#26 Time Shelter, by Gueorgui Gospodinov

 


Booker Prize:  WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2023

Plot Time and Place:  It's complicated.

Opening sentence:  "At one point they tried to calculate when time began, when exactly the earth had been created."

Plot summary:  A "clinic for the past" run by an enigmatic therapist offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer's sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time to a familiar, safer, happier moment.

Review:  What a great book. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I was in for a ride. And what a ride! I was hooked from the beginning. The premise is very interesting, and it raises questions about personal and national identity, about time, about nostalgia.

 It also made me think about the stories, or narratives, that people and nations tell themselves (which may or may not be true). The writing style has echoes of Borges, Mann, and Kafka. This book makes you think. If you were around in the 80's and 90's, it feels very close to home (even if you're not from Eastern Europe).

Rating:  5/5







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