Just finished Time’s Mouth by Edan Lepucki.
This was the first of Lepucki’s books I’ve read, and while I loved her style, I know fully that this is not a book for everyone. Her pace is quick and makes for a very quick read (even at 400 pages).
Marking spoiler for all information that isn’t on the book jacket.
This is a book about California, family trauma as it’s passed down, and about time travel. But it’s also about mysticism, cult mentality, and how quickly traumatic things can be come normalized. It’s a very about California book: SF in the 50s-60s, Santa Cruz pre-UCSC, LA in the 80s-90s. The time travel aspect is personal and limited to only certain characters but other characters can feel its affects.
The book is a little hefty, but I think it was needed to flesh out the characters and give them rounded emotions and motivations. And you need to make it through to the end to see how everything clicks together.
My only complaint is the end had a slightly too convenient and unexplained reunion. The ending was fine and needed, but my logical brain wanted explanation of the how.
This was just published in August 2023, so it’s recent, but anyone else out there have thoughts?
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edit: for spoiler note
by Art_and_the_Park1998