What do you do if your memories aren’t your own?

This is the predicament of Dove, the second character we meet in The Long Forgotten.

The first three chapters focus on a different, unrelated character in each. A black box from an aeroplane has been found by Jeremiah Cole underwater in Australia. We then meet Dove, a man who is an orphan who has the memories of someone else, and, finally, Peter, who is a cleaner in New York in the 1980s.

We wonder how they are all connected. There is a lot about loneliness, possession, interest / obsessions. Peter is fascinated in rare and exotic flowers, a hobby that takes him to all four corners of the world. He makes friends with a Danish man and falls in love with a woman.

But how are they connected to Dove? And what about the black box at the beginning? To answer these questions, you need to read the book.

I really enjoyed it and I think you will too!

‘The Long Forgotten’ by David Whitehouse was published by Picador in March. Hardback £14.99.