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Remembrance of Things I Forgot: A Novel
“It’s safe to say your relationship is in trouble if the only way you can imagine solving your problems is by borrowing a time machine.”
In 2006 comic book dealer John Sherkston has decided to break up with his physicist boyfriend, Taylor Esgard, on the very day Taylor announces he’s finally perfected a time machine for the U.S government. John travels back to 1986, where he encounters “Junior,” his younger, more innocent self. When Junior starts to flirt, John wonders how to reveal his identity: “I’m you, only with less hair and problems you can’t imagine.” He also meets up with the younger Taylor, and this unlikely trio teams up to plot a course around their future relationship troubles, prevent John’s sister from making a tragic decision, and stop George W. Bush from becoming president.
In this wickedly comic, cross-country, time-bending journey, John confronts his own—and the nation’s—blunders, learning that a second chance at changing things for the better also brings new opportunities to screw them up. Through edgy humor, time travel, and droll one-liners, Bob Smith examines family dysfunction, suicide, New York City, and recent American history while effortlessly blending domestic comedy with science fiction. Part acidic political satire, part wild comedy, and part poignant social scrutiny, Remembrance of Things I Forgot is an uproarious adventure filled with sharp observations about our recent past.
In 2006 comic book dealer John Sherkston has decided to break up with his physicist boyfriend, Taylor Esgard, on the very day Taylor announces he’s finally perfected a time machine for the U.S government. John travels back to 1986, where he encounters “Junior,” his younger, more innocent self. When Junior starts to flirt, John wonders how to reveal his identity: “I’m you, only with less hair and problems you can’t imagine.” He also meets up with the younger Taylor, and this unlikely trio teams up to plot a course around their future relationship troubles, prevent John’s sister from making a tragic decision, and stop George W. Bush from becoming president.
In this wickedly comic, cross-country, time-bending journey, John confronts his own—and the nation’s—blunders, learning that a second chance at changing things for the better also brings new opportunities to screw them up. Through edgy humor, time travel, and droll one-liners, Bob Smith examines family dysfunction, suicide, New York City, and recent American history while effortlessly blending domestic comedy with science fiction. Part acidic political satire, part wild comedy, and part poignant social scrutiny, Remembrance of Things I Forgot is an uproarious adventure filled with sharp observations about our recent past.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2010
13 people are currently reading
751 people want to read
About the author
Bob Smith
6 books42 followers"Bob Smith is a real writer . . . . But what readers, gay and straight, will really appreciate are the direct approach and the eye for detail that make this book a touchingly personal document.. . . Smith brings a sensibility and a sensitivity that make this one of the most rewarding gay books of the year." — Lambda Book Report "(LY BOB is a dazzlingly funny, semiautobiographical, hardcover one-man show." — Paper
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
September 1, 2011
Top 5 Things I Loved about Remembrance of Things I Forgot, by Bob Smith
5. Bob tackled time travel and made it work.
4. The sentence that made me really think about my life: "I'd failed to even try to be a failure, which is the real definition of a loser."
3. The sentence I'd really love to do up in needlepoint: "Life usually doles out horrible events in increments, allowing us time to slowly digest pain like an anaconda after a capybara meal."
2. The opening sentence. "It's safe to say your relationship is finished if the only way you can imagine solving your problems is by borrowing a time machine."
1. The twist at the end. And I won't even hint at what it is. Read the book!
5. Bob tackled time travel and made it work.
4. The sentence that made me really think about my life: "I'd failed to even try to be a failure, which is the real definition of a loser."
3. The sentence I'd really love to do up in needlepoint: "Life usually doles out horrible events in increments, allowing us time to slowly digest pain like an anaconda after a capybara meal."
2. The opening sentence. "It's safe to say your relationship is finished if the only way you can imagine solving your problems is by borrowing a time machine."
1. The twist at the end. And I won't even hint at what it is. Read the book!
March 15, 2012
Mark Twain once said, “The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow.” I can’t think of a contemporary piece of fiction that illustrates this observation more than Bob Smith’s Remembrances of Things I Forgot. Many reviewers have called the Lambda Award-winner’s latest book a “comic” novel, but that adjective doesn’t begin to cover the breadth of emotions it evokes in the reader. It’s equally inaccurate to label the book as “touching,” or even “gay,” “political,” or “sci-fi.” Remembrance is all of those things – but also so much more – which makes the work hard to define, but brilliant to read.
The book had me reaching for the Kleenex box one minute and throwing my head back in laughter the next. As a skilled writer and a professional comic, Smith possesses a keen sense of timing. Right after a heart wrenching passage, he’ll toss in a bon mot. The overall result is a tone which implies that life is hard, but there is hope.
