“Any story could be a comedy or a tragedy, depending on where you ended it. That was the magic, how the same story could be told in infinite ways.”
Alice Stern is turning forty and still working in an entry-level position at the admissions office, where she went to prep school in NYC. She begins to examine her life, relationships, and decisions. Since her father was a well-known science fiction author, Alice is familiar with the concept of time travel. Her birthday celebration kicks her into time travel mode, where she revisits her sixteenth birthday party, her teenage friends, and alternate paths in her life.
Although I don’t always favor alternate realities as part of the plot, this book was endearing. Alice has a deep fondness for her father, who is dying when we meet him in the novel. We find out that a science fiction novel he has written emphasizes the healthy, caring relationship he has had as a single father. Through the episodes, both father and daughter recognize that they are flawed human beings who have sought to do their best with each challenge life presents.
Time is a significant theme of the book. The dialog and narration contain expressions of time, allusions to time, and euphemisms that represent time. To quote from the text, “It’s not about the time but how you spend it. Where you put your energy.” While reading Emma Straub’s beautiful prose, I felt compelled to consider what adulthood means and how to determine whether we realize our dreams in various ways, sometimes only detectable upon reflection. Also, Straub makes an excellent case for accepting family, friends, and circumstances rather than continually exploring alternate realities in our minds. “Everything was relative, even time, maybe, especially time.”
