Did this book win any major literary awards?

This novel was the recipient of the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

Is this book part of a series or a standalone story?

This is a standalone novel that does not require reading any other works to understand the plot or setting.

What is unique about the author's writing style in this book?

The narrative frequently employs a stream-of-consciousness technique characterized by fragmented sentences that mirror the protagonist's internal experience.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope

Science Fiction Thriller

Pages: 400
Published: 2016
Language: English

The Sudden Appearance of Hope is a 2016 speculative literary thriller by Claire North (a pen name of Catherine Webb), catalogued here under the title 'Forget Me Not'. It follows Hope Arden, a woman cursed with a singular affliction: everyone who meets her forgets her the moment she leaves their sight.

Unremembered and unrecorded, Hope becomes a master thief — no witness can hold her in memory — while aching for genuine human connection. When she collides with Perfection, a lifestyle app that gamifies self-improvement and conformity, her invisibility turns from curse into the means of resistance.

North blends thriller momentum with meditative prose on memory, identity, self-worth and the modern pressure to optimise oneself. The novel won the 2017 World Fantasy Award and appeals to readers of speculative fiction that probes what it means to be seen and remembered.

Prose complexity: 7/10

Mysterious Tense Thought-Provoking Melancholic

Secret Identity Morally Grey

Claire North

Claire North is a pen name of British author Catherine Webb, who also writes as Kate Griffin and published her first novel at fourteen. As Claire North she has written speculative fiction including The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and The Sudden Appearance of Hope, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Her later books include Touch, 84K, Notes from the Burning Age and the Songs of Penelope series (Ithaca, House of Odysseus), whic...

Hope ArdenProtagonist

A woman whom everyone forgets moments after she leaves their sight; a master thief longing to be remembered.

All characters in The Sudden Appearance of Hope

Frequently asked questions

Did this book win any major literary awards?
This novel was the recipient of the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.
Is this book part of a series or a standalone story?
This is a standalone novel that does not require reading any other works to understand the plot or setting.
What is unique about the author's writing style in this book?
The narrative frequently employs a stream-of-consciousness technique characterized by fragmented sentences that mirror the protagonist's internal experience.