A building stands the test of time because of how it's structured and a story is no different. Figuring out what happens in a story is important but I can't ever write a thing until I know how that the story is going to be put together. Using multiple timelines introduces complexity but it's also one of my favorite kinds of structure because it allows for epic storytelling in a dynamic way - we can transverse the years and see how the past and present (and sometimes future) all continue to impact each other in unexpected ways. Employing multiple timelines can be a sneaky way of throwing in some historical fiction in what might otherwise be a contemporary novel.
The year is 1937 and Andorra Kelsey – 7'11 and just over 320 pounds – is on her way to Hollywood to become a star. Hoping to escape both poverty and the ghost of her dead husband, she accepts an offer from the wily Rutherford Simone to star in a movie about the life of Anna Swan Told in parallel, Anna Swan's story unfurls. While Andorra is seen as a disgrace by an embarrassed family, Anna Swan is quickly celebrated for her unique size.
Joel Fishbane's The Thunder of Giants blends fact and fiction in a sweeping narrative that spans nearly a hundred years. Against the backdrop of epic events, two extraordinary women become reluctant celebrities in the hopes of surviving a world too small to contain them.
This was the first Vonnegut book I ever read and, as with lovers, you never forget your first. All of Vonnegut's books have cleverness and an inimitable style, but he's also a humanist and there's a striking morality that undercuts his satire and humor. Don't believe you bookseller: though technically sci-fi, Slaughterhouse-Five defies easy categorization and would be equally at home in plenty of genres. The weaving of fiction and autofiction is surprisingly modern while the anti-war themes remain sadly relevant. I also love the book purely for its craft. The key to a good multiple timeline story is to weave them all together so they have a chance to inform each other in exciting and unexpected ways.
A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece, “a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century” (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of the National Book Award finalist The Yellow Birds
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had…
I don't usually recommend reading plays without first seeing them on stage - remind that teacher trying to make you read Shakespeare that plays are meant to be performed - but Arcadia is such a strong script that I'm going to make an exception. It's one of Stoppard's greatest achievements (the other being Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) and it's so fiercely clever in the way it toys with its two storylines. One is set in 1809 and the other in 1993 and, naturally, the actions in the past end up influencing the ones in the future. The dialogue is a delight and Stoppard explores a vast array of intellectual ideas while never losing sight of the emotional truth of his characters. Still, if you can track down a production, make sure to check it out since, like any play, it only reaches its full potential when the actors, designers, and other artists all get involved.
In a large country house in Derbyshire in April 1809 sits Lady Thomasina Coverly, aged thirteen, and her tutor, Septimus Hodge. Through the window may be seen some of the '500 acres inclusive of lake' where Capability Brown's idealized landscape is about to give way to the 'picturesque' Gothic style: 'everything but vampires', as the garden historian Hannah Jarvis remarks to Bernard Nightingale when they stand in the same room 180 years later.
Bernard has arrived to uncover the scandal which is said to have taken place when Lord Byron stayed at Sidley Park.
This was one of those books I picked up early one night and read in one shot, a rare phenomenon for me in our age of distraction. It's a good way to experience the book because there's so much stream-of-consciousness and, while it has chapters, it's better not to break the flow. The book is complex and serves as a great companion piece to Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. However, you don't really need to know Mrs. Dalloway to appreciate this book (I didn't my first time through) and Cunningham skillfully weaves the various storylines together while drawing enough thematic connections to fill a few master's theses.
Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and Pen Faulkner prize. Made into an Oscar-winning film, 'The Hours' is a daring and deeply affecting novel inspired by the life and work of Virginia Woolf.
In 1920s London, Virginia Woolf is fighting against her rebellious spirit as she attempts to make a start on her new novel.
A young wife and mother, broiling in a suburb of 1940s Los Angeles, yearns to escape and read her precious copy of 'Mrs Dalloway'.
And Clarissa Vaughan steps out of her smart Greenwich village apartment in 1990s New York to buy flowers for a party…
The book's popularity since its publication is well-deserved. Owens does a terrific job intertwining the two timelines of the story as the life of Kyra, a "marsh girl" slowly starts to context to a murder investigation in which Kya becomes a suspect. As someone who loves looking at how stories are structured, the novel gave me the same pleasure that, I suppose, a composer must have when dissecting an elegant composition. The non-linear structure adds suspense and tension to the overall story and allows for plenty of strong surprises.
OVER 12 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE A NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
For years, rumours of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be…
Told across several decades, Makkai's book leaps between 2015 and 1980s Chicago, allowing for a poignant story that weaves the fictional characters with historical events, chiefly the 1980s AIDS crisis. Again, the book tells a compelling story written with elegant prose while also being a delight from a craft perspective. I love epic novels that take place over many years and the decision to tell the story in a non-linear fashion is a rewarding one when handled with this sort of skill.
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER
Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by Amy Poehler
"A page turner . . . An absorbing and emotionally riveting story about what it's like to live during times of crisis." -The New York Times Book Review
A dazzling novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an…
Maximilian Tundra is about to have an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
When a physical duplicate of him appears in his living room, wearing a tight-fitting silver lamé unitard and speaking with an English accent, Max knows something bad is about to happen. Bad doesn’t cover it. Max discovers he’s the only human being who can prevent the end of the world, and not just on his planet! In the multiverse, infinite Earths will be destroyed.
★★★★★ "Funny, yet deep, this is definitely worth venturing into the multiverse for."
Amazing Stories says: "Snarky as Pratchet, insightful as Stephenson, as full of scathing social commentary as Swift or Voltaire, and weirdly reminiscent of LeGuin, Alpha Max is the only multiverse novel you need this month, or maybe ever."
Maximilian Tundra is about to have an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
When a physical duplicate of him appears in his living room, wearing a tight-fitting silver lamé unitard and speaking with an English accent, Max knows something bad is about to happen. Bad doesn’t cover it. Max discovers…
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