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The novel is written in the third person but focuses exclusively on John Gowan's emotions and feelings. After an accident, he wakes up in the hospital, realizing he can't remember anything of the past three years. What's your opinion on his amnesia? Is it genuine or fake? Could he use it as a means of hiding his failure as a husband, father, and architect? Considering his actions at the end of the novel, could it be a sign of mental illness?

i feel like he can definitely use it as an excuse for his future failures, but not the past because they happened before his accident but the fact he didn't let anyone know about his condition is the thing that will prevent him from doing that

I think John's amnesia was real but it was a result of mental illness and not the car accident or a fall. He had many issues in his life that he could not face and denied that they existed.

I do think his amnesia was real, but may not have been from the accident.

I am still on the fence about whether the amnesia was real or fake. I think it would be difficult to pretend you didn't have amnesia if you really did. I am leaning more toward his amnesia being fake.

I believe the amnesia was true. It paved the way to this whole fantastic story. It might not have been from the accidents and does not justify his past conduct, but it was genuine.

I believe that the amnesia he got wasn't from the accident, however, he was not faking it. It could have been a result of the mental illness he was facing.

I feel like his amnesia was a coincidence with the accident. It was more as a result of his mental state. Maybe he just wanted to compartmentalize the years he failed as a husband father and architect. But since it was kept secret, he can't use it to hide any future failures.

I believe that his amnesia is real because amnesia is not something one can fake. Considering the fact that he didn't tell anyone about his condition, one can imply he was also trying to hide his failures as a husband, father and architect.

I have no reason to believe John's amnesia was a fake. From his character's development, I guess the accident triggered a cascade of mental issues connected to his personal problems and caused amnesia.

I think his amnesia was genuine. There's no way he could fake it so perfectly. I think his accident was the main cause of his amnesia

Two ways to look at it; his amnesia could have been a genuine medical illness. The brain is complex, and I understand one can forget everything about who they are but still have memory, like not knowing your name but still being able to sign it. On the other hand, from who John was before the amnesia, he did not like it and his brain could have perceived that as trauma and hence 'erased' the part of his life. So, I believe it was genuine.

The amnesia part could be genuine or fake, as I read some books that there are some cases of illnesses where your brain goes into defensive mode to protect your whole mental state. Therefore, it incurs some memory lapses or amnesia. John might have denied perceiving himself as a failed husband, father, and architect as these labels are a heavy burden to carry; thus, it resulted in his current state.

Dissociative Amnesia. I have finally remembered the name for it. I think John has Dissociative Amnesia. It's real but is usually caused by overwhelming stress from a traumatic event instead of a physical trauma.

I thing his Amnesia is real, because it was not easy at work, because keeping up the pretence of amnesia will not be easy at alllll