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Revision as of 19:49, 5 September 2008
, 19:49, 5 September 2008no edit summary
{{infobox
|title=Will You Be There?
|author=Guillaume Musso
|reviewer=Paul Harrop
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=An engaging, undemanding read with just enough credibility, suspense and invention to overcome the book's shaky premise.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Hardback
|pages=304
|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
|date=24 Jan 2008
|isbn=978-0340933718
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340933712</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0340933712</amazonus>
}}
Elliott Cooper, a 60 year-old surgeon from San Francisco, is doing
volunteer work in Cambodia. After selflessly operating on a child, he
receives a mysterious bottle of pills from a grateful relative of his
patient who has promised to grant his dearest wish. Elliott's wish is to
see the love of his life once more before he succumbs to the cancer that
is killing him.
The trouble is, his lover Ilena died 30 years previously. But the bottle
of pills provides the means to see her, because they enable him to
travel back in time. The novel alternates between the present (2006) and
1976. Short chapters, or sections of chapters, see Elliott as a
30-year-old confronting his aged self.
The ensuing novel tells an occasionally moving and often engaging story
without getting enmeshed in the inevitable paradoxes and dilemmas of
time travel. Although translated from the original French, the narrative
is clear and easy to follow.
But, as with any translated work, it is difficult to know where to
attribute praise or blame. In the latter category, I think the
translation might be responsible for the number of clichés, especially
in the early chapters, as well as the occasionally stilted dialogue.
This spoilt parts of the book for me and, along with a Mills-and-Boonish
sex scene, made it feel like an American TV soap, rather than the more
existential treatise that its author maybe intended - given his taste
for prefacing each chapter with quotes of varying degrees of profundity.
Nevertheless, despite the occasional linguistic bum note, I think the
translator got the tone right. The author had clearly decided not to let
credibility get in the way of a good story. He acknowledges the
problems, both scientific and moral, associated with going back in time,
but only in passing. His aim is to tell a compelling yarn. Probably
wisely, he does not engage with most of the intractable questions that
his story raises.
As such, most readers will take the book for what it is: a piece of
escapist entertainment. Sections and chapters are all headed with the
date in which they take place. We're even given the characters' ages
each time, just in case our basic maths is shaky. The references to pop
music and major world events are all well-known, if rather artificially
woven in.
It is, then, an efficient, rather than an inspired piece of work,
perhaps written with film adaptation in mind. The plot, despite its
far-fetched premise, contains few surprises, and most characters are
stereotypically perfect, rather than interestingly flawed. However, the
scenes are vividly drawn, and the central character
sufficiently-developed to enable a willing suspension of disbelief.
Despite a shaky start, the book is an accessible, undemanding read.
The jacket blurb suggests that it would be perfect for reading groups.
I'm sure it would provoke lively discussions in such gatherings, even if
they do conclude that it doesn't stand among the landmarks in the
time-travel genre.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If you enjoy the subject of time travel then you might enjoy [[The Time Traveler's Wife]] by Audrey Niffenegger.
{{amazontext|amazon=0340933712}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=Will You Be There?
|author=Guillaume Musso
|reviewer=Paul Harrop
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=An engaging, undemanding read with just enough credibility, suspense and invention to overcome the book's shaky premise.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Hardback
|pages=304
|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
|date=24 Jan 2008
|isbn=978-0340933718
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340933712</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0340933712</amazonus>
}}
Elliott Cooper, a 60 year-old surgeon from San Francisco, is doing
volunteer work in Cambodia. After selflessly operating on a child, he
receives a mysterious bottle of pills from a grateful relative of his
patient who has promised to grant his dearest wish. Elliott's wish is to
see the love of his life once more before he succumbs to the cancer that
is killing him.
The trouble is, his lover Ilena died 30 years previously. But the bottle
of pills provides the means to see her, because they enable him to
travel back in time. The novel alternates between the present (2006) and
1976. Short chapters, or sections of chapters, see Elliott as a
30-year-old confronting his aged self.
The ensuing novel tells an occasionally moving and often engaging story
without getting enmeshed in the inevitable paradoxes and dilemmas of
time travel. Although translated from the original French, the narrative
is clear and easy to follow.
But, as with any translated work, it is difficult to know where to
attribute praise or blame. In the latter category, I think the
translation might be responsible for the number of clichés, especially
in the early chapters, as well as the occasionally stilted dialogue.
This spoilt parts of the book for me and, along with a Mills-and-Boonish
sex scene, made it feel like an American TV soap, rather than the more
existential treatise that its author maybe intended - given his taste
for prefacing each chapter with quotes of varying degrees of profundity.
Nevertheless, despite the occasional linguistic bum note, I think the
translator got the tone right. The author had clearly decided not to let
credibility get in the way of a good story. He acknowledges the
problems, both scientific and moral, associated with going back in time,
but only in passing. His aim is to tell a compelling yarn. Probably
wisely, he does not engage with most of the intractable questions that
his story raises.
As such, most readers will take the book for what it is: a piece of
escapist entertainment. Sections and chapters are all headed with the
date in which they take place. We're even given the characters' ages
each time, just in case our basic maths is shaky. The references to pop
music and major world events are all well-known, if rather artificially
woven in.
It is, then, an efficient, rather than an inspired piece of work,
perhaps written with film adaptation in mind. The plot, despite its
far-fetched premise, contains few surprises, and most characters are
stereotypically perfect, rather than interestingly flawed. However, the
scenes are vividly drawn, and the central character
sufficiently-developed to enable a willing suspension of disbelief.
Despite a shaky start, the book is an accessible, undemanding read.
The jacket blurb suggests that it would be perfect for reading groups.
I'm sure it would provoke lively discussions in such gatherings, even if
they do conclude that it doesn't stand among the landmarks in the
time-travel genre.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If you enjoy the subject of time travel then you might enjoy [[The Time Traveler's Wife]] by Audrey Niffenegger.
{{amazontext|amazon=0340933712}}
{{commenthead}}
