Dear Great Book Guru,  I was at Metro Bistro after Mini Mart with Kathy Calzonetti and Maris Geist when our conversation turned to Time- where it goes, what does it mean, how fast and slow it moves. As we were talking, someone at a nearby table mentioned a novel by an Irish writer that touched on just these questions. Are you familiar with it?  Tricked by Time

Dear Tricked by Time,  I loved the book TIME PRESENT AND  TIME PAST  by Deirdre Madden and it does, indeed touch on “timely” topics.  Fintan Buckley is a happy man- a successful Dublin  attorney with a loving extended family - who suddenly questions his understanding of time – what does past mean- can we see the future while living in the present - does time change everything or nothing?  In what seems on the surface to be a cozy domestic tale, we are presented with questions that defy explanation .  While Madden gives us many colorful details about Fintan, his wife Colette, mother Joan, sister Martina and his three children, we soon realize these people who all love one another, know very little about each other.  Memories of the past have been corrupted by time and premonitions of the  future are limiting their pleasures of the present. Set in 2007, the characters are burdened by Ireland’s past Troubles and we the readers by our knowledge of what lies ahead for the doomed Celtic Tiger. This is a short, beautifully written novel that has at its core the most difficult of questions. Highly recommended!