Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5/5 ⭐️ A beautifully woven together tale of a Vietnam veteran and a pair of refugees finding a home after tragedy. I can’t really explain why I liked this book so much. My only critique is it felt a tad slow but not enough to lose my interest. Really enjoyed this one.
EDIT - I feel like this book was a cheap effort to cash in on the interest in Vietnam experience's following the huge success of Kristin Hannah's "The Women". I always check who the publisher is before I start a book. I didn't do that with this one because I've read Richman's books from mainstream publishers before. Mistake.
This one's a cheap and functional paperback that needed professional editing and proofreading. Bad spacing, typos, grammatical errors... just sloppy. One-dimensional characters. Unresolved drama. Predictable.
If a book isn't good enough for a quality publisher, it's not worth it. I waited months to get this from the library and it was huge disappointment. It's a sloppy and forgettable book.
This one's a cheap and functional paperback that needed professional editing and proofreading. Bad spacing, typos, grammatical errors... just sloppy. One-dimensional characters. Unresolved drama. Predictable.
If a book isn't good enough for a quality publisher, it's not worth it. I waited months to get this from the library and it was huge disappointment. It's a sloppy and forgettable book.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The beauty of this novel is in the weaving of three storylines into a tapestry of emotion. Grace is an Irish immigrant, having experienced the loss of her sister when she was young and starting over in a smallLong Island town. Married to Tom, they have two daughters, one a teenager who is vexing to Grace. Anh and Bao are refugees from Vietnam, escaping the war after suffering many losses. Jack is a Vietnam vet, dubbed Hollywood by his Marine buddies, but disfigured after an explosion. Grace and Tom are empathetic and caring, with Grace learning about the refugees staying at a local church and tutoring, while Tom offers Jack a job and a place to live. The way these three story lines meld will remain in my mind and heart, as I could not put the book down. Highly recommended for everyone. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Time Keepers tells the story of several families:
- Jack - a vietnam veteran who is working in a clock repair shop called Golden Hours
- Tom and Grace and their two daughters - Tom’s father founded the clock shop. Grace is an immigrant who has a tragic story of her own.
- Anh and her nephew Bảo - who escaped southern Vietnam when their families were destroyed bc they were seen as traitors
Along the way, we get to know several people in Jack’s service - his girlfriend, mother, Vietnam marines, hospital workers
- and Tom and Grace’s life - friends who are not sincere, and boys that are up to trouble.
Grace finds Bảo on a street corner and develops a friendship with his aunt. From there the story begins to weave.
Rickman writes in the author’s note:
“The Time Keepers is foremost a novel about time, memory, and healing. I have intentionally chosen to switch between past and present tense in different passages of the book in order to highlight how we mentally process pain, trauma, and love.”
The last few Vietnam War books I have read, have all carried a theme about how veterans came back from the war and were not just disregarded but treated horribly. This one shows many facets of the war, and the effects of the war on many families.
But it also shows how Jack has tried to heal his life through his work on the clocks. I loved all the characters, but especially Jack towards the end of the book.
“She (Grace) lost her sister at a young age, so maybe I’m drawn to her because she embodies the Golden family philosophy that you have to find a way to move forward.” Ch 9
“Sundials can measure the hours in the day and reservoirs every drop of water. But no one has ever invented an instrument to quantify love.” Ch 25
“Time must move forward.” It really was the only way to survive.” Ch 40
“Jack had developed a weakness for broken things. Over time, he’d come to learn that there were two types of people in the world: those who threw things away once they stopped working, and those who tried to salvage them. “ ch 48
“And even when a watch didn’t work as it should, there was the expectation that it could still be resurrected with the proper care. But could a life be as well?” Ch 54
Loved hearing about her research in this interview: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCP8FY_yfrX/?igsh=MWluY3E5MW02bnhsMQ==
- Jack - a vietnam veteran who is working in a clock repair shop called Golden Hours
- Tom and Grace and their two daughters - Tom’s father founded the clock shop. Grace is an immigrant who has a tragic story of her own.
