Out Of Time
John Marsden
Pan
139p pbk
ISBN: 0-330-27236-5
Although
this book has no clear storyline it generally follows the life of a young
boy called James. The story
is interrupted by various shorter stories, which have no real relation to
James and his life, and mostly don't conclude. The book would be extremely
realistic if it wasn't for the fact that James has a time machine, which
he took from the lab of a dead physicist friend.
The book also tells of memorable conversations with his young
sister and it is often hard to believe the James with the Time Machine and
the James with his sister are the same person.
The
short stories interrupting the book do so regularly, and vary from the
daily life of two twins who have been separated to the tragic story of a
London girl when a building collapses on her. The interruptions come
between sections of James life, but appear in no particular order.
I
warn this is an extremely challenging book and is not for reluctant
readers, It should not be read in a rush, but chapter by chapter, and
deeply thought about so that connections can be found between the stories.
Even though the book seems to
jump randomly from one point to another and shouldn't really be classified
as a story, this is one of the better books that I have read, and I
strongly recommend it to strong and confident readers
Cameron,
aged 13, Canberra, ACT
