Natasha Mostert: Dark Prayer


	HOME Sample Chapter Reviews of Dark Prayer Author's Notes Book Club Questions More Books & Reviews Synopsis "It was a worthy goal: don't you think?" Francis Godine leaned even closer. "To study and understand memory in all its mystery?" He looked at Jack with feverish eyes. "Mnemosyne was a prayer. A dark prayer. Worth any sacrifice?" The long fingers shot out and tightened around his wrist. Jack could smell the sweat and alcohol on Godine's skin. "Would you say it is worth the sacrifice of a child?" From DARK PRAYER, by Natasha Mostert In the early Eighties, five Oxford students — three men and two women — establish the Order of Mnemosyne^. Beautiful, confident and intellectually brilliant, these young people have an ambitious goal: to map the complex and dizzying maze that is memory and to explore its many facets from science to mysticism. Together, the friends believe themselves to be invincible with nothing standing in the way of their great adventure of the mind. But human passion and betrayal will always trump science, and even the love for God. The group is placed under severe pressure when three of its members are caught up in a love triangle. And when one of these members is brutally murdered, the Order of Mnemosyne ends. It is twenty years later and Daniel Barone, the former head of Mnemosyne, faces a devastating problem. Jenilee Gray, daughter of the murdered Julianne Gray, has disappeared. When she is found, she is no longer the girl who grew up in Barone's house. Not only does she no longer remember him and indeed wants to have nothing to do with him, but she has taken on a different identity and name, and has transformed herself into someone who is street wise; almost feral. The girl has no memories of her previous life but it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary case of amnesia. Something more sinister is at work. What is more, Barone is convinced someone is trying to kill Jenilee. Could it be the same person who had killed her mother decades before? Barone calls in the help of his old friend, Leon Simonetti, who offers to send his son, Jack, to help Barone in his quest to convince Jenilee to place herself in Barone's care. Jack, at first unwilling, soon finds himself fascinated by the girl and intrigued by her story. His protective instincts are aroused when he realises Barone is correct and that there is indeed someone who wants Jenilee dead. Jack falls in love with Jenilee even though he comes to realise that she is damaged. Something is wrong with her mind — something far more serious than memory loss. Is she truly lost and will Jack too be pulled into the vortex of her self-destruction? DARK PRAYER is a story about one of the twenty-first century's greatest remaining challenges: the mystery of memory as the key to who we are. We think of memory as the story of our lives but how many of these mental images and emotions we summon are accurate and reflect what had truly happened? And does it matter? Maybe this fusion of what is true and invented is central to the human condition: the natural state of what remembrance truly is. ^ Mnemosyne = goddess of Memory, titaness, mother of the muses Scroll to Top ↑ Dark Prayer: Sample Chapter Prologue "Only the hand that erases can write the true thing." Meister Eckhardt The little girl was not a sound sleeper. In the early morning hours, she would often open her eyes calmly and unafraid into the near darkness. After a moment of staring at the far ceiling above her, she'd dangle her feet out of bed, tuck Mr Cuddles under her arm and pad down the passage towards her mother's room. She never stepped inside. For a few heartbeats she would wait at the door, watching the soft shape asleep inside the big princess-and-the-pea bed. If she listened carefully, she could hear her mother breathing. This would be enough to satisfy her and she'd yawn once, twice - and return to her own bed. Tonight is no different. There is the door to her mother's room. There, hazy in the gloom, the first glimpse of the dressing table with her mother's red scarf trailing from a post, its gypsy fire muted by the dark. The familiar scents of rose and musk leaked from the perfume bottles reflected in the mirror's shadowed face. The little girl pauses at the threshold and turns her head in the direction of the snowy bed. The bed is empty. The little girl looks at the undisturbed sheets and the plumped up pillows. Her head droops to one shoulder as it does when she is puzzled or feeling shy. Hesitantly, she steps back into the passage. 'Mama?' The word stops in the air; the thick carpet and velvet curtains keeping the sound from carrying. She starts walking towards the staircase, Mr Cuddles dragging at one hand. Her other hand clutches at her pyjama bottom, which is slipping. Down the staircase and past the fan-shaped window framing the glossy blackness outside. Through the living room, with its tall bookcases and its many books, which seem to glow even in the dark. Past the piano with its exposed keys and sheet music trailing the floor. Against the wall the old-fashioned clock tings softly. The big numerals and filigreed arms glow coolly phosphorescent. The little girl is only five but she can tell time. She stares at the clock face and holds up her left forefinger and thumb in a wobbly L. 'Mama?' The kitchen door is closed but there is a yellow slit of light at the bottom. As she turns the handle and pushes the door open, she smells lemons. Black and white tiled floor, bright in the electric light. Water drip, dripping into the sink. The woman lying on her back, her right leg forming a startling triangle, her mouth smiling and her eyes hidden in a sticky nest of hair and blood. There is blood on the floor, and on the cricket bat clutched in the hand of the man who turns to stare at her. He holds out his other hand. 