Scan barcode
vivekisms's review
5.0
Time Shelter is a sublime take on how we live, on how we have been living, and perhaps also about how we will live in the time to come. It is a book that most elegantly blends the past, the now, and the future, in its large-hearted vision of what it means to be human, of what we choose to live in a certain moment of time, and why we make the choices we do.
This book is everything I expected from it - nostalgia with a dash of contemporary, of what it means to live in the past, of dementia, of memory and the role it plays in our small lives - of what it means to be alive in a world that expects you to remember, when all you want to maybe do is forget. Of wanting to jump time and been given the opportunity to do that. Gaspodinov's writing is sublime - it is. It is everything and everywhere indeed all at once. I cannot put my finger on it but I love it so much - just spectacularly written and translated beautifully by Angela Rodel.
For me the characters don't matter, as much as what is going on - how years jump - decades whiz by, the joy of not wanting to keep track as a reader - of all the cultural references as years roll by - music, art, literature, movies, the works. Not to forget the role history will still play even if time is recreated and you are technically still in the present which is soon going to be the past. Absolutely spectacular! I hope it makes it to the shortlist.
This book is everything I expected from it - nostalgia with a dash of contemporary, of what it means to live in the past, of dementia, of memory and the role it plays in our small lives - of what it means to be alive in a world that expects you to remember, when all you want to maybe do is forget. Of wanting to jump time and been given the opportunity to do that. Gaspodinov's writing is sublime - it is. It is everything and everywhere indeed all at once. I cannot put my finger on it but I love it so much - just spectacularly written and translated beautifully by Angela Rodel.
For me the characters don't matter, as much as what is going on - how years jump - decades whiz by, the joy of not wanting to keep track as a reader - of all the cultural references as years roll by - music, art, literature, movies, the works. Not to forget the role history will still play even if time is recreated and you are technically still in the present which is soon going to be the past. Absolutely spectacular! I hope it makes it to the shortlist.
samdradee's review against another edition
4.0
honestly this book has two parts that are three stars, one part that is two stars, and one part that was five stars for the first half and four stars for the back half. so, make of that what you will.
simonlitton's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing. Starts as a whimsical and absurdly comic thought experiment, before finally, inevitably, turning into something much more serious by the end. Without hammering home its point it offers endless food for thought about memory, time, nationality, culture and mortality, but with a much lighter touch than that implies. Hugely impressive.
lubinka's review
This book was not my cup of tea. Too disjointed, a jumble of abstract ideas scatterred all over the place, socialist realism nostalgia, random history snippets. Or maybe it just went over my head, that's quite possible too. Either way, I just finished it simply because it was not too long.
But I sincerely think that Bulgarian authors who have their books read in English should make the effort to have the names of people and places pronounced without being butchered by the narrator. And I don't even mean Pazardzhik - that poor capital being called again and again Sofía was soooo annoying that I think it could have played a role in my general dissatisfaction.
But I sincerely think that Bulgarian authors who have their books read in English should make the effort to have the names of people and places pronounced without being butchered by the narrator. And I don't even mean Pazardzhik - that poor capital being called again and again Sofía was soooo annoying that I think it could have played a role in my general dissatisfaction.
philtor's review against another edition
3.0
The premise is good, I just had a hard time getting into it - it wasn't a book I couldn't put down, I had to kind of work at it. Maybe it's because there are a lot of cultural references I wasn't getting? (author is Bulgarian)
It seems to go from fiction to autobiography - or was that just author trying to make us think that?
It seems to go from fiction to autobiography - or was that just author trying to make us think that?
nataliewarren's review against another edition
3.0
Almost DNFed this one -- had high hopes because of the critical praise and stellar concept (in addition to my personal bias for stories showing the struggle of Alzheimer's patients), but found it to be very jumbled and didn't love the execution in general. Disappointed.
oblivione's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
a_serpent_with_corners's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Gets a bit on the nose in the second half, but I have to admire the dedication to making fun of the Swiss.
sonia_a_pinto's review against another edition
4.0
Gostei da leitura, mas não me arrebatou. A leitura foi muito lenta.
O tema é muito interessante, o que seria de nós sem a memória? Mas será que queremos voltar ao passado?
O tema é muito interessante, o que seria de nós sem a memória? Mas será que queremos voltar ao passado?