I can’t quite remember where I came across this book, whether in a promo or in one of those Amazon ‘if you liked that, you might like this’ things while I was looking for a book to read. Anyway, I think it was the cover that caught my attention with its Almost Famous echo, so I read the blurb. And it intrigued me, since having grown up in the ‘70’s I super enjoyed the music and the fashions (which were subsequently replaced by the very ugly ‘80s – but I digress) and I loved Almost Famous, Spinal Tap and Still Crazy, the best films to date about the idyllic time of my youth. This book promised the flavour of those films, and I was not disappointed.
There certainly were echoes of all three of those films, but with a twist, adding a sci-fi time travel element I was not expecting, and which became the central premise of story, looking back at the 1970s era through the lens of a more advanced societal and technological perspective. This lens provided most of the humour of the book, but was a little patchy in places. Nevertheless I enjoyed the story very much--the clash of perspectives of the characters was funny and satiric, but mostly gentle, only sometimes descending into caricature, and sometimes filled with savvy insight into the human ego.
I am interested to see where the story goes next. I likely will purchase the next book in the series. I recommend this to people who like an amusing read. It’s got a whiff of Jasper Fforde about it, and even a hint of Marian Keyes. In her own way, Jorette is as funny as Connie Willis, an author I adore. Excellent fun.
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