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bethsponz's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting read, and a different look at time travel. It’s not just jumping from the present to the distant future, or from the present to the distant past. You get to see how time changes everything every 99 years from the 1300’s to the 1900’s, shown in the details of clothing, dialect, machinery, human behavior, customs and other odds and ends. One man witnesses these changes in order to save his soul and learn what it means to be human.
ajb24's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like 4 stars is perhaps a little generous considering that the book didn't "grab" me as much as I thought it would. The 4 stars is really in appreciation for the research that went into the book and for the fact that I've always wanted to read a story where a person from long ago experiences modern day. I love that premise, and this book delivered it in multiple ways.
When I try to pin down what exactly didn't "grab" me about the writing, I think it's just a little...generic? The concept is there, but the characterization isn't anything special. And I'm not saying that I could do much better, because I don't think I could. And granted, trying to add depth to the side characters that we only meet once as John travels through the centuries is a big ask; and truthfully I don't think the book would have benefited from added details there. Most of the book is centered around describing the "new world" that John finds himself in each day (obviously...) so we end up with a lot of reactionary descriptions and never delve deep into who John is as a person (besides his ostensible religiousness). And I guess based on the premise there's not much more we could ask for: since each new day is a new century, there's a lot of difference to establish each time. If the author extended John's internal reckoning with every "new thing" he comes across, the book would be endless!
I can't speak to the historical accuracy of everything, but given that Mortimer is a historian and the author of multiple books about periods of British history, I'll assume that most all of the details accurately correspond with their time periods. And there were many little details that I thought were really fun and interesting to include as something John would take note of as someone originally from 1348. I particularly liked his reaction to new spices, glasses, and carpets. These are small things that I take for granted now, but obviously they had to be invented/introduced at some point. Some things came as a surprise, like when he tastes sugar in 1447. It never occurred to me that before that, people in England literally didn't have sugar! Or glasses! OH, I also really enjoyed how they (John and William) learned about years. Again, it's another thing that I never really think of as "invented", but I guess it had to be standardized at some point. Same thing with clocks and time-telling! It's a thing that is literally the most *basic* to us modern people, but would be new to someone from 1348 travelling forward in the future! It's all very cool to me. And another favorite part of mine was the progression of his accent and the naming conventions that eventually fell by the wayside or transformed into something new. The ways "John of Wrayment" gets misinterpreted and how people around him get confused by why him and his brother have different last names, etc. is one of those details that makes me really enjoy the concept of "person from past goes to future." They're such small conventions, but they change over time! And it would be weird/confusing for a peasant from the Middle Ages to be asked questions like "what is your occupation?" or "what year were you born?" and I love seeing that played out in fiction!
Really, I could go on for a long time about all the smaller things that John encounters which are strange or foreign concepts to him, because like I said, that's what I really enjoy about this kind of premise. And that's ignoring the larger sociopolitical changes which were equally baffling for John and, while interesting, are harder for me to summarize here (because obviously, like, the entire rise and fall of the British colonial Empire happens over the course of his six century journey, so that change is...a lot to cover lol).
Overall, I liked this book. Are the characters all that memorable? No. Will I remember a lot about John's moral/religious reflections? Probably not. But it's clear that Mortimer loves history and believes in the power of history to teach us things about ourselves. He knows a lot and I appreciate this book for attempting to bring to life a question that I often think about: How would someone from X year react to what we have now? What innovations would blow their mind the most?
When I try to pin down what exactly didn't "grab" me about the writing, I think it's just a little...generic? The concept is there, but the characterization isn't anything special. And I'm not saying that I could do much better, because I don't think I could. And granted, trying to add depth to the side characters that we only meet once as John travels through the centuries is a big ask; and truthfully I don't think the book would have benefited from added details there. Most of the book is centered around describing the "new world" that John finds himself in each day (obviously...) so we end up with a lot of reactionary descriptions and never delve deep into who John is as a person (besides his ostensible religiousness). And I guess based on the premise there's not much more we could ask for: since each new day is a new century, there's a lot of difference to establish each time. If the author extended John's internal reckoning with every "new thing" he comes across, the book would be endless!
I can't speak to the historical accuracy of everything, but given that Mortimer is a historian and the author of multiple books about periods of British history, I'll assume that most all of the details accurately correspond with their time periods. And there were many little details that I thought were really fun and interesting to include as something John would take note of as someone originally from 1348. I particularly liked his reaction to new spices, glasses, and carpets. These are small things that I take for granted now, but obviously they had to be invented/introduced at some point. Some things came as a surprise, like when he tastes sugar in 1447. It never occurred to me that before that, people in England literally didn't have sugar! Or glasses! OH, I also really enjoyed how they (John and William) learned about years. Again, it's another thing that I never really think of as "invented", but I guess it had to be standardized at some point. Same thing with clocks and time-telling! It's a thing that is literally the most *basic* to us modern people, but would be new to someone from 1348 travelling forward in the future! It's all very cool to me. And another favorite part of mine was the progression of his accent and the naming conventions that eventually fell by the wayside or transformed into something new. The ways "John of Wrayment" gets misinterpreted and how people around him get confused by why him and his brother have different last names, etc. is one of those details that makes me really enjoy the concept of "person from past goes to future." They're such small conventions, but they change over time! And it would be weird/confusing for a peasant from the Middle Ages to be asked questions like "what is your occupation?" or "what year were you born?" and I love seeing that played out in fiction!
Really, I could go on for a long time about all the smaller things that John encounters which are strange or foreign concepts to him, because like I said, that's what I really enjoy about this kind of premise. And that's ignoring the larger sociopolitical changes which were equally baffling for John and, while interesting, are harder for me to summarize here (because obviously, like, the entire rise and fall of the British colonial Empire happens over the course of his six century journey, so that change is...a lot to cover lol).
Overall, I liked this book. Are the characters all that memorable? No. Will I remember a lot about John's moral/religious reflections? Probably not. But it's clear that Mortimer loves history and believes in the power of history to teach us things about ourselves. He knows a lot and I appreciate this book for attempting to bring to life a question that I often think about: How would someone from X year react to what we have now? What innovations would blow their mind the most?
joellenroberts's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ellinlolis's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mmz's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
arcshade3001's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I enjoyed the latter half of the book much more than the first, perhaps because I'm not familiar enough with British history to appreciate it. There was also a lot of pondering about faith and sin and Christianity in general that I do not enjoy - but again someone more familiar will probably like it better.
mellyqueen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bowlrama97's review
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
munchkindad's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0