Terrace Story & The Ministry of Time
Terrace Story ~ Hilary Leichter
Terrace Story is a collection of linked short stories.
In the first story, Terrace, Annie, Edward, and their new baby, Rose live in a cramped city apartment. Annie feels that this tiny apartment is proof of her failures in life, because they cannot afford a bigger apartment. When Annie goes back to work after maternity leave, she meets up with co-worker Stephanie, who took care of Annie’s clients while she was out. Annie invites Stephanie over for dinner. While there, Stephanie opens a closet, which inexplicably opens onto a lovely terrace, complete with outdoor furniture and a view that does not match the reality (it faces the wrong direction). Annie and Edward pretend that the terrace has always been there, and they have a wonderful time outside, enjoying their meal in the expansive space. Alas, once Stephanie is gone, the terrace is as well.
In Folly, George and Lydia (baby Rose’s grown daughter) attend a funeral, but neither of them can really remember whose funeral it is. Lydia begins to focus on the idea of death, which is natural since her profession is writing scientific articles about extinct animals. When Lydia has their baby, the couple drifts apart. Affairs happen.
Remember Stephanie, from Terrace? Fortress is her story, and tells of her ability to expand space, and how it has shaped her life in ways profound and not, the gifts it has given her and the things that it has destroyed.
Cantilever tells the story of Rosie, who works on a space station in a future where we’ve messed up the Earth so much that people are now living in pods or on moons. Rosie is interviewing an older woman who is hoping to move to one of the pods. The older woman has connections to Annie, Rose, and Lydia.
Leichter is a beautiful writer, I felt like this book was full of subtext, beauty, and sorrow. I came away from it feeling like maybe I wasn’t smart enough to get all of what it was trying to teach me, but I enjoyed it anyway. My favorite stories were Terrace and Fortress, perhaps because they were the most straightforward. I might try to read it again, but maybe not the way I usually read physical books, which is in bed at night, where I don’t get much read before dozing off. Recommended, I think.
The Ministry of Time ~ Kaliane Bradley
This is a bonus review, because I just finished this book last week. If I don’t throw in a few extras, I’m going to end November still behind in my book reviews!
The British Government has obtained a Time Machine, and is experimenting with it to determine whether time travel is safe and how it might best be used. Their test is to find historical figures (not necessarily famous, but people who they know where, when, and how they died) and bring them to modern day London. There, they will do physical and mental tests upon them. Their end game? We’re not sure.
The Guinea pigs of this experiment, called ‘Expats’, are referred to by their year of death. They are each assigned a ‘Bridge’, who will live with them and help to acclimate them to the present day. The Expats, in order of death, are:
- Lieutenant Thomas Cardinham (1645) – A soldier extracted from the Battle of Noseby.
- Margaret Kemble (1665) – Poor woman extracted from the Great Plague of London. Tavern keeper? Barmaid? I don’t remember. She was a spicy delight.
- Anne Spencer (1793) – Woman extracted from the French Revolution.
- Commander Graham Gore (1847) – Royal Navy commander.
- Captain Arthur Reginald-Smyth (1916) – A soldier extracted from the Battle of the Somme.
Our narrator is the Bridge to 1847 (Graham Gore), who was a member on the doomed Franklin Expedition, based on a real life expedition in which all 129 members of the crew were lost while searching for the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The unnamed narrator is a half Cambodian, half British translator in the British Government, who translates from Cambodian to English. As the child of an immigrant herself, and as someone who often ‘passes’ but not always, she understands the feeling of ‘otherness’, and I think this understanding helps her identify with the Expats, who are definitely confused and confounded, delighted and horrified by modern sensibilities and conveniences.
I liked this book a lot, though it seemed to go from rom-com love story to espionage thriller fairly abruptly toward the end. That’s OK, recommended anyway for a fun read with some moments of lovely writing.
24 Comments
iHanna
Love the cover of both these books, and hhe titles. I want to explore both as well, thanks for the recommendations.