- Anh and her nephew Bảo - who escaped southern Vietnam when their families were destroyed bc they were seen as traitors
Along the way, we get to know several people in Jack’s service - his girlfriend, mother, Vietnam marines, hospital workers
- and Tom and Grace’s life - friends who are not sincere, and boys that are up to trouble.
Grace finds Bảo on a street corner and develops a friendship with his aunt. From there the story begins to weave.
Rickman writes in the author’s note:
“The Time Keepers is foremost a novel about time, memory, and healing. I have intentionally chosen to switch between past and present tense in different passages of the book in order to highlight how we mentally process pain, trauma, and love.”
The last few Vietnam War books I have read, have all carried a theme about how veterans came back from the war and were not just disregarded but treated horribly. This one shows many facets of the war, and the effects of the war on many families.
But it also shows how Jack has tried to heal his life through his work on the clocks. I loved all the characters, but especially Jack towards the end of the book.
“She (Grace) lost her sister at a young age, so maybe I’m drawn to her because she embodies the Golden family philosophy that you have to find a way to move forward.” Ch 9
“Sundials can measure the hours in the day and reservoirs every drop of water. But no one has ever invented an instrument to quantify love.” Ch 25
“Time must move forward.” It really was the only way to survive.” Ch 40
“Jack had developed a weakness for broken things. Over time, he’d come to learn that there were two types of people in the world: those who threw things away once they stopped working, and those who tried to salvage them. “ ch 48
“And even when a watch didn’t work as it should, there was the expectation that it could still be resurrected with the proper care. But could a life be as well?” Ch 54
Loved hearing about her research in this interview: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCP8FY_yfrX/?igsh=MWluY3E5MW02bnhsMQ==
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Medical trauma, War
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Author Alyson Richman never disappoints; she's one of my favorites. THE TIME KEEPERS, a novel about the, is her latest and so full of heart and soul, I am compelled to give it five stars.
This is a multi-dimensional look at the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975), from the perspective of people who experienced it in vastly different ways:
• Anh and Bao (aunt and nephew) show us the hardship they experienced in Vietnam during the war.
• We witness a harrowing tale of what many of the 800,000 boat people experienced when they risked all to leave Vietnam at the end of the war, when North Vietnam took over the South.
• Jack, a Marine, illustrates the American soldier's experience fighting in the unpopular war and its lingering consequences on his life once he returns home.
• There's also the Golden family (Tom, Grace, Katie, and Molly) who show the best of what Americans at home did for returning vets.
• And others who illustrate the worst of what Americans at home did to returning vets.
Richman's considerable skill in weaving these well-researched stories together is what makes THE TIME KEEPERS such a rich and deeply emotional novel. The book does move back and forth in time, shifting from character to character (a technique I find to be overused and annoying). But those time and story shifts seem to work and did not detract from my involvement with the characters. Instead, I came to care so deeply for them. So much so that I cried at the end. Don't miss this one.
This is a multi-dimensional look at the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975), from the perspective of people who experienced it in vastly different ways:
• Anh and Bao (aunt and nephew) show us the hardship they experienced in Vietnam during the war.
• We witness a harrowing tale of what many of the 800,000 boat people experienced when they risked all to leave Vietnam at the end of the war, when North Vietnam took over the South.
• Jack, a Marine, illustrates the American soldier's experience fighting in the unpopular war and its lingering consequences on his life once he returns home.
• There's also the Golden family (Tom, Grace, Katie, and Molly) who show the best of what Americans at home did for returning vets.
• And others who illustrate the worst of what Americans at home did to returning vets.
Richman's considerable skill in weaving these well-researched stories together is what makes THE TIME KEEPERS such a rich and deeply emotional novel. The book does move back and forth in time, shifting from character to character (a technique I find to be overused and annoying). But those time and story shifts seem to work and did not detract from my involvement with the characters. Instead, I came to care so deeply for them. So much so that I cried at the end. Don't miss this one.