'Come with me, little girl. I will make you forget.' Sign up here to be notified of DARK PRAYER's release. We will never share your details with any third party. Order Now! Click here Reviews of Dark Prayer "Natasha Mostert blows my mind with every novel she writes and DARK PRAYER is no exception. Unique, haunting, provocative, riveting and beautiful, it is a novel that asks questions and somehow magically leaves you to find the answers yourself... a mesmerizing story you'll never forget." New York Times Bestseller, M.J.Rose "Mostert returns to the enduring mystery of memory in her latest mind-bending tale... haunting and unusual fiction." The Daily Mail (London) "Mostert brings together fascinating strands of biology, psychology and mysticism, with astute observations on memory, the past, identity and love... The well-described parkour scenes nicely capture... the (heroine's) live-in-the-moment ethos.. (and) skillfully ups the ante with suspenseful episodes of danger leading to a climactic rooftop scene. A brainy, fast-moving thriller about memory and identity." Kirkus "Another gorgeously written piece of fiction by Mostert. Lush language,incredibly detailed and evocative, this story encompasses memory, self and science. One of the most intelligent thrillers you could read." Nathaniel Gill, (Educator) Brown University Links to blog reviews: thegrandworldofbooks.booklikes.com/post/1044500/dark-prayer-by-natasha-mostert martysreads.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/dark-prayer.html sarasbooksandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-dark-prayer-by-natasha-mostert.html readingroomandreviewsbykellyhaggerty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/dark-prayers-by-natasha-mostert.html tiggerrenewing.wordpress.com/ cayocosta72.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/dark-prayer-by-natasha-mostert-published-by-author-buzz/ Author's Notes on writing Dark Prayer In my fourth novel, Season of the Witch, I explored the strange and wonderful world of medieval memory palaces and examined the question of whether modern man's memories are becoming shallow and whether we are all increasingly incapable of internalising knowledge. Witch was a research-intensive novel and by the time I finished the book, I thought I was done with the subject of memory. But a chance reading of a New York Times article, titled Brain Researchers Open Door to Editing Memory, drew me back to this subject matter. I was fascinated to learn of the Sackler Laboratory's discovery of the memory molecule, PKMZeta and the implications the manipulation of this molecule might hold. Imagine if scientists could erase traumatic memories by merely changing a single substance in the brain. The war veteran will no longer suffer from PTSD; the rape victim will no longer have to contend with excruciating memories; a learned behaviour such as drug addiction will be cured. But if we are able to rid ourselves of troubling memories, will this perhaps tempt us to persist in destructive behaviour or immoral acts because we can now simply swallow a pill and forget? And how will tampering with memory impact on our our sense of identity? As I began to research the subject of memory anew, I came to realise that I had always believed that somehow, deep in our brains, memories are perfectly stored — almost as if vacuum packed. If only we have the right drug, scan or hypnosis at our disposal then surely we should be able to access these memories exactly. But this is not the case. Man is not a machine. The brain is not a camera. As soon as memory enters the mind, it is already changing. The brain alters the way we remember, fusing actual events with our wants and desires and thereby creating a sense of self, which is unique. And so I decided to write DARK PRAYER as a story about one of the twenty-first century's greatest remaining challenges: the mystery of memory as the key to who we are. We think of memory as the story of our lives but how many of these mental images and emotions we summon are accurate and reflect what had truly happened? And does it matter? Maybe this fusion of what is true and invented is central to the human condition: the natural state of what remembrance truly is. Order Now! Click here Dark Prayer Book Club Questions DARK PRAYER is a novel about memory and the way it shapes our identity. Are you a person who believes it is necessary to confront past demons head-on? Do you believe it is healthy to go into therapy and dredge up repressed memories? Or do you agree with Bella that people who age best are those who create memories of themselves and the ones they love, which may not necessarily be accurate, but which give them hope and comfort? Eloise is faced with a stark choice: She can choose to regain her memory and with it her sanity, but in return she will completely forget her new identity and the man she has come to love. If you were in her shoes, what would have been your choice? Why? In DARK PRAYER mention is made of real-time research into the memory molecule, which is currently being undertaken by the Sackler Lab in New York. If successful, a drug may soon be available that will help people pin-point and delete traumatic memories such as memories of rape or war. Do you think this is a good idea? What if people use this technology to forget about crimes they've committed such as rape, paedophilia, murder? The members of the Order of Mnemosyne each has a magical motto that captures their philosophy of life. What would be your own? (It doesn't have to be in Latin!) Common wisdom — bolstered by crime shows on TV — holds that witnesses who contradict themselves and whose memories appear faulty under cross-examination are lying. However, studies have shown that it is more often witnesses who seem completely confident whose testimonies turn out to be flawed. What is your own experience? Do you tend to believe people who are sure of themselves? Do you doubt those who appear hesitant? Who would you have chosen as a life partner: Jack? Or Jungles? Did you find the characters in DARK PRAYER believable? Who was your favourite character? What did you think about the ending of the book. Is it a happy ending? An unsatisfactory ending? The right ending? Order Now! Click here