The Blinds audiobook

NOW AVAILABLE!!!Will I remember what I did?You won’t.But will I know that I’ve forgotten it?You will.So I’ll know I did something bad, but I won’t know what it was.You’ll know you made the decision to come to this place.“this place” is the town of caesura, known colloquially by its residents as "the blinds;" a gated community for memory-wiped criminals, a prison where you’re free to leave, but to which you can never return, fully aware that what waits for you on the other side of the gates most likely wants to kill you. i’ve read sternbergh’s Shovel Ready, but still - foolishly -haven’t gotten around to reading the sequel - Near Enemy, but this book here is an altogether different creature. Shovel Ready is great - it’s a noir/sci-fi mashup with a really staccato pacing and it’s a helluva ride, but this one shows he's got some serious writer-range. it’s a much more densely-plotted piece of psychological crime fiction, with deeper characterizations and a strikingly original premise that starts out strong and only gets stronger as it goes on.it revolves around an alternative form of witness protection; a system in place for eight years at the start of the novel, in which criminals and witnesses to crimes have chosen to have their memories selectively erased, and are relocated to a town in the middle of nowhere, texas, where, after providing the authorities with the information needed to put some very bad people away, these very bad people themselves are given new names and allowed to live out their days blissfully unaware of their own dark pasts, cut off from internet, phones, all contact with the outside world, and given a second chance to make a life for themselves among others all living under a policy of “don’t ask, don’t know, can’t tell,” not even knowing if they were the victim or the perpetrator of a terrible crime.what could possibly go wrong?the book covers a monday-friday timeframe, and oh, what a difference a week makes. it opens with the shock of a gunshot, but then recedes into a sort of dramatic anthropology, slowly acclimating the reader to the town’s history, its rules and inhabitants and its day-to-day routines, but as threats surface and secrets are revealed and the very foundation of the experiment is threatened, things start getting mighty intense, and once it hits that sweet spot of rapid-fire reveals and escalating violence, it just careens you through the story relentlessly and it is so, so electric.this is a very high four star - i love it like crazy and i have minor complaints only, which i’m a dick for even mentioning, considering how much fun i had reading this book, but i know that years from now, someone will post a comment on this review and it will help my self-memory-wiping brain remember more details if i write the whole spectrum of reactions. there’s a little dip in momentum, in what was presumably a calculated decision, but it bugged me as a reader, even though i appreciate the irony of its being itself a caesura: the unruh backstory, while interesting and necessary, was a little draggy, and was dropped right into the middle of a rising action-cliffhanger i was desperate to see resolved, and i was all tensely coiled through this backstory i would have been interested in, but ended up reading pretty distractedly, wanting to get back to the situation unfolding in the “now.”and there are a couple of things i didn’t buy, most notably (view spoiler)[regarding the public reading of the files by rigo and santayana. i understand perfectly how shocking it would have been for these people to learn the details of their pasts, but, as horrifying as they were, to be driven immediately to suicide by them seems a bit drastic, and the expectation by the agents that this would be their response seems an unlikely one to anticipate. it was a risky move, considering that these people, with latent muscle-memories of violence, would see this exposure as a threat and the ‘normal’ reaction would be ‘remove this threat by any means necessary.’which ultimately happened, but while one person driven to suicide might be acceptable human behavior, two seems like writerly indulgence for dramatic purposes where no additional drama was needed. (hide spoiler)]but that's all just quibble. this book is a wonderfully weird ride, and that action - phoar. cinematic and glorious. i could do with a sequel to this, and i promise i will read the sequel to that other one. deal?come to my blog!["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

4.5 STARSHere it is folks, IMO the most under-hyped BOTM choice to date! I LOVED THIS. It was unique, engaging, and featured a multi-faceted mystery that gripped my attention from beginning to end. Full review to come.

Somewhere out in the vastness of west Texas is an entire town with amnesia.Officially it’s called Caesura, but the locals refer to it as The Blinds. The residents are either criminals or witnesses in hiding because all have undergone a process which removed their personal memories, and none remember which they are. The entire town is kept secure and hidden from the world while most inhabitants go about their business quietly wondering what might have put them in a position to completely surrender their identities, and whether they were guilty of horrible crimes or an innocent who got caught up in something. However, two violent deaths shatter the quiet routine and set the entire town on edge. While Sheriff Calvin Cooper is technically a guard and not a resident, he’s got his own secrets even as he investigates and tries to keep everyone calm.Author Megan Abbott brought this one to my attention by praising it on what the kids these days call social media, and when Mighty Megan talks, I listen. That policy paid off nicely with this one.Aside from a humdinger of a set-up the writing is a cut above what you’d normally get in a crime/sci-fi thriller. There’s a lot top notch characterization, and the imagery of this small town out in the middle of the barren Texas landscape gives the whole thing an excellent tone of isolation. The plot has plenty of solid twists and turns, and the ultimate revelations are satisfying. However, what the novel really excels at is how it weaves together all these characters with pasts hidden even from themselves. It combines the elements of a great page-turner with some deeper thoughts on identity and memory with a unique setting. Overall, it’s one of the better books I’ve read this year.

So I finished this in 2 days... you may not think that's impressive but I also worked 2 doubles both of those days.. In other words I could not put this down. It wasn't a perfect novel but it was damn good... I can't wait to read more of his stuff.

Having been a HUGE fan of both Shovel Ready and Near Enemy from this author to say I was very happy to see “The Blinds” land on the doormat would be putting it mildly. Turns out, although this is very different, I loved it just as much, cleverly imaginative with some top notch divisive characters and a real western vibe about it that I adored.The Blinds is a town like no other. Part prison, although you can leave if you wish and part social experiment, it houses ex criminals (or possibly witnesses) who have no idea what crime they may have committed. Having had a partial or full memory wipe prior to arriving they all live in sort of a little social bubble, a community both divided and united, cut off completely from the outside world. Into this we come, just after a suicide and a murder – destroying the uneasy peace and creating all kinds of questions for Sheriff Calvin Cooper..This is a rocking good read, providing both mystery and a hugely thought provoking central theme. Nobody in this story is exactly who they appear to be, nothing is exactly as it looks and as each new day unfolds new events and new revelations abound. It is an addictive and intelligently woven tale which is also utterly gripping. I was riveted by the idea’s entertained here, got emotionally involved with all the characters and was actually bereft when I finished it and had to leave them all.The characters pop, the setting is claustrophobic yet wide reaching and the writing is, as before with Adam Sternbergh, unique in style and strong in substance – beautifully immersing the reader into the moment. I loved it. I’m a fan. I also couldn’t help but think what a binge worthy Netflix show this would make. If only wishing made it so…Highly Recommended.

I had this book for ages before reading it. The title didn't grab me, neither did the cover. How dumb can you be??So I finally read it and loved it, it was great. Different. And different is the holy grail at the moment. I thought the book was a great illustration of how people can behave unexpectedly under extreme circumstances. Sometimes they bring out the best in people and sometimes the worst. There was a sense of rising dread throughout as things slowly went awry in their 'happy' little enclave, There was also a sense (to me) of 'the machine' working in the background. The machine being a conspiracy theorists wet dream. 'Important people' playing with the lives of the disenfranchised for fun and profit. I don't subscribe but sometimes I wonder.Anyway it was a great read, there was plenty going on and I had no idea where it all going, apart from downhill. The characters were a very interesting and diverse bunch. I may have to check out more of Sternberg's work.