This book cleverly illustrates just how much society has changed in 40 years and I hope the author will provide us with a sequel before too long, as there are many intriguing loose ends that need to be tidied up. I personally cannot wait!
'Running Behind Time' is Jan Turk Petrie's 7th novel, in which she has again ventured into unknown genre territory for her. The reader need not worry, however, as the author handles this subject matter with the same ease, aplomb and ingenuity as she did her previous works.
Simply put, this is the story of the love between Tom and Beth but that is only the start of it. Tom, furloughed during the Covid pandemic, decides to form a bubble with his mother, who lives alone in a pretty but sleepy Cotswold village. Soon tiring of the slow pace of life there, he arranges to go to London to meet a friend, who may have some work to put his way. It is on the train journey there that Tom's life changes forever and many questions he's never wanted to address suddenly become of paramount importance. Just outside Reading, the train passes through a time portal whilst Tom is using the toilet and, when he returns to the carriage, he finds himself in a different era altogether. The panic he feels seeing people acting pre-pandemically is palpable, thanks to the author's expert writing skills. Figuring the way back to 2020 from what he judges to be the early 80s is to re-board the same train when it makes it's return journey but he hadn't counted on arriving back in Gloucestershire with Beth, who grabs hold of his arm as the train is plunged into darkness when it re-enters the portal.
The story then takes us on a roller coaster of emotions, from hilarity, as Tom tries to explain face masks and 4G, to suspense, as it seems their adventure has not gone unnoticed by the powers that be and Tom's mother obviously knows more than she's letting on. Almost everything is eventually revealed but the reader must wait virtually to the end of the book and then the reveal will almost certainly not be at all what was expected.
This book cleverly illustrates just how much society has changed in 40 years and I hope the author will provide us with a sequel before too long, as there are many intriguing loose ends that need to be tidied up. I personally cannot wait!
A thoroughly gripping read and definitely a clever novel in these current extraordinary times.
My first foray into the work of Jan Turk Petrie and what a read it was. A story comprising great elements; time travel over 2 decades, romance, friendship, family values, employment angst and above all intrigue mixed with a little paranoia.
I really enjoyed the flow of the book and the style of the authors writing. The two main characters were well drawn, likeable and dare I say compatible leaving the age/time difference aside. The author vividly created contemporary scenes which were accurately portrayed. This reader wanted to be in the pub garden scene where they figured out their next move whilst Tom apologized for Beth's unusual behaviour. There were many humorous lines throughout - "doing a Jackson Pollock with the condiments" was one that stood out for me! The writing was poignant and having chapters recalling the way of life in 1982 showed how far life and technology has moved on almost without us realising the advances. The topic was bang up to date detailing life in lockdown and our newly-found constant use of masks and hand sanitizers.
I don't think I would be able to travel on the 'Gustav Holst' 125 train to Cheltenham Spa without feeling nervous when approaching the tunnel that was responsible for so much of the story. But a thoroughly gripping read and definitely a clever novel in these current extraordinary times.
This was such an unusual book and so interesting to read about time travel between the two decades. I really engaged with the characters and it was written really well.
This is the first book I have read about the pandemic and it was so strange to see all the terminology we are used to now, in a fiction book. However, that didn’t put me off and I enjoyed the journey that this book took me on from today, going back to the 1980s.
Tom, the main character is the book is currently furloughed from his job in travel and has moved back to his Mum’s house in the Cotswolds. After spending his days going on long walks to fill his time, he gets a call from a friend about some potential work in London. He jumps on the train and this is where his life changes dramatically. He is transported back to 1982, where it is so interesting to see how much everything has changed from money to mobile phones to all the cultural changes that have happened. While in 1982, Tom meets Beth and they go on an interesting journey together.
This was such an unusual book and so interesting to read about time travel between the two decades. I really engaged with the characters and it was written really well.
This was a really good “time travel” story, so just suspend disbelief and Enjoy!
I should think everyone wishes they could have been in another year other than 2020, but what if you found yourself suddenly back in the 80’s?
This is what happens to Tom, and then he meets Beth and she ends up 40 years in the future in the middle of a pandemic.
Neither of them can fit in each other’s time but they are destined to be together.
This was a really good “time travel” story, so just suspend disbelief and Enjoy!