Review: The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart

Title: The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart

Author: Margarita Montimore

Publisher: 25th February 2020 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 336 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary, time travel

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Brooklyn, 1982. Oona Lockhart is about to celebrate her 19th birthday and ring in the New Year. But at the stroke of midnight, she is torn from her friends and boyfriend, finding herself in her fifty-one-year-old body, thirty-two years into the future.

Greeted by a friendly stranger, Oona learns that on every birthday she will enter a different year of her adult life at random. Still a young woman on the inside, but ever changing on the outside, who will she be next year? Wealthy philanthropist? Nineties Club Kid? World traveller? Wife to a man she's never met?

While Oona gets glimpses of the future and thinks she knows what's to come, living a normal life is challenging. As she struggles between fighting her fate and accepting it, Oona must learn to navigate a life that's out of order - but is it broken?

My Thoughts

I was fully onboard with the premise of this read. I mean think about it - we are most likely guilty of looking forward or looking to the past, imagining how things could or should have been. This alone makes for a very compelling story, especially when observing the main character, Oona, and witnessing how she does/not handle each new year she finds herself in - somewhere along her timeline. As the jumps are not sequential you really do find yourself wondering and eager to read what she will be facing for her new year. 

"I don't know, when you're experiencing time in order, there's probably so much you take for granted. But when you go from year to year randomly, I bet you see things differently. Notice more. Appreciate more."  

"Yeah, you'd think so, but sometimes you're too busy dealing with what a pain in the ass it is."

This is a really readable tale that easily lends itself to encouraging/forcing the reader to contemplate their own stance were such a situation to arise. Would you have led your life any differently if given the chance?  And, knowing your future, would you try to initiate preceding changes? Tie into this the tumultuous array of emotions and questions about fate and inevitability and there is much to consider. Ultimately the question remains, just exactly how much control does one have over their life? Love it!

"Stop micromanaging your life and just live it; joy and meaning will follow. Find the happy medium between being daring and responsible. Cultivate that balance. Do your best. Be good to yourself, even when - especially when - life isn't’ being good to you.”

To fully appreciate Oona and her life, you have to let go of questioning the logistics of how this all came about. Let it go! Who cares! Allow yourself to be transported to a range of time and places throughout Oona's life (all things well appreciated in retrospect) enjoying the armchair trip of ‘what would I have done?’ This illogical occurence is all about character development and story arc - the why, not the how. Even the events chosen by the author are interesting selections to think about. It might in fact leave you wanting more. 

"Another thing to consider - even if you could prevent it and ended up changing your         future, you wouldn't know how because you already lived through that year. And if you start going on about alternate timelines again, it'll give me a headache, so please let's not go down that road. Make your life more about letting in the good things than preventing the bad things.       

You're not going to stop any wars or stave off any big tragedies. You're not Sarah Connor, and the Terminator is now governor of California.You ... you do good by being a good person, making others happy. Embrace that."

I feel confident that this book will be sure to capture your heart on some level and most certainly your imagination for its uniqueness. It’s a different type of book that is frustratingly fun with a fitting closure. It will also make you reflect upon your own life’s journey: the things we do, the things we let go of, the times we treasure, the times we squander. Are there lessons that have to be learnt and one can never really outrun fate?

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.