For example, see how Smith describes what happens as protagonist John Sherkston runs into his alcoholic father:
When my father came in the back door carrying a twelve-pack of beer, I thought it was grossly unfair that I had to deal with two suicides. It made me feel we should change our family name to the Lemmings.
Smith’s genius is also evident in the way he, much like Mark Twain, manages to write damning social commentary with enough humor to avoid offense:
In some ways New Yorkers are all Mad King Ludvigs who recognize other royal families – protocol requires Londoners and Parisians to be treated as equals – only we ludicrously maintain our sense of grandeur as we give must-be-obeyed Chinese take-out orders from tiny studio or one-bedroom palaces while sneering at commoners in Terre Haute hovelling in their three bedroom, two bath ranch houses.
The “net net”? Smith has written a book full of round characters – flawed, yet funny. Even the depiction of Dick Cheney, villain of Smith’s tale, has been handled so adroitly that the former Vice-President comes across as – yes, evil -- but also complex and even, gulp, human.
Another quote by Twain defines a “’classic" as "a book which people praise and don’t read.” As an Amazon Best Books of 2011, a finalist for the 2011 Green Carnation Award, and a (just-announced) nomination for Triangle Publishing’s 2012 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction, the accolades keep rolling in for Smith's latest book. Since its July 2011 release, however, InsightOut Books has consistently ranked Remembrance of Things I Forgot among its list of top-tier best-sellers. So in this case, Twain was wrong. Instant classics can be widely read.
The book had me reaching for the Kleenex box one minute and throwing my head back in laughter the next. As a skilled writer and a professional comic, Smith possesses a keen sense of timing. Right after a heart wrenching passage, he’ll toss in a bon mot. The overall result is a tone which implies that life is hard, but there is hope.
For example, see how Smith describes what happens as protagonist John Sherkston runs into his alcoholic father:
When my father came in the back door carrying a twelve-pack of beer, I thought it was grossly unfair that I had to deal with two suicides. It made me feel we should change our family name to the Lemmings.
Smith’s genius is also evident in the way he, much like Mark Twain, manages to write damning social commentary with enough humor to avoid offense:
In some ways New Yorkers are all Mad King Ludvigs who recognize other royal families – protocol requires Londoners and Parisians to be treated as equals – only we ludicrously maintain our sense of grandeur as we give must-be-obeyed Chinese take-out orders from tiny studio or one-bedroom palaces while sneering at commoners in Terre Haute hovelling in their three bedroom, two bath ranch houses.
The “net net”? Smith has written a book full of round characters – flawed, yet funny. Even the depiction of Dick Cheney, villain of Smith’s tale, has been handled so adroitly that the former Vice-President comes across as – yes, evil -- but also complex and even, gulp, human.
Another quote by Twain defines a “’classic" as "a book which people praise and don’t read.” As an Amazon Best Books of 2011, a finalist for the 2011 Green Carnation Award, and a (just-announced) nomination for Triangle Publishing’s 2012 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction, the accolades keep rolling in for Smith's latest book. Since its July 2011 release, however, InsightOut Books has consistently ranked Remembrance of Things I Forgot among its list of top-tier best-sellers. So in this case, Twain was wrong. Instant classics can be widely read.
October 9, 2012
A particularly unbelievable plot twist towards the end of this book that completely rubbishes the integrity of the main characters robs this novel of achieving true greatness (or five stars). Up to that point it is one of the most acerbic, laugh-out-loud and poignant comedy of manners I have read in ages.
A guy's boyfriend invents a time machine, and then he finds himself accidentally teleported to the past, where he realises he has an opportunity to prevent the future suicide of his sister. But first he has to deal with meeting his younger, more insufferable self, his future-to-be-ex partner ... and his family. Especially his mother.
Well, why stop at preventing one death, when you can stop George W. Bush from becoming president, and thereby perhaps save civilisation-as-we-know-it? If only the past, and the future, were so simple though ...
Wow, what a joy this was to read. Of course the central premise is absurd and ridiculous. But it is a mere plot device that Bob Smith uses to put our mad, bad world into context. Imagine being stranded in 1986: no cellphones, no internet porn. Or Al Qaeda. And having to explain, let alone account for, the current state of affairs to someone from that time (who happens to be your more naive, optimistic, younger self). There are so many memorable passages / quotes in this that I stopped highlighting on the Kindle as I found myself annotating nearly the entire book.
A guy's boyfriend invents a time machine, and then he finds himself accidentally teleported to the past, where he realises he has an opportunity to prevent the future suicide of his sister. But first he has to deal with meeting his younger, more insufferable self, his future-to-be-ex partner ... and his family. Especially his mother.
