What is a time travel story? Perhaps our fascination with them comes from exploring the mysterious places where science meets human experience. Or maybe it makes us fantasize about something that rules our lives, influences our decisions, and gives us everything, only to take it back again: control over the passage of time. I don't know. Whatever the reason, our obsession with such stories isn't going anywhere.
I ask this question in my upcoming novel, The Day Tripper. What would you do if you woke up every morning to a series of randomly different days in your life? This is the situation 20-year-old Alex Dean finds himself in after his perfect night ends in disaster in 1995 . Destined to never know where, or even when, each new night will take him, he follows his path for many years and finds out what happens after that fateful night. We have to piece together what happened. He will realize that even in a life without order, his decisions can have an immense impact.
This is another twist on a time travel story, inspired in no small part by my favorite genre of novels. The following eight are the best, as far as I'm concerned.
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Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Ursula Todd was born in 1910 and died within minutes. In Chapter 2, her life begins again. This time, she survives until the age of four, when she is swept away on her family's holiday. We follow Ursula's development through the 20th century as disasters inevitably befall her, including the Spanish Flu, German bombers, and a slippery roof. Every time her life starts again, she gets a hint of what happened before and a feeling that this is happening to her for a reason (which is true, but I won't spoil it here). plug).
This book is most notable as a study of how our lives would be different were it not for a few twists of fate. Like many of the best detective stories, Life After Life takes a big concept and uses it as a lens to focus on the vagaries of the human condition.
The 7 1/2 Death of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery with a body-hopping, time-looping detective, this novel is a work of genre-defying genius. Set in a stately mansion in the 1920s, the story sees the protagonist photographed in the middle of the night during his own birthday party. Reluctant Detective Aiden Bishop wakes up every morning in the body of a different party guest, and each new perspective gives him a chance to stop a murder before it happens. It's a pretty amazing concept, but there's more to Turton than that. Since this novel was first published in his 2018, Golden Age murder mysteries have experienced a resurgence. But there's no misplaced nostalgia here. Rather, the author has a clear perspective on the flaws of this era. With a wit reminiscent of Roald Dahl, he pokes fun at his characters' greed, recklessness, and abuse of privilege.
A smart, fun, and complex book. Don't try to figure out who the murderer is. It's going to drive you crazy.
The World Above by Femi Fadugba
Set in Peckham, south London, this young adult novel deftly combines urban realism with serious science. Sixteen-year-old Esso experiences terrifying visions of a gunfight that night when he collides with a Range Rover on his way to school. In an alternate timeline, a much older Esso (now a doctor and now blind) mentors Leah, a girl whose mother was tragically killed years earlier. Two stories intersect with a thrilling sense of time passing.
A physicist by trade, the novel was born out of Fadugba's desire to bring Einstein's theories to life, but he did so in a way that would never be ridiculed. In addition to the tight plot, readers will enjoy discussions about the idea that the faster you move through 3D space, the slower time moves, for example. The dialogue is in an authentic South London vernacular reminiscent of Top Boy. It's very clever and fascinating.
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut not only imparted a thousand pieces of wisdom that are still shared daily on social media, but he also wrote several books. Nothing embodies his trademark wit and ingenuity more than his 1969 novel Slaughterhouse Five. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is freed from the flow of time. As an American soldier, he finds himself traveling through the conflicts of the 20th century, sounding the horn. As far as I know, this is the first instance of block universe theory being used as a literary device. This is a fiercely anti-war novel, based on the author's own experiences in a German POW camp. In fact, the book was originally published under the subtitle “Children's Crusade, a Duty Dance with Death,” and subtly delves into the expectations of war that young people would sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their elders. Ta.
Funny, deep, and edgy, I love this book. And if you could judge the quality of a novel by how often it gets banned in schools, Slaughterhouse-5 would be among the best of all time.
Before the coffee gets cold Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This quirky novel tells the story of an underground cafe in Japan where patrons can travel through time. However, they have to sit in a certain seat, and nothing you do will change that now. Usually you have to wait for the ghost sitting in that seat to go to the toilet. Oh, and the only time they can travel is until the coffee gets cold. The story may adhere to its own rules, but the author pays no such attention to the generally accepted rules of novel writing. The book takes the form of his four short stories about time travel, interspersed with incidents between cafe staff, giving it a pleasant melodramatic feel.
It's a quick and moving read. However, if you want to know more, there have been three sequels since then, with another scheduled for release later this year.
“Summer of the Impossible” by Rowan Coleman
In this perfect example of a time-slip novel, English sisters Luna and Pia visit their mother's childhood home in Brooklyn to resolve the aftermath of her mother's death. It quickly becomes clear that something terrible has happened to their mother here. Luna finds herself traveling back and forth between the present day and her summer of 1977, where she befriends a young mother. She soon takes on a mission to reverse her mother's terrible fate, even if it means risking her future and her very existence.
It may touch on some dark themes, but the love story smoldering throughout, set against the backdrop of New York's Saturday Night Fever era, makes this a wonderfully exciting and uplifting read. .
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
“Why does absence make love grow stronger?” asks the female protagonist, Claire Abshire, in just three paragraphs. This sentence neatly sums up the soul of this modern classic. Because this is not a story about time travel, it's a story about love. Indeed, Claire's husband Henry has a tendency to disappear without warning, and she is doomed to land somewhere else naked and penniless. But this suffering allowed Niffenegger to construct a love story that we can all relate to. It is a longing, an uneasy feeling of not being in the same position as a loved one, a feeling of being bound together by some kind of fate or higher power.
It's hard to say anything about this absolute blockbuster that hasn't already been said. Except, perhaps, to convey the recent discovery that a sequel is in the works. It’s called “The Other Hubs” and I can’t wait!
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
Now, I'm going to take liberties with the definition of time travel here. Because this 2023 International Booker Prize winner of his has none of his sci-fi elements. This is the story of a Bulgarian therapist who sets up a clinic for Alzheimer's patients, consisting of rooms that perfectly recreate a bygone era, transporting patients back to the environment of their youth. It turns out to be very popular and soon perfectly healthy people will be checking themselves out for nostalgia. Eventually, all of Europe becomes obsessed with the past, and a referendum is held asking each country which decade they would like to return to.
It's a combination of time travel and political satire, but in a time of Brexit and calls to make our country great again, it's not an outlandish read.
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The Day Tripper by James Goodhand is available from MIRA Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.