View source for If I Forget You by T C Greene

{{infobox1
|title=If I Forget You
|sort=
|author=T C Greene
|reviewer=Kerry King
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Star-crossed lovers, Henry and Margot fall truly, madly and deeply in love.  He is a gentle, small town, Jewish boy and she is a wealthy, WASPy sorority girl and their love for one another is no match for how life is about to get in the way.  Twenty-one years later Henry sees Margot on a bustling New York street.  Their eyes meet for what seems like an eternity before Margot hurries away, consumed by the crowd.  But Henry follows after her. 
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=256
|publisher=Corvus
|date=September 2016
|isbn=978-1782399346
|website=http://www.thomaschristophergreene.com 
|cover=1782399348
|aznuk=1782399348
|aznus=1782399348
}}
A college love affair splintered apart by an accident that could not have been either predicted or avoided, this is truly a story of star-crossed lovers.  Henry, forced to decide between a prison term that will change his life forever in ways that he would never be able to repair and his relationship with Margot, whom he believes, even then, to be the love of his life, simply decides that he cannot go to jail.  He reluctantly ends his affair with Margot but knows he will never forget her.  Twenty-one years later, haunted every day by the love he gave away, Henry spots Margot on the crowded streets of New York.  Their eyes meet and he sees recognition in her eyes – for he has seen them in his dreams for all of his life.  He calls out to her but she lowers her head and is quickly absorbed into the crowd and Henry hurries after her.

Henry is divorced and Margot is married.  It is a loveless, dispassionate union of convenience and habit and she knows that she will willingly cast it aside for a chance with the man she has never stopped loving, even though she was not aware of this fact until she saw Henry again.  The twenty-one years since they parted are bridged in time as if it were never there and the long-lost lovers embark on a relatively restrained affair.  Seemingly intense in its depth of feeling only as Henry and Margot have grown into cautious and tentative adults with responsibilities and reputations to protect; there is still the secret that parted them, stationary between them like a standing stone; solid and immoveable.  Will Henry and Margot find their happily ever after?

Thomas Christopher Greene is the most gifted author I have read in a long while.  His gorgeous prose is like a painting; delicate, deep, multi-layered and decorative and you cannot fail to love the way he composes a phrase.  He put me very much in mind of Margaret Attwood – why use pedestrian words when you can find a more eloquent and beautiful way to describe something?  Greene's last novel, [[The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene|The Headmaster's Wife]] delved deeply into the subject of forbidden love (and a made our reviewer a little pink of cheek and hot under the collar whilst reading it on public transport!) and I think we can see something of a pattern emerging; it seems to be a subject that he waxes lyrical over and what a treat it is to spend a quiet hour or two lingering over his prose.  That said, ''If I Forget You'' is far more romantic a novel; it is a gently told poem of a love story and if you have read any of Greene's work, you will know that he likes a cliff-hanger… to discover that we never find out if Henry and Margot's rekindled affair has the kind of stamina required for the times in which we live is not frustrating in the slightest.  Rather it leaves the reader to ponder ''will they or won't they make it'' without hearing them squabble about who takes out the rubbish on Tuesday night.

I loved this book for all of its beautiful simplicity.  It's a love story of the purest kind and you will love it too just because you can.

If you like the sound of ''If I Forget You'', I have mentioned [[The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene|The Headmaster's Wife]] above, which romped its way up the bestseller list. I would also like to suggest you take a look at [[Hilary and David by Laura Solomon]] for a twist on the modern love story standpoint.  We think you'll also enjoy [[The Obscure Logic of the Heart by Priya Basil]].

It has been my pleasure to review this copy and we at Bookbag would like to extend our thanks to the publisher for sending it to us for review.

{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Women's Fiction Books of 2016}}

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[[Category:Literary Fiction]]