Dimensions: 6 X 8 X 1
ISBN: 9780299283407
Catalog #: BH3050593

Publisher : University of Wisconsin Press

Customer Reviews

Once Again, Bob Smith--Once Again, Five Stars

Amos Lassen wrote on 03/03/2011:

Smith, Bob. “Remembrance of Things I Forgot: A Novel”, University of Wisconsin Press, 2011.
Once Again, Bob Smith
Amos Lassen
A new book by Bob Smith is cause for celebration and this is one celebration that seems like it has been a long time coming. I first heard about this book a couple of years ago and I immediately wrote to Bob to make sure I was on the reviewers’ list. But the publisher went under and none of us knew if this book would ever see the light of day; However, when you are an author like Bob Smith, doors open and the book is finally (although you will have to wait until the end of June to read it). I just finished reading the advance proof and honestly, I was sad to close the covers (but I know I can go back and read it again and again and probably will very soon).
Partially borrowing his title from Marcel Proust, we know that we are going to be taking a wonderful ride as we did with “Selfish and Perverse”. We know we will laugh as we did with “Openly Bob” and “Way to Go, Smith” and we are pretty sure we are going to get something new. As a standup comedian, Smith broke barriers and as a biographer, he let us into his life. As a novelist, Smith seduces the reader and his poetic comedy wows.
In this book, Smith takes on politics, time-travel, family and dysfunction, romance, aging and life in general. Our hero is John Sherkston, a comic-book dealer who suddenly finds himself twenty years earlier in time and has a change to repair the mistakes he has made in life. He might even be able to stop that Republican, George W. “What’s His Name” from attaining the highest office in the land. John has a plan that involves a cross country road trip by which he can correct the errors and make it back to the place where he is supposed to be. However, as he begins he has enemies and villains chasing him and this makes it a whole new ball game. If you have ever wanted a second chance, you should read this book and then decide if that is what you really want.
So often youth becomes lost and we try to regain it, thinking that by doing so, everything will be all right. Bob Smith tells you how it is in a way that will keep you laughing and thinking at the same time. The characters that Smith give us are so real that when you look up from the page, you try to see them in the room. The prose is sublime, the dialogue gorgeous and the book is a true experience. But that is not all—Smith gives us a political satire that makes you say, “Whoa!”
Set in 2006, we meet Sherkston as he is breaking up with his boyfriend, a physicist, who tells him that he has invented a time machine for the government. John is mystified by it and hops aboard and is transported back to 1986 where he meets Junior, who is nothing more than himself but younger. He also finds his boyfriend at a younger time and together they comes up with the road trip and the three, John, Junior and Taylor are off to save the world. John not only comes face to face with his own problems but with the problems of America and this second chance teaches him that there are always problems.
How do we classify this book? Is it comedy, science fiction, satire? It is all of these and so much more. It is a view of life and an adventure that has a great deal to say about the way we live. Read it and thank Bob Smith for writing it. I have a very strong feeling that it will become the book of the year for our community and for others as well.