Dissolution (Binge novel)

Dissolution is a 2025 science fiction novel by Nicholas Binge, published in the UK by Harper Voyager, and in the US by Riverhead Books. It is published or forthcoming in multiple languages, including Spanish, German, Hungarian, and Arabic. The novel tells the story of Margaret (Maggie) Webb, who discovers that her husband Stanley’s Alzheimer’s is a false cover for the fact that his memories are being purposefully erased to keep something he did in his past hidden. The book alternates between Maggie and Stanley’s perspectives as they move through multiple decades of their relationship.

Synopsis

The story opens with Maggie Webb, an eighty-three-year-old woman, being interrogated in what looks like an empty swimming pool by a man named Hassan, who is prompting her to recall the events of the past few days. In her recollection, she tells of the first time Hassan arrived at her door, telling her that her husband Stanley’s Alzheimer’s is a cover to hide the fact that his memories are being removed. Hassan prompts her to help break Stanley out of the memory ward that he has been unwittingly imprisoned in and take him to the mysterious Lazarus Institute — a facility in London where Stanley once worked.

Once there, Hassan introduces Maggie to the memory spade, a piece of technology designed to allow people to enter the memories of others. Maggie enters Stanley’s mind to try and find whatever it is that others are trying to bury. Hassan insists that the fate of the world relies on her doing so, but also suggests if she’s able to find the answer, she may be able to reverse the memory loss and get her husband back.