The chair creates multiple timelines (and thus new past memories) for all those connected to someone that used the chair, yet these realities are only realized at the moment in which timelines intersect. How would you feel about immediately having an entirely new life while also remembering your old one? This sometimes causes the recipient to commit suicide. The creation of a new timeline/reality gives connected people new memories and the development of False Memory Syndrome. What does this book tell us about how time and memory are intertwined? The book starts with the quote, “Time is but memory in the making”. They’re both the same fucking thing.” What does this tell us about balance and control in life? No more trying to escape either through nostalgia or a memory chair. “I’m ready to accept that my existence will sometimes contain pain.

In the end Barry returns to the original timeline. What does this say about society? Is there a reality where the chair is possible without total destruction? Ultimately there isn’t a way to keep the chair and not cause global destruction. Slade uses the chair seemingly for selfish motives yet he gives the key to create and ultimately stop the chair. What are your thoughts on these two characters and how the story is told from their viewpoints? The story is told through two characters, Berry and Helena. Here are a handful of book club discussion questions for Recursion.

Recursion book review