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A review by chrissie_whitley
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
5.0
This! Yes! This is a time travel novel of sheer perfection.
A time-travel mystery melding with a wide-reaching character study. I'm flabbergasted. The Psychology of Time Travel was a gordian knot balanced faultlessly with an endless loop, wherein everything ties back into itself. Mascarenhas has written a wonderfully nuanced and brilliantly executed book that I could easily see myself revisiting again and again.
To try and summarize this book properly would require a dinner, a bottle of red wine, some great food, and everyone's undivided attention. I mean...give me the proper amount of elbow room. But, suffice it to say, that cannot be delivered here. Instead, just know that there is a complete cast of characters that is somehow so full but never overwhelming.
Mascarenhas begins with a proper opener by introducing the reader to the four female pioneers of time travel: Barbara Heresford, Margaret Norton, Grace Taylor, and Lucille Waters. Just as they are achieving the success for which they've worked so hard, Barbara has a breakdown in front of the press. Faced with the risk of upsetting the entire future of time travel, the other three pioneers oust Barbara from the project—permanently severing all ties to her.
What follows is truly an audaciously intricate passage through time—just not a direct path. Mascarenhas bounces around on several forward moving timelines. Along with a smattering from other times, the three major ones take us through events from the late 1960s through the early half of the 1970s with the pioneers; then with Ruby Rebello in 2017; and with Odette Sophola in 2018.
The older of the trio of main timelines guides the reader through the inception of time travel, the opening of its governing body, the Conclave—run by Margaret Norton, and its early beginning years. We get to know each early traveler and pioneer in stops and starts—including Barbara. The later timelines, nearer our own, reveal themselves as mysteries of sorts for Ruby and Odette to explore separately—and simultaneously considering the time traveling aspect. Ruby's involves mysterious information and uncovering and deciphering the proper clues, while Odette's actually involves the case of an unknown victim of a homicide. Odette discovers the body of an elderly woman and is unable to rest without combing through the facts and discovering the truth for herself. All ending with such a delightfully insane trial that I read it through twice.
The plot unfolds in a fantastically subtle and organic way, despite its nonlinear construction, even down to the characters’ last names, their timelines, and their role in the story itself. Boasting fluid storytelling and unchangeable plot points, this book is as captivating as it is complex. The utter uniqueness of The Psychology of Time Travel made me want to start the book over immediately.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
A time-travel mystery melding with a wide-reaching character study. I'm flabbergasted. The Psychology of Time Travel was a gordian knot balanced faultlessly with an endless loop, wherein everything ties back into itself. Mascarenhas has written a wonderfully nuanced and brilliantly executed book that I could easily see myself revisiting again and again.
To try and summarize this book properly would require a dinner, a bottle of red wine, some great food, and everyone's undivided attention. I mean...give me the proper amount of elbow room. But, suffice it to say, that cannot be delivered here. Instead, just know that there is a complete cast of characters that is somehow so full but never overwhelming.
Mascarenhas begins with a proper opener by introducing the reader to the four female pioneers of time travel: Barbara Heresford, Margaret Norton, Grace Taylor, and Lucille Waters. Just as they are achieving the success for which they've worked so hard, Barbara has a breakdown in front of the press. Faced with the risk of upsetting the entire future of time travel, the other three pioneers oust Barbara from the project—permanently severing all ties to her.
What follows is truly an audaciously intricate passage through time—just not a direct path. Mascarenhas bounces around on several forward moving timelines. Along with a smattering from other times, the three major ones take us through events from the late 1960s through the early half of the 1970s with the pioneers; then with Ruby Rebello in 2017; and with Odette Sophola in 2018.
The older of the trio of main timelines guides the reader through the inception of time travel, the opening of its governing body, the Conclave—run by Margaret Norton, and its early beginning years. We get to know each early traveler and pioneer in stops and starts—including Barbara. The later timelines, nearer our own, reveal themselves as mysteries of sorts for Ruby and Odette to explore separately—and simultaneously considering the time traveling aspect. Ruby's involves mysterious information and uncovering and deciphering the proper clues, while Odette's actually involves the case of an unknown victim of a homicide. Odette discovers the body of an elderly woman and is unable to rest without combing through the facts and discovering the truth for herself. All ending with such a delightfully insane trial that I read it through twice.
The plot unfolds in a fantastically subtle and organic way, despite its nonlinear construction, even down to the characters’ last names, their timelines, and their role in the story itself. Boasting fluid storytelling and unchangeable plot points, this book is as captivating as it is complex. The utter uniqueness of The Psychology of Time Travel made me want to start the book over immediately.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.