20th
Jun
Page Count: 448
ISBN: 9781786156945
Goodreads Rating: 4.55
There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth... Emma Maria Rossini appears to be the luckiest girl in the world. She's the daughter of a beautiful and loving mother, and her father is one of the most famous film actors of his generation. She's also the granddaughter of a rather eccentric and obscure Italian astrophysicist. But as her seemingly charmed life begins to unravel, and Emma experiences love and tragedy, she ultimately finds solace in her once-derided grandfather's Theorem on the universe. The Space Between Time is humorous and poignant and offers the metaphor that we are all connected, even to those we have loved and not quite lost.
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A little while ago Charlie Laidlaw approached me with the question if I wanted to read his new book ‘The Space Between Time’. Although this book isn’t in the genre I’ve been reading a lot of books lately, I found myself interested when the author told me this book addresses issues of love, loss and mental illness. Especially since I work as a nurse, and come across these illnesses regularly.
In ‘The Space Between Time’ we meet Emma. Emma seems to have it all, but things aren’t what they seem to be on the outside. Emma is the daughter of a beautiful mother and famous actor father. But although this sounds like something every little girl should want, nothing isn’t less true. Emma’s life isn’t perfect to say the least, but luckily she has her grandfather, who she adores.
This book is definitely very different from my usual reads and it honestly took me a while to really get into this story. But definitely not because the writing isn’t good or anything like that. No, there is definitely something about Charlie’s writing that makes you want to keep on reading. It is real, and honest and really addresses things that most authors stay away from.
As a person who often works with people with mental illnesses, I was fascinated by this story and I definitely felt an connection with Emma. But I definitely think that’s also a reason why I don’t often read books like this. After working with people on a trauma ward every week, and seeing people with mental illnesses I don’t often like to read about them too.
In the end, I’m still figuring out how to rate this book. The writing is good, the storytelling especially, but this wasn’t my genre. I’m still glad I read this book though, and I definitely think this book is worth your time if your into fiction.
I was born in Paisley, central Scotland, which wasn’t my fault. That week, Eddie Calvert with Norrie Paramor and his Orchestra were Top of the Pops, with Oh, Mein Papa, as sung by a young German woman remembering her once-famous clown father. That gives a clue to my age, not my musical taste. I was brought up in the west of Scotland (quite near Paisley, but thankfully not too close) and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. I still have the scroll, but it’s in Latin, so it could say anything. I then worked briefly as a street actor, baby photographer, puppeteer and restaurant dogsbody before becoming a journalist. I started in Glasgow and ended up in London, covering news, features and politics. I interviewed motorbike ace Barry Sheene, Noel Edmonds threatened me with legal action and, because of a bureaucratic muddle, I was ordered out of Greece. I then took a year to travel round the world, visiting 19 countries. Highlights included being threatened by a man with a gun in Dubai, being given an armed bodyguard by the PLO in Beirut (not the same person with a gun), and visiting Robert Louis Stevenson’s grave in Samoa. What I did for the rest of the year I can’t quite remember. Surprisingly, I was approached by a government agency to work in intelligence, which just shows how shoddy government recruitment was back then. However, it turned out to be very boring and I don’t like vodka martini. Craving excitement and adventure, I ended up as a PR consultant, which is the fate of all journalists who haven’t won a Pulitzer Prize, and I’ve still to listen to Oh, Mein Papa. I am married with two grown-up children and live in East Lothian. For more information about Charlie please visit his
website. Or visit him on
Twitter and
Facebook.
Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
Mental illness is difficult to address and read about. I can see how it would bee hard to read about when you see it everyday in your job. Nevertheless, it sounds like this author did a great job of telling a realistic story!
He definitely did write a realistic story. And it was fun to read something different than my ‘normal’ reads. 🙂
I like that it tackles the subject head on and felt authentic, Lovely review Maureen.
Thanks Kimberly. It definitely felt like a one of a kind read.