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Discovered millennia ago, the time space is a library filled with shelves upon shelves of books. The books contain memories of those who have died. Only a few people know about it and can access it: living timekeepers who have watches specially made to open doors in and out.
In 1938 in Nuremberg, Lisavet Levy is 11 years old. Her father, a watchmaker who not only can access the time space himself but crafts watches for select others to do so, is a Jew and in danger. One night, he shoves his daughter into the time space and goes off to try to protect her brother. But he never returns for her, thanks to the events of that fateful Kristallnacht, so Lisavet is trapped in the time space. She ends up spending years there, outside of time. She stays busy by visiting many times and places through all the memories stored in the books.
What she notices very soon after her arrival is that timekeepers are entering the space and burning books: obliterating memories to maintain their preferred versions of history. Lisavet does all she can to salvage the books and prevent these losses.
Her life takes a turn in 1949, when an American timekeeper enters the space. Ernest Duquesne shows her that the world she has left behind may be worth going back to. What happens between them will have repercussions on time itself.
In 1965, 16-year-old Amelia Duquesne is grieving the loss of her uncle Ernest, who has been killed in the time space. After his funeral, a CIA agent who had worked with Ernest approaches her and says she needs her help to find a special book of memories. Entering the space with Ernest’s watch, Amelia quickly learns that all is not as she’s been told. She’s not sure whom to trust or how to proceed with her knowledge and access to the space.
The story in The Book of Lost Hours goes between 1938 and 1965 and some years in between, and between the perspectives of Lisavet and Amelia. Readers see some of the big picture of the story that they do not, but then they also see more pieces slotting into place as these and other important characters do. Then the question becomes: how can it possibly be resolved? Can these individuals who have been affected by time itself find happiness inside the regular flow of time?
The Book of Lost Hours is thought-provoking, as it shows political groups trying to snuff out information and control the narrative of history, which is certainly not unique to the specific time periods in this story. It is a romance, and a story about the powerful love of family.
This novel has gotten a lot of buzz, and rightly so, for it is a sweeping story that packs an emotional punch. It’s especially impressive for a debut novel. I’m not sure how I feel about the very last little chapter of the book; I’d enjoy chatting about that with other readers. And that’s a good thing. So, it’s a nice choice for a book club, and it was chosen by “Good Morning America,” after all.
Some books that share some similar threads are The Midnight Library and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. (And interestingly enough, Addie LaRue‘s author, V.E. Schwab, wrote a young adult book years ago called The Archived, which has a very similar premise: memories of the dead are stored in books.)
Rated: Mild. It’s kind of on the line of mild and moderate, though. Profanity includes about 7 instances of moderate profanity, 25 uses of mild language, and a dozen instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes a number of scenes that only include kissing and sometimes mention of removal of clothing but no details past that. Violence includes some instances of shootings and some injuries with other weapons, with mentions of blood.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
