A review by serendipitysbooks
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov

challenging mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

What to say about Time Shelter, winner of this years International Booker Prize, that hasn’t already been said? For me it wasn’t a story to sink into. Plot and character are not the main focus. Rather it is a book about ideas - especially time and memory at both the personal and national levels. What started as a story about a new way of helping people with Alzheimers - rooms replicating different historical eras so people could be immersed in whichever era they felt safest and most comfortable in - changed into a book dealing with European history, nationalism, patriotism, and the problems with nostalgia, with looking back to the past with rose-tinted glasses, particularly at a national and societal level. What might be good for dementia patients is anything but for society as a whole. At times I didn’t feel clever enough to read it, and I know I would discover more if I were to reread it.
It’s a book with plenty of layers and real depth, rich with intellectual meat and philosophical musings, and very timely given Brexit, MAGA and the like. A very worthy Booker winner.

Content Warnings