Tell Me an Ending

A Novel

By: Jo Harkin

Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues

Named a Best Science Fiction Book of 2022 by The New York Times

“Sharply, beautifully written.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Intriguing, frightening, witty, and humane.” —The Wall Street Journal

Black Mirror meets Severence in this thrilling speculative novel about a tech company that deletes unwanted memories, the consequences for those forced to deal with what they tried to forget, and the doctor who seeks to protect her patients from further harm.

What if you didn’t have to live with your worst memories?

Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever.

Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear.

Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.

A provocative exploration of secrets, grief, and identity—of the stories we tell ourselves—Tell Me an Ending is “an intellectually and emotionally satisfying thriller” (Booklist).

©2022 Jo Harkin. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Penguin Audio. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

Tania Rodrigues adroitly switches the point of view and creates tension as she narrates this speculative thriller that is perfect for fans of Black Mirror and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." (Jennifer Longee)

Fantastic Novel, Superb Narration

I loved the book and can't imagine a more perfectly suited narration than the outstanding performance from Tania Rodriguez. Brava!

Waste of time

I honestly don’t know what was the point of writing this book. I kept hoping that the author was leaving somewhere interesting, but it never got there. For a book having so much to do with memory, it is remarkably unmemorable.

Great Prose & Characters, Ultimately Disappointing

Love the concept of this book, and it started out strong with a relatable, interesting, and well-written cast of characters. However it seemed to fizzle out a bit toward the end.

Wonderful and well researched

I loved this book. It’s a solid, well thought out work of speculative fiction which also explores, among other topics, interpersonal relationships between professional women. Interesting and unique characters.

So disappointed

For how long this book was, and how well written the characters were, I cannot believe the ending just… ended. Without answers unless I’m just too confused. The author totally bailed on the story of Miranda & Finn which was bizarre. And the outcome of the other characters stories all sort of fell flat. The main character Noor, whom I was with from the beginning, turned out to be a major disappointment. The overall message was that there really wasn’t one, unless you count “everything is both good and bad depending on the circumstances” as a theme (I don’t).
The best reveal was when Noor’s neighbor finds out who her boyfriend actually is, which was just great because of the shock value, not because it made any sense (it doesn’t).

Makes one think …..

Long but it’s worth a listen for the way the concept gets one thinking. Read it for a book club :)

Big ideas but messy structure

This book really has compelling and fascinating ideas but the delivery is really wacky. The thesis of the whole story doesn’t show up till the last chapter which should be satisfying but, for me, it was more frustrating because the author took such a curious path to arrive at the end.

The ethical, philosophical questions asked in the story were the best part of the book.

Just wasn’t exciting enough

Just was not exciting enough, felt like a very bland Friends story, but that is just my opinion

Good idea in theory

What to say, what to say…

I am a sci-fi noob so definitely check out other reviews from readers who actually know what they’re talking about, but I was just completely bored and uninterested with this one. I would say if you enjoyed The One by John Marrs you might like this one, and while I feel like they’re similar they’re different. That’s not helpful. Maybe instead of reading this one check out The One is a better way of saying it.

Tell Me an Ending focuses on memories. In this world we have the ability to have memories erased. There’s rules and stuff in place but for the most part if something happens and you’d like to forget it you head to the Nepenthe Removal Clinic and it’s gone, erased, forever, or hopefully. We follow 5 different POV’s: Noor, a doctor working at the clinic, Finn who begins suspecting his wife of cheating, Mei who travels to Amsterdam in search of her missing memories, William a cop suffering from PTSD, and Oscar, a man who knows almost nothing about his life. None of the perspectives are interesting and it’s not until the end that they sort of have a bit of cross over but even that left me feeling unsatisfied.

The chapters are too long, I never felt like I was getting to know the characters and the plot was slow moving at best. Good idea in theory it just didn’t quite find the right balance of intrigue to keep me entertained.

Can she PLEASE stop saying “Miranda” like that

The book has been boring so far and the way the narrator says Miranda drives me nuts sorry don’t care if that’s the true pronunciation