All Our Wrong Todays

by Elan Mastai

*** The Radio 2 Book Club Choice ***

When Tom loses the love of his life, time travel seems like the only answer. . . what could possibly go wrong?

Elan Mastai's breakthrough novel brings a whole new dimension to a classic love story.

'Sharp, funny writing in a mind-bending, time-travelling junket of a novel' Daily Mail

So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have.

That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here, in the crappy world we do have.

But it never should've turned out like this. And it's all my fault - well, me and to a lesser extent my father.

And, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope.

In both worlds, she's the love of my life. But only a single version of her can exist.

I have one impossible chance to fix history's greatest mistake and save this broken world.

Except it means saving one Penelope and losing the other forever - and I have absolutely no idea which to choose . . .
Praise for All Our Wrong Todays

'Witty, original, funny, charming - a great story!'
Joe Haddow BBC Radio 2 Book Club

'This lovely new novel is It's a Wonderful Life meets The Jetsons. Tom who lives in an alternate 2016 where all the sci-fi fantasies of the 1950s are a reality, suddenly finds himself stranded in our 2016, where he rediscovers his family, friends, and self.' BUZZFEED

'Imagine a world where 2016 was glorious: no Bowie, Brexit, Bake-Off, Bannon. That's where All Our Wrong Todays begins... Ambitious, funny, wry and philosophical, it's not surprising that author Mastai started off his life as a screenwriter (All Our Wrong Todays has already been picked up by uber-producer Amy Pascal) because this a book that has the grand scope of sweeping cinema peppered throughout' Emerald Street

'A thrilling tale of time travel and alternate timelines with a refreshingly optimistic view of humanity's future'
Andy Weir, author of international bestseller The Martian

'All Our Wrong Todays is elaborately constructed and incredibly emotionally intelligent; it's a story with super high stakes that genuinely makes you feel every part of Tom's awful predicament' SciFiNow

'A novel about time travel has no right to be this engaging. A novel this engaging has no right to be this smart. And a novel this smart has no right to be this funny. Or insightful. Or immersive. Basically, this novel has no right to exist'
Jonathan Tropper, New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go

'Elan Mastai has conjured up a witty and freewheeling time-traveling romance that packs an emotional wallop.All Our Wrong Todays is a page-turning delight'
Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different and Where'd You Go, Bernadette

• ISBN10: 1101985135
• ISBN13: 9781101985137
• Publish Date: 7 February 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Dutton Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

This is a crazy roller coaster of a story. First, Tom isn't a particularly likable character, especially in the beginning of the book. I guess he fits the stereotype of a directionless millennial, unable to settle himself into a career or find a girlfriend that can stand him for long. Though even that characterization is a bit confusing, because despite being terrible at everything he does, he's able to perform well enough to be the backup to an extremely talented future chrononaut (time traveler). Penelope's accomplishments and her abilities are very spelled out as being superior to most people's, yet he can meet her abilities? That's just the first confusing aspect of this story.

Once the time travel actually happens, all bets are off and there's really no way to predict where the story is going next. I could mostly follow, but I confess to skimming when descriptions got a bit too sciencey (this is why I don't read a lot of science fiction). Despite that, there were enough twists and turns to this story to keep me interested and turning the pages, even if it went almost completely off the rails at the end, where it also got a bit too introspective for my tastes.

Would I pick up another book by this author? Maybe -- it would depend on the premise.

[mrs_mander_reads]

GREAT read. I've seen several reviewers who felt that it was poorly written, but I don't feel that way at all. I listened to the audio, and the first hour or so is difficult, mostly because the narrator is setting up the world he's describing. Overall, totally pleased with it. The world building worked fantastically, and I thought the plot was (fairly) easy to follow, and I loved Tom/John/Victor. Love love love the whole thing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys twisty time-travel fiction.

[rohshey]

Why include a romantic angle to a perfectly tuned sci-fi time traveling story? If I wanted to read cheesy romance with message to value love and importance of family, I'd fucking read romantic comedy. Jesus, what a waste of a futuristic time traveling story with crackling first 150 pages.