Tags
class, feminism, gender, Holly Williams, Politics, relationships, sex
This is a book that I never would have picked up were it not for an event organised by my work book club, which is what book clubs are all about really. Most of the books that we read aren’t on my list beforehand, but reading them together and discussing them opens up different spaces and builds a community of readers where we get to learn more about ourselves and each other. What time is love? is about Albert and Violet who share a connection that spans lifetimes. Born on the same day in three different generations they always meet first aged 20 and something binds them together, but the pressures of each age and their differing backgrounds also bare down on them.
I enjoyed the exploration of the different time periods and two people who remained at their cores the same, but expressed those core selves differently in the changing cultures they lived through and were impacted by. The book also delved into the nature of relationships, the things we open up honestly with each other and those we hide or make assumptions about, and the need to both express and compromise our individual selves to make a true coupling work. Whilst they were capable of being frustrating at times, I warmed to both the lead characters at others and wanted them to find a path that honoured their destiny. But did they? An engaging and enjoyable read in parts, but not a joyful one.
Synopsis
1947. 1967. 1987.
When Violet and Albert first meet, they are always twenty.
Three decades.
Over the years, Violet and Albert’s lives collide again and again: beneath Oxford’s spires, on the rolling hills around Abergavenny, in stately homes and in feminist squats. And as each decade ends, a new love story begins…
Two people.
Together, they are electric and the world is glittering with possibility. But against the shifting times of each era, Violet and Albert must overcome differences in class, gender, privilege and ambition. Each time their lives entwine, it will change everything.
One moment is all it takes…
As their eyes first meet, for a split-second it’s as if the clocks have stopped. Nothing else matters. Yet whichever decade brings them together, Violet and Albert are soon forced to question: what if they met the right person at the wrong time?
A sweeping, nostalgic and dazzlingly immersive love story, perfect for fans of The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett, Miss You by Kate Eberlen and Normal People by Sally Rooney.
Live Many Lives 