The Concept of Time

I tend to pick up random books in charity shops, and this was one of them. The Time Keeper is a very engrossing book and ergo I read through it quite quickly, and the concept is quite unique.

A man begins to track time, he is the first to do so. Those who control the world are not happy, humanity now obsesses over time unlike any other species. A deer does not worry about being late, a human runs their life to the tick of a clock. A timepiece as it’s heartbeat.

As a punishment for his crime, the man who began to track time is trapped for all time. Left to listen to the desires of the human race for one more second, one more moment. Thousands of years pass, and the man is taken from his prison and placed back on the surface of the Earth to assist two humans with two very different aims. He must observe their lives, and change their hearts.

This concept of why on earth we track time is something that I’ve thought about before, so it was really interesting to see it written out in a novel format and to see how Mitch Albom dealt with it. I loved the section that was at the very start, with a “prehistoric” man beginning to track time and the world around him. It was also interesting to then see this applied to the modern world and see it in a more easily relatable context.

If you’re interested in this infrequently discussed topic, this will be a book you enjoy. I didn’t give it 5*, but it’s still a great book and one I’m glad I’ve read.

The Information Officer

I picked this book up completely at random when I was volunteering at the BHF (British Heart Foundation) in my first year of University. They had a book section which I got volunteers discount on so I ended up buying lots of books which I shouldn’t have! I only picked this up at first as it was set within the time period of WWII, which will make me pick up just about any book. I ended up enjoying the book a lot more than I thought I was going to. Set during the war, but not within mainland Europe and with many side plots which aren’t usually explored, it’s a different story to what I’ve been used to and one which will draw you in. We follow our main character within his deployment and the learning curve he goes on about life on this island and also life during war times. I loved the realistic approach to this book, with the events not being overly unrealistic like some other pieces of war-based fiction I have read. This was a surprisingly good book for a random charity shop (thrift shop/op shop) find and I’m looking forward to reducing my huge tbr pile so that I can go charity shop hunting again!