Review: The Psychology of Time Travel

Title:  The Psychology of Time Travel

Author: Kate Mascarenhas

Publisher: 9th August 2018 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Pages: 320 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: science fiction, time travel, fantasy, mystery

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

A time travel murder mystery from a brilliantly original new voice. Perfect for readers of Naomi Alderman's The Power and Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven.

1967 - Four female scientists invent a time travel machine. They are on the cusp of fame: the pioneers who opened the world to new possibilities. But then one of them suffers a breakdown and puts the whole project in peril...

2017 - Ruby knows her beloved Granny Bee was a pioneer, but they never talk about the past. Though time travel is now big business, Bee has never been part of it. Then they receive a message from the future – a newspaper clipping reporting the mysterious death of an elderly lady...

2018 - When Odette discovered the body she went into shock. Blood everywhere, bullet wounds, that strong reek of sulphur. But when the inquest fails to find any answers, she is frustrated. Who is this dead woman that haunts her dreams? And why is everyone determined to cover up her murder?

My Thoughts

Reading the synopsis had me intrigued - the story sounded just so interesting - four pioneering women discover time travel and by 2017 there is this whole culture of moving back and forth in time. There is a lot going on here - drama, mystery, politics, murder, time travel and much more! There is also underlying themes surrounding how a life plays out and factors that influence (in any phase or time) how the many events unfold and some things are inescapable no matter how many times (or selves) you delve into it.

Sadly, however, this was not the book for me. There are just so many characters (multiple of the one character in different timelines as well!), so many timelines - it was all a bit too much. This is a shame as the premise was really quite original but one cannot help but feel for its length, simple would have been a more effective approach - it was just so very convoluted. Despite the titled chapters, the variety of time periods and traveling back and forth were responsible for losing the plot from what could have been a good murder mystery.

The Psychology of Time Travel is indeed a unique and commendable project. I fully appreciate just how complex putting something like this together would have been. The whole concept behind not only a murder mystery but the technicalities of time travel and even the whole culture surrounding how to govern it is really quite profound. There is no doubt it is a most fascinating subject to many. Sadly, however, I just can't get around the fact that with a huge cast of characters, a confusing plot with multiple threads and storylines this book ultimately fell flat and failed to accomplish its goal.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release