An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.
“A relevant, compelling, and compassionate look at the torture of conflicted loyalties and the slipperiness of truth.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family
In this evocative debut novel, Katrin Schumann weaves a riveting story of past and present—and how love can lead us astray.
At twenty-four, … and present—and how love can lead us astray.
At twenty-four, Katie Gregory feels like life is looking up: she’s snagged a great job in New York City and is falling for a captivating artist—and memories of her traumatic past are finally fading. Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.
Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.
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I’ve always been fascinated by memory and how we somehow manage to remember what we want to remember while inflating other memories into something else, and then forgetting others completely. The mechanisms of the human psyche are fascinating to me, and in this impressive debut, Katrin Schumann explores human memory in the context of a family and friendship story that has never been more relevant than it is today.
Beginning with the intriguing cover and title, everything simply fits in this well-crafted novel. The writing is insightful and descriptive. I cared for all of the characters, and I never knew what would happen next.
Schumann represents a strong new voice in contemporary fiction, and I predict a great writing career ahead of her.
Ms. Schumann develops complex characters in her heart wrenching debut novel. Innocents suffer, and people are not always as they seem. As in reality, the assumption that we fully know someone can be false, with most of us not wholly good or bad. Truth has different aspects, living within a being simultaneously. The author’s ending was satisfying, and, as she desired, this reader was able to personally relate to her tale.
Great book
This book has been around for over a year and is still drawing solid reviews.
A young adult with a great job in NYC has all but forgotten about an incident at the lake years ago. When her father is released from jail, she must return to the cabin. Things look different from an adult point of view. As much as she believed her father, she must take into account all of the facts to understand what actually happened.
Schuman weaves memories of the past with feelings in the present to paint a picture that tests friendships and family loyalty.
I couldn’t put this book down. It’s a YA story in reverse–when her father is released from jail she finally confronts the reality of what happened between him and her estranged teen best friend that led to his sentence. With nuance and compassion, Schumann explores the explosive topic of sexual abuse with surprising twists and turns.
The Forgotten Hours is the story of two best friends, Katie and Lulu, who are caught up in an emotional whirlwind one summer when Katie’s father steps over a line with her best friend. Although the subject matter of statutory rape is handled with care, the protagonist’s long journey to delve into what really happened is prolonged by long, descriptive passages of nostalgic summer days. I skimmed over a lot of that to get to the meat and potatoes of the story only to be disappointed by an ending that didn’t live up to expectations. Katie’s reunion with Lulu is especially lacking in emotion and substance. Even though it had been six years and they were now young adults, I felt the intensity of their previous relationship deserved something more.
Thoroughly enjoyed this freebie I got for being an Amazon Prime member. I will keep an eye open for other book deals by this author.
The issues raised in this book are very timely in the #MeToo era, but The Forgotten Hours is also a great, immersive story. I was never quite sure who to root for, or what the truth was, until the very end.
I can’t say enough good things about this novel. The writing is brilliant—excellent description and word choice. The characters are well-drawn and relatable and the plot completely unpredictable. A must-read.
I liked almost nothing about this book. Unlikable characters with their angst dragging on and on with confusing plot lines. I couldn’t finish the book.
The Forgotten Hours is a stunning novel about trauma and shame, loyalty and truth. Ten years after an alleged crime destroyed her family, Katie Gregory returns to an abandoned cabin she prefers to forget. As memories of her last evening there bring conflicting emotions, she struggles to rediscover her ability to trust and her faith in love. Was her father guilty of the assault for which he was convicted? What part did she play in events of that night, and can she move beyond her own guilt? Trying to unravel the answers before the heart-pounding finish will keep readers up way past bedtime. A must-read for book clubs.
A relevant, compelling, and compassionate look at the torture of conflicted loyalties and the slipperiness of truth.
With an elegance of style surprising in a first novel, Schumann shows how, when we seek truth about the past, the most treacherous secrets are those we keep from ourselves.
The Forgotten Hours is a wise reminder that coming-of-age stories aren’t only for the very young. Katie Gregory’s need to confront her own youthful beliefs and desires is something familiar — and compelling — to us all. There is so much insight in these pages, so much compassion, all woven into a mystery I couldn’t put down.
For me, the best indicator of a good book is when you’re thinking about the characters even when you aren’t reading, and wondering what’s going to happen to them. This was definitely the case with The Forgotten Hours. I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, compelling story.
As fictional characters go, Katie Gregory seems not so much imagined as compelled into being by the unique forces of the times — the perfect envoy to accompany you into the red-hot cauldron of accused and accuser. That Katie is neither of these but bound by love to both makes her conflict more gut wrenching and the possibilities more terrifying. Add to this Schumann’s gift for knowing — and conjuring — her character’s heart, and you have a story that makes you feel it’s your heart at risk, your life on the line. You may lose track of these hours, but you won’t forget them.
The Forgotten Hours asks important questions about memory, adolescent understanding, the age of consent, and what men have gotten away with since time immemorial. Katrin Schumann has crafted a powerful tale for the #MeToo era which should resonate far beyond this cultural moment.
A deeply moving story about friendship and love, yearning and passion, memory and loss. The Forgotten Hours is a brilliant debut from a writer of uncommon grace.
Riveting. If I had to sum up this debut book in one word, that would be it. What would you do if your father went to jail for statutory rape of your best friend? Who do you side with? What if your choice might be wrong? I admit that I feel a lot of overwhelm from the #metoo news of the world today, and wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this novel, but Schumann pulls you into Katie’s world and wraps you in all the emotions from each character in such a way that you literally can’t put the book down. There are often many sides to a story and relationships can be incredibly tough and complicated and Schumann deftly shows you all that nuance. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time to come.
I never read books on this subject, but grabbed when it was free on Amazon prime. Based on two girls growing up one middle class katie and one poor Lulu and the Summers they spent together before it fell apart . Lulu accused Katie dad of sexual abuse. It was good read, but the draw back was subject, (with some detail I didn’t care for, wasn’t needed) and the jumping around from the past to present. This book was more on Katie and what she was dealing with, then finding out truth.