Wishing you a happy weekend.
J
Thanks IHanna!
Jenny
I’ve never heard of Terrace Story, but it sounds good. I don’t usually read short stories though. I’ve definitely heard of The Ministry of Time, and I want to read it! I didn’t realize there was a rom-com aspect to it though, hmm.
J
Jenny, I’m not generally a big fan of short stories either. I feel like I just get to know a character and then it’s over. I liked these, though, at least some of them.
Diane
I loved The Ministry of Time – I thought it was a good combination of entertaining and thoughtful. I’m not really into political/espionage/thriller type books, but by then I was really sucked into the story that I just kept reading.
J
I was glad that the espianage type storyline came in late, because I’m not big on those either. I never feel like I can follow what is going on, even in a movie.
Tierney
I really like The Ministry of Time. If you liked the premise of magical British bureaucracy departments, I recommend The Eyre Affair Series by Fforde and The Rook series by O’Malley. The Eyre Affair has to do with a British literary society staffed by the characters and background administrators in books and how they make sure that characters don’t go missing. When one does, the big questions are…how and why? The Rook series is more of a spy agency in charge of people/non-people with magical powers and there’s something rotton in the state of Denmark!
J
I’m not generally big into this type of book, or so I thought. I really liked this one, though, so maybe I will check those out!
Alexandra
Both of these sound like really unusual reads and a little out there though I like the sound of Terrace Story for the interconnecting stories. The second sounds very SciFi and maybe worth getting out the library. Either way, I’ve added them to my library list.
J
I think almost all books are best gotten from the library! I bought a physical copy of Terrace Stories, because I love bookstore shopping. The Ministry of Time I listened to via the library.
Ally Bean
How is it that you didn’t major in English in college? You do wonderful book reviews and read such a variety of novels. As always I’m intrigued by your choices.
J
Ally, thank you for the complement! While I was not an English Major, I do have a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature, which is books from around the world instead of US and UK. I LOVED it. Well, writing papers was never much fun, but I loved reading such a wide variety of literature.
Margaret
I admire how eclectic your reading is! I’m embarrassed to admit that I mostly stick to mysteries and my Book Club reads (usually literary) and don’t often venture into other territory. I used to–what’s happened to my brain?
J
LOL, read what you want! I don’t think of my reading as being eclectic. I mostly like literary fiction, with some lighter fare thrown in. I don’t read non-fiction very often, my brain nods off.
Tammy
Thank you for these beautiful reviews ~ now I’m intrigued with Terrace Story and I shall seek it out!
J
I hope you like it!
Ernie
I’m laughing at “I wasn’t smart enough to get all of what it was trying to teach me.” I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but I just don’t enjoy movies with fantasy stuff, so the whole terrace that only appears when their friend arrives? I’m sure it’s well done, but ugh – I don’t think I’ll like it. I really like the cover though. I’m very much like commenter Margaret. I rarely have time to read books that aren’t for my Book Club, and if I do (I don’t usually seek out mysteries like Margaret) I tend to read memoir or historical fiction or books that don’t have sci fi or fantasy components. I guess I’m boring that way. 😉
J
Probably these are not books for you Ernie. I say, we should all only read what we like, life is too short!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
The ministry of time is on my TBR for month but I have not yet snatched a copy. maybe it will be a chirstmas wish. We’lls see. I love time travel stories so this is a must read for me.
J
Our library has a feature where if you’re not ready for a book when it’s your turn, you can let the next person have it first. I think that’s what happened here, because I wasn’t supposed to get it for a couple more weeks.
Melissa
I enjoyed The Ministry of Time. Terrace sounds intriguing.
J
I’m glad you liked it, I did too!
Maya
Terrace Story sounds so intriguing… I read your review three times to make sure I was getting it right… wonder how many times I’ll have to read the stories to really get them?!? A book for summer, I think.
J
I liked it, and I think I will need to read it again to understand some of it. 🙂