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Title details for An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim - Available

An Ocean of Minutes

A Novel

by Thea Lim
Lisa Rost-Welling
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
A shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the ALA 2019 Reading List for Science Fiction

"Thea Lim's An Ocean of Minutes is that rare thing—a speculative novel that is as heartfelt as it is philosophical. In lucid prose, Lim lays bare the complexities of migration and displacement, while offering a clear-eyed meditation on the elusive nature of human devotion." —Esi Edugyan, Man Booker Prize Finalist and author of Washington Black

"Lim paints a strange and unfamiliar world with her novel, full of fascinating social commentary on class differences, racism, and sexism." —The Los Angeles Times
In September 1981, Polly and Frank arrive at the time travel terminal at Houston Intercontinental Airport. One will travel, and one will stay.

America is in the grip of a deadly flu pandemic. Frank has caught the virus and Polly will do whatever it takes to save him, even if it means risking everything. So she agrees to a radical plan—time travel has been invented in the future to thwart the virus. If she signs up for a one-way-trip into the future to work as a bonded laborer, the company will pay for the life-saving treatment Frank needs. Polly promises to meet Frank again in Galveston, Texas, where she will arrive in twelve years.

But when Polly is re-routed an extra five years into the future, Frank is nowhere to be found. Alone in a changed and divided America, with no status and no money, Polly must navigate a new life and find a way to locate Frank, to discover if he is alive, and if their love has endured. "Lim's enthralling novel succeeds on every level: as a love story, an imaginative thriller, and a dystopian narrative" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    July 10, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508257868
      • File size: 230066 KB
      • Duration: 07:59:18

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 28, 2018
      Lim’s stellar follow-up to 2007’s The Same Woman concerns Polly Nader, who signs an agreement to travel through time from 1981 to 1993 to save her boyfriend. During a road trip in 1981, Buffalo residents Polly and Frank are stuck in Texas as state borders are closed to prevent a virulent strain of flu from spreading. Due to time-travel limitations, doctors are unable to travel back far enough to prevent the pandemic’s onset, but people are being recruited by the company TimeRaiser to help rebuild the future. After Frank is infected by the virus, the two decide to separate; Polly strikes a 32-month deal to work for TimeRaiser and plans to reunite with Frank upon arrival. Bonded workers spend their time doing jobs like riding exercise bikes for hours in order to power resorts and are disparagingly referred to as journeymen in a future where the country has been divided into the United States and America. Polly is in the latter (composed mainly of resorts for the wealthy), but Buffalo—where Polly assumes Frank is—is in the former. Polly’s lowly status and lack of funds keep her from knowing if Frank is even alive, and she isn’t allowed to leave America for the United States until her contract is up. She endures betrayals and despair as she tries to break free of her servitude and make the potentially hopeless journey to find Frank. Lim’s enthralling novel succeeds on every level: as a love story, an imaginative thriller, and a dystopian narrative. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      When Polly's boyfriend, Frank, catches the deadly flu that's sweeping the country, she travels forward in time as a kind of indentured servant in a desperate bid to save him. Narrator Lisa Rost-Welling's understated approach to emotional moments serves the story well as Polly suppresses her emotions and struggles to maintain a sense of balance when her plans to reunite with Frank go terribly awry. However, Rost-Welling's performance is uneven. Her character voices and accents are inconsistent, and her enunciation often sounds mushy. She succeeds best when voicing Polly, giving the character a willful na�vet� that highlights Lim's strong character development. E.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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