A Mystery

I mentioned earlier that book #7 on the list of the top ten best sellers of 1917 was In the Wilderness by Robert Smythe Hichens. I also mentioned in that earlier post than I am familiar with Hichens, having read three of his novels in 2014.

There is something peculiar about this novel, which I'm having difficulty understanding. Not having read the novel before, I was obviously unfamiliar with the beginning chapters of the book. However, as I had gotten further along in the story, it seemed all too familiar to me - as if I had read this previously. The story seemed so familiar, in fact, that I went back to all of my earlier book lists to see if I had indeed read In the Wilderness and had simply forgotten about it.

I have been unable to find any record of my having read the novel before now and I have no explanation as to why the story seems so familiar to me.

It's entirely possible that I may have begun reading In the Wilderness but never finished it. If I had started it, but put it down, it would not appear on any of my annual book lists. The thing is, I can't find any earlier copy of the e-book in my pc to verify that I had downloaded it before now, and had I started the book, I surely would have remembered the beginning of the book and not just the plot 3 or 4 chapters in.

Very mysterious.