I moved forward, out of the blackest sleep, to find myself surrounded by doctors . . . American doctors.
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Time's Arrow | 
I moved forward, out of the blackest sleep, to find myself surrounded by doctors . . . American doctors.
pickFew people lead lives that are remarkable from beginning to end. Especially if they have a secret, something unforgivable in their past. Then they guard that secret by being ordinary, unnoticeable, boring. While this novel had a fabulous concept - telling a man‘s life from end to beginning, building towards the atrocity in youth - it means one has to slog through many boring pages with the secret long since guessed and the effect is anticlimactic.
Took a little trip up to a second hand book shop today. Going to try and acquire all the O'Farrells, read an interview with Martin Amis the other day which reminded me how much I enjoyed the tagged book and lo and behold there it was in the shop. The other was an impulse buy based purely on the cover and the fact it's in good nick!
pickMind bending and captivating from start to finish!
Time's arrow
The blind assassin
Day out of days
Plowing the dark
Both of mine started with Martin Amis books, weirdly enough... didn't realize before. I could do these all day and not get bored 😁
#spinepoetry #riotgrams @bookriot
Not book related 💕just sharing 💫
If you've heard that this is told in reverse chronology that's true, but it's also literally in reverse. Which leaves the narrator to make sense of things in this world: "Is it just me or is this a weird way to carry on? All life, for instance, all sustenance, all meaning (and a good deal of money) issue from a single household appliance: the toilet handle." #timeaftertime #augustgrrrl @Cinfhen
pickWow, what a mindblowing read this was. It describes life with a reversed chronology. And Amis works this out perfectly, and shockingly.
It is the story of the American doctor Tod Friendly, who keeps wondering about the meaning of life because doctors are the ones who demolish human bodies. He feels something is wrong, but later in life, when he gets younger, he becomes nazi doctor Odilo Unverdorben and then all makes sense. #1001books #manbooker
Just finished Time's Arrow. Reverse chronological disturbing.
pick#1001books
I have given this 3.5 stars it is definitely a book that makes you think I was however uncomfortable with the way the holocaust was treated when we got back in time to it. That said as we work our way backwards it is clear the holocaust did have an impact on Tod's life.
The life in reverse way of telling the story was intriguing but I found it jarring as I was concentrating more on technique than getting lost in the book.
#1001books
This is such a great description of the station at Treblinka it exists outside of the normal dimensions on Earth that is the only way happens can happen.
Just starting this one I have high hopes as I love narratives that mess with time.
#1001books
Insomnia reading. 📒📚💛
"They're always looking forward to going places they're just coming from, or regretting doing things they haven't yet done. They say hello when they mean goodbye."
#MartinAmis
#Novel
#ReverseChronology
#Shortlisted #BookerPrize
#WorldWar2 #Holocaust
Jo: "I was reading my Brilliant Friend and got stuck mid-puberty. I had to put it down. I asked my friend Colin Elzie and he recommended Time's Arrow for a little excitement. He said it plays with time and that it's a real page-turner. My general feeling about time is that I'm always running out of it. I don't sleep much. I'm always asking myself where am I, where should I be right now. I think this will be a good book for me."