Well, why stop at preventing one death, when you can stop George W. Bush from becoming president, and thereby perhaps save civilisation-as-we-know-it? If only the past, and the future, were so simple though ...
Wow, what a joy this was to read. Of course the central premise is absurd and ridiculous. But it is a mere plot device that Bob Smith uses to put our mad, bad world into context. Imagine being stranded in 1986: no cellphones, no internet porn. Or Al Qaeda. And having to explain, let alone account for, the current state of affairs to someone from that time (who happens to be your more naive, optimistic, younger self). There are so many memorable passages / quotes in this that I stopped highlighting on the Kindle as I found myself annotating nearly the entire book.
August 31, 2019
Há algum tempo queria ler "Remembrance of things I forgot" (Recordações de coisas que eu esqueci), pois a capa do livro é tão simples, mas também tão terna! Gosto muito da foto do rapaz ali, que me dá a sensação de um passado próximo e bom. De resgate. E, de certo modo, é disso que o livro trata.
John e Taylor estão juntos há 15 anos, mas há uma forte sensação de que a relação está praticamente no fim. Taylor trabalha em um experimento altamente secreto para o governo norte-americano, uma máquina do tempo, e é num imbróglio criado pelo ex-vice-presidente Dick Cheney, que John volta ao passado, 20 anos antes.
O que fazer se não sabemos como voltar ao nosso tempo? Reencontrarmo-nos enquanto mais jovens? Tentar fazer algo diferente do que foi feito? Podemos mudar o passado? Isso alterará completamente o presente? Dizer mais seria apresentar spoilers. Mas é a partir desse plot que Bob Smith cria uma narrativa por vezes divertido, outras tocante, mas raramente uma leitura maçante. Não se trata de um livro excepcional, mas o seu autor consegue alcançar aquilo a que se propôs: contar bem uma história.
Apesar de o seu enredo utilizar viagem no tempo, não se trata de um livro de ficção cientifica. A viagem no tempo é apenas um pretexto para se narrar uma história de encontros e reencontros, inclusive consigo mesmo e da necessidade de vermos as nossas vidas de um prisma ou de prismas diferentes, o que poderia evitar muitos problemas em nossas vidas se somos capazes de ser menos críticos acerca de tudo e de todos. Da mesma forma não é possível dizer que é um livro de temática gay ou familiar ou de ação, todos esses elementos fazem parte da trama e é a capacidade de utilizá-los bem que torna a sua leitura tão interessante.
É um livro que me traz a sensação de ternura!, de querer bem.
John e Taylor estão juntos há 15 anos, mas há uma forte sensação de que a relação está praticamente no fim. Taylor trabalha em um experimento altamente secreto para o governo norte-americano, uma máquina do tempo, e é num imbróglio criado pelo ex-vice-presidente Dick Cheney, que John volta ao passado, 20 anos antes.
O que fazer se não sabemos como voltar ao nosso tempo? Reencontrarmo-nos enquanto mais jovens? Tentar fazer algo diferente do que foi feito? Podemos mudar o passado? Isso alterará completamente o presente? Dizer mais seria apresentar spoilers. Mas é a partir desse plot que Bob Smith cria uma narrativa por vezes divertido, outras tocante, mas raramente uma leitura maçante. Não se trata de um livro excepcional, mas o seu autor consegue alcançar aquilo a que se propôs: contar bem uma história.
Apesar de o seu enredo utilizar viagem no tempo, não se trata de um livro de ficção cientifica. A viagem no tempo é apenas um pretexto para se narrar uma história de encontros e reencontros, inclusive consigo mesmo e da necessidade de vermos as nossas vidas de um prisma ou de prismas diferentes, o que poderia evitar muitos problemas em nossas vidas se somos capazes de ser menos críticos acerca de tudo e de todos. Da mesma forma não é possível dizer que é um livro de temática gay ou familiar ou de ação, todos esses elementos fazem parte da trama e é a capacidade de utilizá-los bem que torna a sua leitura tão interessante.
É um livro que me traz a sensação de ternura!, de querer bem.
January 26, 2012
The premise of this book is fabulous -- a gay New Yorker borrows his boyfriend's time machine to go back to the 1980s and solve some of the worst problems that plagued his adult life -- his sister's suicide, his failing relationship with his boyfriend, his father's alcoholism, etc. Along the way, it seems like a good idea to try to stop Bush and Cheney from taking over the country. Think of all the good you could do 25 years in the past!! Hindsight is more than 20/20. Don't sleep with your adorable, past self.
