Time Shelter

I probably put this book on hold based on the title (love time travel books), the blurbs, or the review of a goodreads friend ("the most brilliant book ever written"). I liked it, but it wasn't as good as the blurbs, and it (probably) wasn't about time travel. I think the translation was fine, and it did (after all) win the 2023 Booker prize. Maybe it's me?

The protagonist meets a mysterious man called Gaustine, and through these two, the author explores a number of interesting ideas. Early on the text leaned toward Gaustine being a time traveler - providing harsh cigarettes from decades earlier, or writing letters to the modern main character about leaving before the Wehrmacht arrived in World War II. Later Gaustine establishes "clinics of the past" for Alzheimer's patients, who talk and open up in these settings. Fascinating idea, but the author uses it primarily to consider how unreliably we remember the past. These patients are not mentioned again in the rest of the novel.

I'm always leery of highly praised books. I like the descriptive writing and almost poetic use of words (and/or an excellent translation - this the first Bulgarian novel to win the Booker prize). Beyond that, this novel felt more like a collection of stories, very loosely tied to an idea. I don't find much of a plot between the sections. The author clearly knows a vast amount about various European countries, but that final referendum section was fairly confusing. The epilog did little to tie things back to a central plot.

I read this as an audio book, the physical version buried in hold requests. Perhaps this was part of the failing - I couldn't pause to appreciate language as the reader moved on to the next paragraph. One would think a cohesive plot would still rise to the surface in any reading form. For now, I'll rate this 3 out of 5 stars - I liked it, but didn't love it, and it definitely didn't rise to amazing.