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A review by pascalthehoff
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
2.0
If there's something like book award bait, then this novel is Goodreads Choice Award bait. Easy-going with a quirky tone to it, ranging somewhere in the realm of "not-quite young adult", stylistically, but just profound enough to reach the broadest possible audience.
It's tough to dislike This Time Tomorrow (which is why I don't dislike it, I just found it boring). It comes along as a cozy afternoon read. But once you read a novel that's actually fun, engaging and witty, it begins to pale in comparison – at least somewhat. (I started Jen Beagin's Big Swiss after this btw, for anyone interested. And Big Swiss has just so much more character while also being a light read, stylistically and structurally.)
The time travel logistics in this story are unusually casual and free of any life threatening or history altering consequences. The novel doesn't care too much about plot holes or gaps in its logic. Or rather: It cares exactly the right amount for the time traveling to serve as a vehicle through which the story examines the protagonist's relationship with her dying father – and also her own life decisions. You can tell what the "morale of the story" will be right from the first time travel sequence. But that doesn't really sour the heartwarming result, only the slow journey there.
I like how this feels like a young adult novel, but from the perspective of a 40-year-old woman. While the protagonist's reflection on adolescence remains rather surface level, her thoughts on adult life, in contrast, show a little more depth – though still nothing to write home about.
This lack of any real depth is also where the many smaller problems with This Time Tomorrow begin: all its "profundities" are so well-trodden that they aren't really engaging after all. The novel's most intriguing subtext concerns class consciousness and hustle culture of all things. But its feminist platitudes, for example, fit right in with other stuff on the millennial novel bingo card, like incessant pop culture references, tarot cards and a mysterious cat.
It's tough to dislike This Time Tomorrow (which is why I don't dislike it, I just found it boring). It comes along as a cozy afternoon read. But once you read a novel that's actually fun, engaging and witty, it begins to pale in comparison – at least somewhat. (I started Jen Beagin's Big Swiss after this btw, for anyone interested. And Big Swiss has just so much more character while also being a light read, stylistically and structurally.)
The time travel logistics in this story are unusually casual and free of any life threatening or history altering consequences. The novel doesn't care too much about plot holes or gaps in its logic. Or rather: It cares exactly the right amount for the time traveling to serve as a vehicle through which the story examines the protagonist's relationship with her dying father – and also her own life decisions. You can tell what the "morale of the story" will be right from the first time travel sequence. But that doesn't really sour the heartwarming result, only the slow journey there.
I like how this feels like a young adult novel, but from the perspective of a 40-year-old woman. While the protagonist's reflection on adolescence remains rather surface level, her thoughts on adult life, in contrast, show a little more depth – though still nothing to write home about.
This lack of any real depth is also where the many smaller problems with This Time Tomorrow begin: all its "profundities" are so well-trodden that they aren't really engaging after all. The novel's most intriguing subtext concerns class consciousness and hustle culture of all things. But its feminist platitudes, for example, fit right in with other stuff on the millennial novel bingo card, like incessant pop culture references, tarot cards and a mysterious cat.