“Q, Quentina Elizabeth Deveril, is the love of my life.”
Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancÉe. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q.
My mother-in-law, The Queen Bee, got first dibs on this book and had this to say about it...
" You must not marry Q". Those were the words that set a whole lifetime full of regrets in motion for Mandery's character in this new novel. The person who delivered those words, sets this story in motion.
The reader never learns the name of the main character, as the story is told in the first person. But I didn't realize I didn't know his name, until I was ready to write this review. He was always "I". And that one letter/word becomes an important part of the story. I am sure this must all sound very "out there". And this book is kind of science fiction-y, but it doesn't feel that way. I am not a science fiction lover. BUT I loved this book.
The main character is a 20-something aspiring author /college professor hoping for tenure. He falls in love with Quentina Deveril. Q happens to be the love of his life. As they get into the final stages of wedding planning, the author is visited by a very sad looking 55 year old man, who happens to be his own 55 year old self ( I-55), transported back in time with the help of a time machine. "You must not marry Q".
Crazy, huh? Except it doesn't feel that way as you read along. This young man goes on a roller coaster ride through-out his life, the paths dictated by his older-selves (I-57, I-60,
I-80.....) coming back to visit and changing the coarse of his life over & over & over.
All because he didn't marry Q.
Long after you read this book, you will still be thinking about it, which is the gift of a good book.
After talking to the Queen Bee about this book I can't wait to read it!! Doesn't it sound so interesting and well done?? You can pick it up today on Amazon for pre-order...
Thanks to the publisher, Harper Perennial, one RBM reader will win a copy of Q: A Novel! Thanks so much to the sponsor. Here is how to enter...
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling me what makes you want to read this book. You must complete this entry for all others to count.
For Extra Entries:
1. Follow this blog= 1 entry
2. Like Reviewed By Mom on Facebook =1 entry
3. Enter one of my other giveaways & let me know you have done so = 1 entry per other giveaway entered.
4. Follow Reviewed By Mom on Twitter = 1 entry
5. Blog, Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway & let me know where to find it = 1 entry
6. Follow Harper Perennial on Twitter= 1 entry
7. Follow the guest reviewer, Queen Bee's blog= 3 entries
Please leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to include your e-mail. Contest is open to US residents and will end on August 29th The lucky winner will be announced by e-mail on August 30th and will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen . Good Luck!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. The opinions in this post are entirely my own. Your experience may differ from mine. This post has not been reviewed or edited by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this review. The sponsor of this giveaway is responsible for prize fulfillment and shipping the winner(s) their prize.
0 comments:
Post a Comment