Tell Me an Ending

A Novel

By: Jo Harkin

Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues

Named a Best Science Fiction Book 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).

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)

Didn’t Stick the Landing

Story-wise, the build up to everything was fantastic. And how character stories start intertwining left me in suspense of what would happen next. But it started losing me when the reveals weren’t as interesting or impactful as the story wanted me to think they were. It was probably supposed to end with mixed feelings about the morality of everything, but my feelings still weren’t mixed. I almost want to say everything ended so inconsistently and unfinished that it wasn’t intentional.
The performance was kind of slow, but very comprehensible when I put it at 3x speed.

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!

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.

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.