Summer Reading - Remainder by Tom McCarthy

Tom McCarthy's novel Remainder has been out in paperback for just over a year now, but it's one of those books that lodges in your brain permanently after you read it. Perhaps that's appropriate. It is, after all, about a man who suffers a traumatic brain injury after being hit on the head by something "from the sky." He then sets about spending his personal injury settlement on an escalating series of elaborate recreations of very specific memories. Many reviewers have read the book as an examination of the "pursuit of total control" or of "normalcy." Here at SciNoFi, we're going to argue that it's a book about neuroscience. After all, it's brain chemistry, as opposed to conscious thought, that shapes our memories and compels us to return again and again to the activities that provide pleasure. Or you can just enjoy it as the trippiest beach read of your summer. Either way, it's well worth your $15 and your time. Read more about Tom McCarthy here, here and here.