I’m embarrassed that I haven’t updated in a long time. A lot of personal things have arisen and July has been sort of the start of the avalanche.
Anyway, I’ve read other books this year prior to AN OCEAN OF MINUTES by Thea Lim. I read AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE and SUICIDE CLUB. I’ll talk about those soon as I am planning on re-reading SUICIDE CLUB.
Somehow my radar had missed that this book was being released. I generally pre-order things and get very giddy when I get the notification that a book has been delivered to my doorstep on the day of its release. I visited my local B&N instead to obtain a copy of this marvelous book. I love dystopian novels. I like to fantasize that one day I will be heavy with an idea that I can turn into a novel of this caliber.
AN OCEAN OF MINUTES is many things, it’s a love story, a story about class, and time travel. Time travel is an interesting topic to me. This story namely follows the protagonist, Polly, who travels to the future to save her boyfriend, Frank, from the 1981 Flu pandemic. Lim wrote a book that is rich with world-building and details. There have been complaints that this isn’t a “great” love story because certain readers complain that there is no “passion”.
But, I think that’s part of what makes AN OCEAN OF MINUTES phenomenal. It encapsulates what real love is. Real love isn’t always this burning need or wanton passion. It often starts that way but love that endures is made up of more than passion. Part of it is comprised of all the daily minutiae. I think that’s what makes this love story heartbreaking in AN OCEAN OF MINUTES. It’s Polly and Frank’s realization of what they robbed themselves of and how things can change.
This story is meditative on grief and loss. And it is also highlights issues of class. Overall, I did enjoy this book and read it over the course of three short days. It made me sad and left me wanting more but I think that if you love dystopia and aren’t looking for reckless love, that this is a book for you.
