One of the most satisfying stories to read about those that involve someone taking a leap of faith to find out what the universe has in store for them. When in spite of what others say, this someone trudges on their own path, and does not waver. A Different Time is such a story – about Keith’s faith in what he is seeing and hearing on the video tapes he found at a flea market. Even when others around him do not believe him, and his life is falling apart, he does not stop looking for more opportunities to connect with Lindsey. Before I tell you more about this sweet story, take a look at the gorgeous cover and synopsis.
Keith Nolan falls in love with a remarkable young woman from the past, talking to him on a home video she recorded in 1989. To keep their conversation going, he must find more of her tapes—while forces work against them both, and time is running out.
As part of The Write Reads‘ Blog Tour for A Different Time by Michael Hill, I had the opportunity to read and review this amazing book. My friend, Noly from The Artsy Reader , had an important role to play during the draft-stage of this story and I would like to give her a shoutout for telling me about it. 🙂
The Short Take – From Goodreads
A Different Time is a story about love, having faith in oneself and destiny. Keith is a comic-book collector and, ever since his parents passed away in a car accident, he has dedicated all his energy in completing his father’s X-men collection. While browsing at a flea market, he comes across a tape with an intricate pattern on it. On watching the tape, he makes the discovery that Lindsey, the girl who recorded it in 1989, can hear him!
Thus begins an adventure to find the remaining tapes that Lindsey made and, in spite of what the world may think, pursuing the woman that Keith has fallen in love with after just a handful of conversations.
This book was a nice change from the sci fi and literary fiction that I have been reading. It covered a number of themes including the love for art and comic books, but most importantly, trying to figure out what one really wants to do in life. Lindsey did eventually figure it out but I felt Keith’s side of the story, even though he is the main character, is overshadowed by his need to find the rest of the tapes and see Lindsey. This isn’t about him finding himself and his purpose/pursue his passion – this story is about Lindsey. I wish I knew more about what he ended up doing after his search was over and what became of him. What did he do with the skills of imagination that he learned from Lindsey? What did it mean to relocate?
The Long Take – Themes for Thought
Through his characters in A Different Time, Michael Hill led me to think deeply about three main ideas:
On Journalling
Lindsey starts to keep a video log of her life to help her make sense of her thoughts and her situation. She has learned about The Artists’s Way, the course and book by Julia Cameron, which aims at getting creative juices flowing. Drawing and journalling keep her focused and . relax her at the same time.
In the many conversations that I have been fortunate to have with authors, journalling holds an important part in their daily routine. It helps them tap into their emotions as well as imagination, with the sole commitment of producing something for themselves. As I got to know more about Lindsey, Buster Benson’s, author of Why are we Yelling?: The Art of Productive Disagreement, words came back to me.
Write stuff that only you could write. Work through expectations about fame and success and be kind to yourself when all of that takes a lot longer than you had originally thought.
Buster, my blog post Writing Regularly: Getting into the your head
On Love for the Arts
Lindsey has a love for painting and illustration along with her writing career. Keith, on the other hand, collects comics and plays video games. Arts are a part of our lives in many forms and Lindsey and Keith portray the many flavours in which we, humans, enjoy the arts.
These pieces that we create or the collections that we cherish are not just material objects. They have a meaning bigger than their face value.
For Keith, his father’s X-men comics collection is a quest that he must fulfill, no matter what the cost. For Lindsey, the trees bring her calmness and give her the courage to soar high into the sky. Though she seems tiny compared to these massive giants, they give her imagination wings. They continue to remind her by their existence that there is no end to what she is capable of doing because when she finds peace in her heart, she is able to create wonderful things.
On the Power of Faith and Love
In her book, Secrets to Being Amazing: What Confident People Don’t do, Denise Wijayaratne explains the importance of accepting who one truly is and being one’s own master. Keith doesn’t quite know what he wants to do in life but the determination with which he follows his heart is an admirable quality. Even thought Keith doesn’t necessarily come out as confident through this book, thinking back now, he is a strong character.
I mention in my #bookthoughts of Secrets to Being Amazing that confident people take others’ opinions into consideration, match them up against their own values, and then acted upon. Or not. Keith does just that – he investigates what could possibly be letting him talk to Lindsey and often, as expected, people don’t believe him, but he sticks to what he knows he has experienced and continues with his quest of finding the rest of Lindsey’s tapes and her.
If you have already read this book, then you are probably wondering what about the fact that Lindsey and Keith are separated by 30 years, and that he can only talk to her through the cassettes? Kriti! You only briefly mentioned the magic of the tapes and the strong connection between two people that have interacted in this magical way!
Well, here’s the truth:
I have learned that in the realm of magical realism, where ordinary things are extra-ordinary, it is best not to explain how and why something happens. 😉
Thank you for reading my #bookthoughts on A Different Time. 🙂 Stay tuned for my interview with Michael Hill (available on the 18th). Meantime, be sure to visit other bookblogs for their reviews of the book.
If you are looking for a quick escape into a light romance, aspects of magical realism and beautiful narrative about nature, this is great pick! If you are anything like me, asking questions and thinking a couple moves ahead of Keith himself, or an avid reader of the genres I usually read, the conclusion might feel like it is falling short (but more on that in the forthcoming interview). In any case, you will surely derive some pleasure in the form of light reading with A Different Time.
** A Different Time is available in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Let’s continue the book-discussion in the comments! **
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Cover image: Photo by Arnaud Mesureur on Unsplash
Image of tape: Photo by Gabriel Petry on Unsplash
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