Scan barcode
A review by anusha_reads
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
⏳TIME SHELTER, BY GEORGI GOSPODINOV, TRANSLATED BY ANGELA RODEL, SHORTLISTED FOR INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2023⏳
⏳
“TIME DOESN’T NEST IN THE UNUSUAL, IT SEEKS A QUIET, PEACEFUL PLACE.”
This brilliantly crafted book reads like an autobiography. It is fiction with beautifully interspersed facts, historical, geographical, linguistic, and more. The title ‘TIME SHELTER’ is a term coined from ‘Bomb Shelter,’ the purpose being protection, either way.
⏳
“TIME FEEDS ON US. WE ARE FOOD FOR TIME”
In our visible world, time moves forward, but what about history? Ephemeral life in eternal time thrives on memories, the good ones, and the bad ones, some happy and some unhappy.
⏳
“THE PAST GROWS LIKE A WEED”
Shabbily dressed, mystery man Gaustine is a geriatric psychiatrist. He builds a shelter, a Time Shelter for treating patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Every floor is dedicated to a decade, capturing its zeitgeist fully. Eventually, more and more shelters come up everywhere. Even countries start choosing their happy decades.
⏳
“HAPPY COUNTRIES ARE ALL ALIKE; UNHAPPY COUNTRY IS UNHAPPY IN ITS OWN WAY”
The author gives us a brief history of many countries in Europe, giving instances of the impacts of war, political turmoil, old movies, and songs.
⏳
I love the quote “…SUDDENLY THE ADS HAVE BECOME THE TRUE NEWS ABOUT THAT TIME...” I think as children all of us have grown up watching ads or listening to jingles and we remember them even now.
⏳
“WE NEEDED A PRECISE AND EXHAUSTIVE DESCRIPTION OF WHICH SCENT BRINGS WHICH MEMORY BACK…” Smells, scents, and fragrances linger in our memories. Though I remember my teacher’s face vaguely, I remember the smell of the perfume she used to wear.
⏳
The author has sprinkled anecdotes here and there, making the topic lighter. I found the character Runner very cute as he jumps the wall of this establishment to rescue the singer, John Lennon, the patient after having partially recollected that somebody would kill him.
⏳
“IN A WORLD MADE OF NAMES, FORGETTING THEM IS ITS NATURAL END”
Even though the patients had problems recollecting their own names, happy eras from their past brought smiles to their faces.
⏳
The Epigraph “ALL REAL PERSONS IN THIS NOVEL ARE FICTIONAL, ONLY THE FICTIONAL ARE REAL.” Says a lot about the book. I found this idea very unique and like the quote says, it was difficult to differentiate the two characters.
⏳
Overall, it’s a book that looks easy, has a lot to absorb and requires patience because there is a lot to mull over and assimilate. The wonderful translation made me forget that the book was originally written in Bulgarian.
⏳
⏳
“TIME DOESN’T NEST IN THE UNUSUAL, IT SEEKS A QUIET, PEACEFUL PLACE.”
This brilliantly crafted book reads like an autobiography. It is fiction with beautifully interspersed facts, historical, geographical, linguistic, and more. The title ‘TIME SHELTER’ is a term coined from ‘Bomb Shelter,’ the purpose being protection, either way.
⏳
“TIME FEEDS ON US. WE ARE FOOD FOR TIME”
In our visible world, time moves forward, but what about history? Ephemeral life in eternal time thrives on memories, the good ones, and the bad ones, some happy and some unhappy.
⏳
“THE PAST GROWS LIKE A WEED”
Shabbily dressed, mystery man Gaustine is a geriatric psychiatrist. He builds a shelter, a Time Shelter for treating patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Every floor is dedicated to a decade, capturing its zeitgeist fully. Eventually, more and more shelters come up everywhere. Even countries start choosing their happy decades.
⏳
“HAPPY COUNTRIES ARE ALL ALIKE; UNHAPPY COUNTRY IS UNHAPPY IN ITS OWN WAY”
The author gives us a brief history of many countries in Europe, giving instances of the impacts of war, political turmoil, old movies, and songs.
⏳
I love the quote “…SUDDENLY THE ADS HAVE BECOME THE TRUE NEWS ABOUT THAT TIME...” I think as children all of us have grown up watching ads or listening to jingles and we remember them even now.
⏳
“WE NEEDED A PRECISE AND EXHAUSTIVE DESCRIPTION OF WHICH SCENT BRINGS WHICH MEMORY BACK…” Smells, scents, and fragrances linger in our memories. Though I remember my teacher’s face vaguely, I remember the smell of the perfume she used to wear.
⏳
The author has sprinkled anecdotes here and there, making the topic lighter. I found the character Runner very cute as he jumps the wall of this establishment to rescue the singer, John Lennon, the patient after having partially recollected that somebody would kill him.
⏳
“IN A WORLD MADE OF NAMES, FORGETTING THEM IS ITS NATURAL END”
Even though the patients had problems recollecting their own names, happy eras from their past brought smiles to their faces.
⏳
The Epigraph “ALL REAL PERSONS IN THIS NOVEL ARE FICTIONAL, ONLY THE FICTIONAL ARE REAL.” Says a lot about the book. I found this idea very unique and like the quote says, it was difficult to differentiate the two characters.
⏳
Overall, it’s a book that looks easy, has a lot to absorb and requires patience because there is a lot to mull over and assimilate. The wonderful translation made me forget that the book was originally written in Bulgarian.
⏳