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roie's review against another edition
1.0
The premise of this is so promising. It is also written incredibly well, I couldn't put it down. What turned me off this book was the reveal in the middle of the book. I couldn't stop laughing at the central idea and what followed. It was just so ridiculous.
What would've made this somewhat good is if it wasn't set in our world. If it was a completely alternate reality and not a world that's just a little bit different then slowly becomes our world today. Because a lot of the plot revolves around people we know from history it just seemed completely insane.
I also found the dream chapters to be quite boring, as soon as they appeared I just wanted to go back to the current timeline.
What would've made this somewhat good is if it wasn't set in our world. If it was a completely alternate reality and not a world that's just a little bit different then slowly becomes our world today. Because a lot of the plot revolves around people we know from history it just seemed completely insane.
I also found the dream chapters to be quite boring, as soon as they appeared I just wanted to go back to the current timeline.
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
After reading The Heavens, I lingered on Newman's theme for a moment: would the world be better off if people--just a few of us--could go back and forth in time to fix things?
She doesn't reach a conclusion in her book, but her exploration is really fun to follow.
The plot goes like this: when Kate sleeps, she goes back in time, engaging in a series of innocent-then-amorous encounters with a struggling playwright named "Sad Will." When she wakes, the world is different--sometimes worse, sometimes better--and Kate feels that her dreamlike interactions with Will could somehow make everything better. (Her boyfriend, Ben, and her cast of friends in Manhattan, circa 2001, never seem to disappear, despite the various iterations of America--which at one point actually IS led by President Al Gore (yesss!!!).
Lovers of literature--and a certain Bard of Avon--will love the references to a Dark Lady and the court of Southhampton that Newman explores here. Curious readers will enjoy exploring time along with Kate--and the speculation of other time-travelers whose names we might recognize.
This is a fun, light read.
She doesn't reach a conclusion in her book, but her exploration is really fun to follow.
The plot goes like this: when Kate sleeps, she goes back in time, engaging in a series of innocent-then-amorous encounters with a struggling playwright named "Sad Will." When she wakes, the world is different--sometimes worse, sometimes better--and Kate feels that her dreamlike interactions with Will could somehow make everything better. (Her boyfriend, Ben, and her cast of friends in Manhattan, circa 2001, never seem to disappear, despite the various iterations of America--which at one point actually IS led by President Al Gore (yesss!!!).
Lovers of literature--and a certain Bard of Avon--will love the references to a Dark Lady and the court of Southhampton that Newman explores here. Curious readers will enjoy exploring time along with Kate--and the speculation of other time-travelers whose names we might recognize.
This is a fun, light read.
readingismagical's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 - beautiful, sad, romantic, trippy, and otherworldly. Loved it. This was my first book of Newman's but I'll definitely read more of her work now.
bdfarber13's review against another edition
3.0
This is a hard to describe strange novel. I was super intrigued in the beginning and then felt it began to drag. The ending was a bit abrupt.
It's a story about time travel, psychosis, and saving the world. Can't say much more than that except it is a bit choose your own adventure as a reader - you get to decide what is going on.
Some parts of the plot felt weak especially the 1600s England. Newman does a great job of creating a very uncomfortable atmosphere in both timelines but this one made my skin crawl. But I had a lot of questions especially about Emilia's experience during the dream visits. Other parts were confusing. Perhaps deliberate. Perhaps not. I can't tell. Sometimes this felt like an excellent rough draft. But other times it felt like normal people trying to understand impossible to know situations.
The feel of the book is pretty potent. I felt sad and dreamlike myself reading it so Newman is quite evocative.
Kate is the star of the story. I felt for her throughout. I loved her intensity and joyful spirit. Ben's story made me feel strange, and Kate is the focus so she is still the star.
Worth a read if you want something out there and with some beautiful language and storytelling at points.
It's a story about time travel, psychosis, and saving the world. Can't say much more than that except it is a bit choose your own adventure as a reader - you get to decide what is going on.
Some parts of the plot felt weak especially the 1600s England. Newman does a great job of creating a very uncomfortable atmosphere in both timelines but this one made my skin crawl. But I had a lot of questions especially about Emilia's experience during the dream visits. Other parts were confusing. Perhaps deliberate. Perhaps not. I can't tell. Sometimes this felt like an excellent rough draft. But other times it felt like normal people trying to understand impossible to know situations.
