I read two books about time in the past month - both very different and both terrific. I linked to Emma Straub’s bookish apartment last month, this month let me tell you how great her new book This Time Tomorrow is! This wonderful and imaginative story centers around Alice, who is turning 40 and questioning her life and the choices she has made. She is single, her career is stagnant, and her beloved father is failing in the hospital. On the night of her birthday, through a strange set of conditions, she finds herself back in her childhood bedroom. Alice is able to travel back to her 16 year old self and spend time with her childhood friends and more importantly, her father. Straub uses time travel not as a vehicle to change the future, but as a way to appreciate the life Alice has led. Reviews have noted how beautiful the father-daughter relationship is portrayed here, but Straub also gives us a wonderful example of female friendship. I love that Alice’s 16 year old bestie is still her 40 year old bestie. Also the nostalgia game is strong here. I am a bit older than Alice but I love how well Staub creates a real sense of place for the past. Though I am not a fan of time-travel books, I highly endorse this one!
Thank you for some great suggestions that I would not have picked up otherwise. I am intrigued by Four Thousand Weeks which would not have been on my radar!
Thank you for some great suggestions that I would not have picked up otherwise. I am intrigued by Four Thousand Weeks which would not have been on my radar!