Hazards of Time Travel

A Novel

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

An ingenious, dystopian novel of one young woman’s resistance against the constraints of an oppressive society, from the inventive imagination of Joyce Carol Oates.

“Time travel” - and its hazards - are made literal in this astonishing new novel in which a recklessly idealistic girl dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled (future) world and is punished by being sent back in time to a region of North America - “Wainscotia, Wisconsin” - that existed 80 years before.

Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town, she is set upon a course of “rehabilitation” - but cannot resist falling in love with a fellow exile and questioning the constrains of the Wainscotia world with results that are both devastating and liberating.

Arresting and visionary, Hazards of Time Travel is both a novel of harrowing discovery and an exquisitely wrought love story that may be Joyce Carol Oates’s most unexpected novel so far.

©2018 The Ontario Review, Inc. (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Ending

Performance was great.
Ending ???? That was very disappointing and disjointed from the story. Didn’t seem to fit or conclude it properly.

JCO fan but

Oh the ending! I will forever be let down by this ending. I’m not even sure what to do with myself, I’m so unhappy by this ending.

Unique Stiry

So unlike other stores by Joyce Carol Oates. I would go so far as to say it's her best work. The characters are so lifelike and the story premise is very unique and takes you on a journey to unexpected places.

Many Levels, Both sad and Terrifying

On the surface, this is a Dystopian romance novel. A young girl ripped from her family and banished. Long descriptions of her thoughts. All of this is window dressing. It's a very detailed painting of a young woman's mind, but this is the veneer over the story of a world where America has become the worst of what is currently looming, where great lengths are gone to to keep tight control of minds, thoughts, actions - where fear is the ruling emotion, powered by nearly suffocating insecurity and uncertainty. What is real? What is not? Even the parts of this book where a distracted reader might see happiness are horrifying in their deeper truths. A chilling novel of totalitarianism, mind control, and human emotion.

Andi Arndt brought the characters to life, particularly the protagonist, with a clarity that drew me into another world and believed, absolutely, that I was hearing Mary Ellen tell her story... or was it Adriane...?

Another interesting book

It is a very well written and thought provoking book. I really enjoyed it. I have read most of Oates’ books since she first began writing. I am never disappointed.

It's entertaining...

... But it started falling apart at the end. Whatever the driving message was supposed to be managed to elude me.

I could relate…

Some of my own sci-fi short stories draw on visions similar to this. Therefore I loved it as I do pretty much everything by Joyce Carol Oates.

Not at all what I was expecting.........

I really thought I'd enjoy this book, a dystopian time travel story! But I quickly discovered this wasn't what I was expecting at all. First off, the author paints the picture of an oppressive government in this story who is afraid of any free thought, or individuallity so much so that they arrest anyone who dares think outside their rigid belief system.

They then would turn around and send these criminals back in time to a place where they had the freedoms to think and act how they wished, and could see others doing the same and give them a college education at the same time? Only to supposedly reintegrate these educated people who have seen and had a taste of actual freedom? Not really a realistic response from a government such as the one portrayed. The author does try to make a point that the late 1950's and early 1960's where an odd time historically, and her main characters battle against the evils and prejudices of the time, and you get the feeling that the author wants us to believe this is some sort of harsh punishment for these exiled individuals.........

Also the book seems to only serve as a platform for the author to express her religious, political, and philosophical beliefs, and this mind numbingly evident in virtually every chapter in this book, very little effort was put into anything else honestly, not even the bizarre love story that consumed 80% of this book.

Our protagonist is portrayed as an intelligent independent teenager, but for some unknown reason falls for a much older teacher, despite herself, and common sense, and basically makes herself a slave to his wishes, living to please him despite any real reciprocal affection being returned.

The constant overly intellectual psycho babble in this book really did drag it down, and was very tiresome. The only redeeming plot point was the twist revealed at the end of the book, but by that point it was too little too late.

It's a stretch to give this book 2 stars, 1 1/2 is more fitting.

wait....did she finish the book?

the book started really strong and I loved it but I feel like it didn't go anywhere. there were so many unanswered questions and not in a good way. it just feels like she didn't know where to go with it which is strange because there was so much potential there for something super evocative and though-provoking. very disappointed.

Only ok

It sounded like an interesting premise. It didn’t deliver well. Very disappointed. I should’ve just return the book.It was a waste of my time.