There are so many aspects to this novel that come together to create a beautifully crafted and unforgettable story. The plot drew me to the book initially it spoke of past lives, two people who love one another and always seem to find themselves together in their several past lives, and a fascinating mystery that promised to journey across time, space, and the entire world.

There are two main characters - Bryan Pierce, a reclusive artist who has ‘episodes’ where he slips into the past and becomes a person from a different time and place. When he wakes, he has the recollection of that person’s entire life along with all of their knowledge and skills, which usually include being fluent in a foreign language and having the abilities of the person he became - which included creating clocks and being able to recite entire pieces of literature in their native tongue. Our second main character is Lindsay “Linz” Jacobs - a geneticist who is working on a vast project dealing with memories. Linz has been plagued with the same nightmare since she was a little girl - one about a woman in ancient Rome being burned at the stake. When Linz attends an art exhibit at her friends’ gallery and sees her nightmare brought to life on canvas, she knows she has to talk to the artist who painted it. When Bryan and Linz meet, there’s an instant connection between them - and Bryan can recognize Linz from every life that he’s remembered. Thus the mystery begins - with the two trying to figure out what they’re experiencing, why they are always together in these memories, and to figure out exactly what happened to a group of scientists from the 1980s that created a drug that made all of this possible, to begin with.

The main characters were well written and had very distinct personalities and traits. By the end of the book, I felt as if I truly knew both of them. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this book, for me, was Womack’s research. The different past lives that are described all vary so greatly in time period and location that the research had to be very intense and time-consuming, especially given the level of historical detail each of these sections contained. I loved learning about the various past lives that Bryan and Linz remember they are written with such precision and attention to detail that I could close my eyes and feel as if I were there, too.

Thought-provoking - ancient mysteries, reincarnation, memories stored in our subconscious over lifetimes, and how these impact our present. Reading “The Memory Painter” was a joy. Hard to put down, well written with language that flows from scene to scene.