The feel of the book is pretty potent. I felt sad and dreamlike myself reading it so Newman is quite evocative.
Kate is the star of the story. I felt for her throughout. I loved her intensity and joyful spirit. Ben's story made me feel strange, and Kate is the focus so she is still the star.
Worth a read if you want something out there and with some beautiful language and storytelling at points.
roycekordem's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I don't know if this book is about a woman who time travels or a woman with a mental illness and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.
margaret21's review against another edition
2.0
I expected to enjoy this, but found it so tedious I finally abandoned it. It's the story of Ben and his girlfriend Kate, who has a rich dream-life that takes her back to Elizabethan England. I was soon skim-reading those episodes where the dreams were described. I was soon skim-reading everything. Their friend who's carrying a baby for another friend: the strange community that assembles to care the baby, once born. Really, I was beyond caring about any of them.
moirastone's review against another edition
4.0
A few minutes ago, I stumbled away from the last page of this book feeling like I did after reading Ghostwritten for the time, or Version Control - shell-shocked, incredulous, reeling. I barked out a laugh of amazement more than a once as I tore through it - what on Earth does this writer think she's doing?! - but couldn't, wouldn't stop reading.
This book is a huge swing, and I can't deny that I surrendered utterly. To tell you anything of the plot would be a disservice. Read it.
This book is a huge swing, and I can't deny that I surrendered utterly. To tell you anything of the plot would be a disservice. Read it.
pixe1's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could find the blurb that lead me to reading this book: I'm pretty sure it was from a list of books that were "under appreciated" where individuals wrote a book they loved that they wished had been more widely read. What I remember is that this was described as being "ambitious" and that the author manages to pull off something that other authors wouldn't even attempt. I disagree, because I'm not sure she managed to pull something off.
This is the second time travel book I've read this year that deals with the Great Man theory, and out of a non-representative sample of two books that were just middle of the road for me, it seems safe to say that it's been done better elsewhere.
Part of why I'm annoyed with this book is due to a feeling of false advertising. There were so many things I knowingly can't stand, and if they had been in the description instead of talk about an ambitious plot, I probably wouldn't have picked this up. For example: I know that Elizabethan era storylines where all the dialogue is in olde English make my eyes glaze over. Also, I hate when 9/11 is used as a late-game literary device. And this book had both!
But I think what I disliked the most was the sheer verboseness of this book. I looked up so many words in the dictionary to try and understand all of the pretentious feelings of the characters and the atmosphere. While I'm willing to work for a good story, this felt simply overworked - like someone had done 3 rounds of editing and by the third round they were just using thesaurus adverbs to "improve" the writing.
Overall I'm filing this away as a book that I finished that I should have abandoned, and the ending was ok but just ok.
This is the second time travel book I've read this year that deals with the Great Man theory, and out of a non-representative sample of two books that were just middle of the road for me, it seems safe to say that it's been done better elsewhere.
Part of why I'm annoyed with this book is due to a feeling of false advertising. There were so many things I knowingly can't stand, and if they had been in the description instead of talk about an ambitious plot, I probably wouldn't have picked this up. For example: I know that Elizabethan era storylines where all the dialogue is in olde English make my eyes glaze over. Also, I hate when 9/11 is used as a late-game literary device. And this book had both!
But I think what I disliked the most was the sheer verboseness of this book. I looked up so many words in the dictionary to try and understand all of the pretentious feelings of the characters and the atmosphere. While I'm willing to work for a good story, this felt simply overworked - like someone had done 3 rounds of editing and by the third round they were just using thesaurus adverbs to "improve" the writing.
Overall I'm filing this away as a book that I finished that I should have abandoned, and the ending was ok but just ok.
clairer23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ursareads's review against another edition
5.0
Magnifique. Un conte fantastique balançant entre voyages dans le temps et apocalypse, sur l'importance de sauver le monde ou d'être heureux. Une lecture surprenante mais vraiment agréable, qui mets du baume au coeur malgré tous les malheurs qui s'y déroulent.
Wonderful. A fantasy tale about time travel and apocalypse, on the importance of saving the world or being happy. Quite the surprising read but what a pleasant one, warming my heart despite all its misadventures.
Wonderful. A fantasy tale about time travel and apocalypse, on the importance of saving the world or being happy. Quite the surprising read but what a pleasant one, warming my heart despite all its misadventures.