Book: Time and Regret
Author: M.K.Tod
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 366, listened only as an audible
Mary K. Tod’s third book Time and Regret starts in 1991 in New York with newly divorced Grace finding the puzzle that her art gallery owner grandfather Martin had left for her before his death. Grace travels to Europe to see the locations Martin mentions in his diaries. Martin’s diaries take us back to WW1. Moving between these times, the story unfolds.
I listened to Time and Regret on my phone. This was my first whole book as an audible. The start was nice, but I soon realized that the whole experience was strange. I could not see the words. The only comparision I had was a few chapters my husband had recorded of his book Pacific Viking. His voice was familiar to me and I had also read those words several times before listening to them. A stranger reading to me was not what I liked. I found it hard to get into the book.
This was not because of the voice of the author M.K.Tod. I found that I could identify with that. I liked her describing Grace’s tours, thoughts and the food she had. Even the war scenes were descriptive enough to visualize the battle scenes and feelings the war aroused in Martin. The battle scenes were not my favorite part of the book though – as they were clearly written with anti-war attitude in mind – an attitude I can in itself identify with.
Once I was into the book, it was easier to listen. Towards the end I was actually enjoying sitting in my chair and taking pleasure at the clouds creating a dramatic story of their own. Blue and sunny white to start with – with sudden emergence of grey in varied hues! This would not have been possible while reading the book.
How to evaluate? As you read, I liked Mary K. Tod’s voice. However, there were too many coincidences and some of the plot solutions were a bit thin, so I can’t quite give a four. It has to be 3 stars, as I don’t go for halves. But even then, I might actually READ another of Mary K. Tod’s books.
Stars: 3/5
graphicgrub 