“Entertainingly mixes thrills and humor.”—Entertainment Weekly
“[An] amazing debut novel....Dazzling and complex....Fearlessly funny storytelling.”—The Washington Post
“Instantly engaging....A timeless, if mind-bending, story about the journeys we take, populated by friends, family, lovers, and others, that show us who we might be, could be—and maybe never should be—that eventually leads us to who we are.”—USA Today
Elan Mastai's acclaimed debut novel is a story of friendship and family, of unexpected journeys and alternate paths, and of love in its multitude of forms.
It's 2016, and in Tom Barren's world, technology has solved all of humanity's problems—there's no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocadoes. Unfortunately, Tom isn't happy. He's lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you're heartbroken and have a time machine? Something stupid.
Finding himself stranded in a terrible alternate reality—which we immediately recognize as our 2016—Tom is desperate to fix his mistake and go home. Right up until the moment he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his family, his career, and the woman who may just be the love of his life.
Now Tom faces an impossible choice. Go back to his perfect but loveless life. Or stay in our messy reality with a soulmate by his side. His search for the answer takes him across continents and timelines in a quest to figure out, finally, who he really is and what his future—our future—is supposed to be.
Filled with humor and heart and packed with insight, intelligence, and mind-bending invention, All Our Wrong Todays is a powerful and moving story of life, loss, and love.
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.
