Time Was

April 2, 2018
Veteran speculative author McDonald (the Luna series) entrances readers with this multigenerational novella of two time-crossed lovers who can only meet for brief moments separated by several years. An old, anonymous poetry book thrown into the rubbish in modern-day London contains an obliquely written love letter that leads narrator Emmett to search for Tom and Ben, two lovers who met during World War II but were forced by mysterious circumstances to wander alone across time and space. The threads McDonald weaves together are equally compelling. Emmett’s obsessive quest provides a colorful frame for the clues of the lovers’ appearances. The sections following Tom and Ben vividly portray the hopes of youth torn apart by wars and the mystery of their separations. Every locale McDonald includes, be it modern London or WWII-era southeast England, is infused with a deep sense of place. The ending’s predictability is washed away by beautiful writing that mixes Emmett’s excitement with melancholy (“I had touched an echo, basked in the afterglow”). Fans of science fiction who enjoy a dash of history and legend will savor this tender story.

March 15, 2018
A slacker used-book dealer is sifting through the Dumpster behind yet another shuttered London bookstore. He is searching for his specialty?military history?but he also grabs a book of poetry, Time Was, by a writer only identified as E. L. Inside is a love letter from Tom, a soldier, to Ben, who was maybe a spy. He sells the book but keeps the letter to try to trace its origins. Using connections forged on social media and a friend in the Imperial War Museum, he finds Tom and Ben in 1940s Egypt, then in 1915 Norfolk, then in 1990s Bosnia, always together and always seemingly the same age. This tiny novel packs a huge emotional punch as layers upon layers are revealed. McDonald's (Planesrunner, 2011) gift for storytelling is on full display as he captures the emotional nuances of a decades-long love while exploring issues of military and scientific might and the state of the contemporary book industry. The very British references and regionalisms will appeal to even the most sf-averse Anglophiles, especially those who enjoy Netflix's Black Mirror.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 15, 2018

Antiquarian book dealer Emmett Leigh constantly searches for tomes published during World War II to sell online. One find, a nondescript volume of poetry, Time Was, nets him a curiosity: an old love letter from Tom to Ben. Drawn to discovering more about these men, Emmett posts the letter online and finds the trail starts in the remnants of a collection owned by Thorn Hildreth. Together Emmett and Thorn pursue the story and discover that the men disappeared after a secret project went wrong; whispers of reappearances across the decades hint that the couple may be lost to each other in time. Now Emmett is faced with finding the truth about these star- and time-crossed lovers, which will reveal his own destiny. VERDICT McDonald's (Luna: Wolf Moon) elegant and delightedly romantic time travel story brings readers deep into a mystery that interweaves alternating narrators and time lines and leads to an exciting, timeless finish.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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