An Ocean of Minutes
by Thea Lim
The premise of this book is that the US has been hit by a deadly flu pandemic.
Its 1981 and Frank has caught the virus and his girlfriend Polly is left with the difficult choice of risking everything, leaving him and taking a leap of faith into the future.
With the use of time travel, there are some trying to thwart the virus, but this comes at a high cost. Polly must sign up for a one-way-trip to the future and has to work of the cost of the trip to enable Frank to receive the lifesaving treatment he needs.
Polly arranges to meet Frank in Galveston, Texas of the future when she arrives in 1993. Unbeknownst to Polly there has been an administrative error and she is re-routed to 1998 and Frank is not at the meeting point.
This book is based around dual timelines, introducing the couple of Frank and Polly to us in 1979 when they first meet and begin their relationship together, alongside the alternative future Galveston of 1998 when Polly arrives after travelling through time.
Without giving spoilers, there was a moment during their first date which I did find somewhat difficult to understand why it was there or whether Polly's behaviour in that scenario was to give us some insight into her personality and how she will cope with her new life. There was also a secondary scene later on with Frank which also sadly fell a little flat, it was aimed to show his devotion to Polly in retreaving something from a previous relationship however, unfortunately felt a little forced and unbelievable.
It is however clear with the dual timelines, that Frank and Polly are devoted to one another yet the writing keeps you wondering if their destinies are ever going to reconnect with each other after such a time apart.
The premise definitely gives a hint at the sense of foreboding Thea is aiming for in this book yet the writing at times is slow and goes off on tangents not needed for the plot of the story.
In the early stages of the book extensive descriptions draw you in to what is inferred to as a dystopian America, a country that has sold its oil reserves and become a segregated nation from the US with a sole aim of creating a holiday resort based on the labour of the journeyman brought forward from their past life. The death toll is high from the events of the pandemic and along with Polly many struggle with the transition into the world they see before them.
After Polly's station in the new world is called into question due to an act of naive kindness for her boss, Polly struggles to keep her sanity and her hopes alive of finding Frank.
Friendships will eventually aid her in her journey to locate Frank but will she ever find him and can your relationship ever be the same after the lives they have led.
Despite the portrayal of this book not quite being what I had anticipated, I can see promise in Thea's literary style of writing. If I would have one criticism for her future works, I would ask that she work on the pacing of her narrative which I feel would enable the reader to be drawn in and relate on a stronger level with the plight of the characters.
I am interested to see how Thea's writing style develops in her later works and have given this book 3 stars as my good reads rating.
Please take the time to check out Thea's website below and visit my fellow tour members.
Thea Lim's Website
Thank you to Quercus for giving me the opportunity to take part in this tour and offer a fair and honest review of this title.
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