The Reincarnationist — by M. J. Rose

Thanks to a review from fellow book blogger, Booking Mama, I finally picked up The Reincarnationist by M. J. Rose at the library.  I have a lot of books on my TBR that I found over at Booking Mama.  She has good taste in books!

Anyway, The Reincarnationist is about a photographer named Josh who was hurt in a bombing in Rome.  During his recovery, Josh starts to experince vivid memories, but the memories aren’t his.  They are of a priest from 1600 years ago and a young man in the 1800s.  No doctor can find anything wrong with Josh.  He sets out to figure out if he is experiencing past-life regressions, even though he doesn’t know if he believes in reincarnation.  He joins up with the Phonix Foundation, that studies reincarnation, to try to figure out what is happening to him.  Because of his memories, he gets involved in a mystery surrounding the Memory Stones and trying to right “wrongs” from his past lives. 

For me, the book started out a little slow.  It didn’t grab me right away like I expected after reading Booking Mama’s review.  Josh wasn’t the most likable character I’ve read about, but I didn’t dislike him either.  I really was indifferent toward him.  That made it a little difficult to get attached to the story.

However, as the book progressed, the author did a better job developing Josh and his relationships with the other characters.  In the beginning, he seems all alone with no desire to connect with anyone.  Once he does start to connect, he becomes more likable and someone with whom it was easier to identify.

The last third of the book was exciting.  I raced through this part of the book because I couldn’t wait to see what happened.  I kept guessing who I thought was involved in the “highjacking” (I won’t say more about that so I don’t spoil anything) and I thought I had it figured out.  But, there was a twist, a good twist, not a ridiculous twist that made no sense. 

The ending is a tear-jerker and not quite what I expected (or even hoped for).  But, it was a perfect ending. 

So, in summary, if you get through the first third of the book, which isn’t awful, but not very grabbing, you’ll be glad you did.  The second two-thirds are worth the wait.  And, the ending is, as I said before, perfect. 

Thanks, Booking Mama, for the review.