The memory cage
by Ruth Eastham
"Every family has its secrets... ours more than most"
Something about the author
Ruth Eastham was born in Lancashire, England an has since lived in New Zeland, Australia and Italy. She travels a lot and that is how she gets her inspiration. She has written four books: The memory cage, Messenger bird, Arrowhead and Jaguar trials.
Her official webpage: http://www.rutheastham.com/
Summary
The main protagonist of the story is a young boy called Alex, who has lost his parents and a younger brother in the Bosnian war and now lives in a foster family. When his grandfather starts forgetting more and more and his memory is getting worse because of alzheimer's disease his parents start thinking about putting his grandfather into a old peoples home. Grandpa asks Alex to save him from this fate and help him regain his memories. Because Alex had once promised his brother that he will keep him safe and failed he is more than eager to do so. He starts making a scrapbook made of grandpas old photographs. But by doing so he starts to uncover a secret that his grandfather has been keeping since world war 2. The story really picks up after that and I dont want to reveal more plot points.
Opinion on the book
The story is told through the eyes of Alex, who is a young teenager who doesn't yet understand everything that people deal with in their lives. He at first appears to be a normal kid but he has a troubling past that is full of bad memories. He has a very intimate relationship with his grandfather and Alex is ready to do anything to help him. Grandfathers disease is gradually getting worse as first he is only forgetting small things like where did he put his keys and then it gets so bad that he is forgetting parts of his life. This combined with the grandpas memories of the war makes this a quite sad book at times. The characters are diverse though there isnt much depth to their personalities. But I have to admit that the plot twist is quite interesting and similar to on from another book that I have read. The book was quite predictable and suitable for a younger audience but I found it quite enjoyable as it was short and easy to read.
Battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk took place between 26. of May and 4. of June in 1940 in France. After a series of failed counter attacks the allies retreated into the town of Dunkirk where they were surrounded by axis forces. Fortunately the Germans were given a order to stop witch gave allies enough time to dig in and prepare their defences. Despite heavy bombardment and attacks by the Germans the British managed to evacuate more than 300.000 allied troops from the coast of France.
Alzheimer's disease
The disease from witch grandfather suffers is called Alzheimer's disease. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain and gets worse over time. Early symptom is inability to remember recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, mood swings, loss of motivation and behavioural issues. It usually affect elders and is reason for 70% of dementia. People with the disease often forget their families and they distance themselves from them. They also lose the ability to take care of themselves and are most commonly put into old peoples homes where they are left forgotten. Because of this the disease affect the entire family.