A review by manuphoto
A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This novel is more of a philosophical tale than anything else. 

 

In the first part of the book, we follow our main character through his travels, in which he seeks to discover more about himself and his world. It is written as an autobiography, which is an interesting choice. Silverberg seems to be a very capable writer, so the story works on a sentence-by-sentence basis. However, I did have some issues early on. 

 

This book is very much a product of its time. Our protagonist is some sort of übermensch—tall, strong, hairy, and handsome, but also deeply insecure. He also categorizes women by breast size and attractiveness…and "beds" most of them, to quote him. I’m not shocked, mind you, but after a couple of occurrences, I found it uninteresting and repetitive. I’ve encountered this issue in other works from the late 60s and early 70s. The protagonist is essentially describing a sexually open society with some bizarre abstract rules. Okay, I get it—no need to remind me every ten pages or so. 

 

The second part of the story is triggered by an encounter with an Earthman and, because it’s the 70s, drugs! I must say, I enjoyed how this change of pace was introduced and actually welcomed it, as the novel was starting to feel like a slog, despite its relatively short length. However, between the overly sexualized characters and the use of drugs to "broaden one’s horizons," I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a bit. 

 

That being said, Silverberg writes very well, and this novel is enjoyable to read on a sentence-by-sentence basis—especially considering the grammatical complexity he imposes on himself by having the main character say "one" instead of "I" for part of the story. 

 

He touches on very important themes: culture, self-image, oppression, religion, society’s structures, and so on. I appreciate the exploration of these themes, but I was left a bit cold by the vessels chosen to explore them. It’s mostly a "me" problem, but I never found the protagonist’s society to be particularly original or interesting. The obvious parallels with the Catholic Church, the Inquisition, or other such things felt a bit too heavy-handed for my taste. 

 

A well-written novel that deals with important and relevant issues, but treated in a way that feels very dated, somewhat inefficient, with pacing issues and occasionally inconsistent characters. I’m glad I read it, but I can’t say I enjoyed much of it—though I did enjoy parts of it, especially in the second half.