It was an interesting read, and I appreciated the intellectual exercises - questions of inevitability, time's own way of making certain events happen, free will and the ability to control our futures. Would you like your future self, and would you get along with your past self? Would you be sexually attracted to yourself? If you enjoy those sort of time travel mental exercises, this is not a particularly complex or well fleshed out example of them.
Basically, what I'm getting at is that this is a sort of not-exciting book about time travel, and a typical semi-trashy, very white, gay novel that happens to be about time travel. It's sort of funny, but far from hilarious. Is there value in this book simply because it fills this niche? I'm not sure. If the description excites you, read it, but don't force yourself simply bc there's a dearth of quality queer time travel fiction in the world. If you want to read an excellent queer time travel book, reality is that you have to 1. travel into the future 2. write it yourself.
It was an interesting read, and I appreciated the intellectual exercises - questions of inevitability, time's own way of making certain events happen, free will and the ability to control our futures. Would you like your future self, and would you get along with your past self? Would you be sexually attracted to yourself? If you enjoy those sort of time travel mental exercises, this is not a particularly complex or well fleshed out example of them.
Basically, what I'm getting at is that this is a sort of not-exciting book about time travel, and a typical semi-trashy, very white, gay novel that happens to be about time travel. It's sort of funny, but far from hilarious. Is there value in this book simply because it fills this niche? I'm not sure. If the description excites you, read it, but don't force yourself simply bc there's a dearth of quality queer time travel fiction in the world. If you want to read an excellent queer time travel book, reality is that you have to 1. travel into the future 2. write it yourself.
August 20, 2011
I think most of us ponder what things would be like if only we could go back and change one or two significant events in our personal history. John has been given that very opportunity when his partner Taylor invents a time machine. Unexpectedly finding himself back in 1986, he realizes he might be able to change the future and prevent a family tragedy that has yet to happen. Being the passionate political activist that he is, along the way he decides that he should also try to find a way to prevent George W. Bush from ever getting elected president. He seeks his younger self out and together they travel cross country to accomplish their mission. Mostly hilarious but unexpectedly poignant moments pepper the entire book. John is expecting to go back and teach and guide his younger self, when he finds that his younger self teaches him a thing or two that he had forgotten. Bob Smith has a great wit and I look forward to reading more of his work.
January 9, 2018
Knowing what we know now, this really does not age well. The wish fulfillment of getting to shout snide remarks in the faces of one's political enemies (before the hilarious hijinks of drugging and raping them) and the endless ranting and whining about a previous administration as the Worst Ever Imaginable just makes this feel like early 2000's internet fan fiction. Even trying to place yourself in the narrator's time and place, it turns out to be such a sad and whiny place, where only the sainted dead deserve any relief from his scorn. The writing is clever, the plot is clever, the wicked turns of phrase are clever... but ultimately empty and sour.
February 24, 2012
This book had a fun premise that got me interested and excited to read it: a gay man who travels back to the 80's to stop Dubya from becoming president in 2000. That is something I have personally fantasized about doing, but this book just sorta pisses all over the fun of it. It was just terribly written. A lot of it was fun, funny and original, but not nearly enough to save it. Almost all of the little sayings and one-liners that were supposed to be funny/deep just left me irritated and stalled the story to boot.
The characters never felt real because they were so one-dimensional. When they talked they all sounded the same. In fact, they all just sounded like Bob Smith. Cheney and Bush were just total one-dimensional cartoons, not believable at all. The book felt rushed but interminable.
Also, plot holes galore. Could an average man and woman could keep five Black Ops soldiers tied up in a motel room for several days? Um, no. The ending was a cop-out, even though it did have sweetness. It was like he didn't have any good way to tie up all the political intrigue and time travel logistics so he just said oh well, I'll give 'em one sentence to explain it all away.
Lastly, all of the bald-faced liberal propagandizing got stale really quick, and I'm a huge liberal! The way John would just start ranting about the Bush years just didn't fit in to the book. I mean, I agree with most of his complaints, but it just stopped the action cold. That scene where him and "old Cheney" are alone in the motel room and he's just whining stock liberal complaints at him for six pages while Cheney gives snide comebacks was just painful. His shrill, sarcastic rhetoric wouldn't convince anyone who already has the opposite view. Honestly, I just skimmed the last couple chapters because I wanted it to be over so bad. I would have finished it sooner if I didn't take so many breaks for eye-rolling.
The characters never felt real because they were so one-dimensional. When they talked they all sounded the same. In fact, they all just sounded like Bob Smith. Cheney and Bush were just total one-dimensional cartoons, not believable at all. The book felt rushed but interminable.
Also, plot holes galore. Could an average man and woman could keep five Black Ops soldiers tied up in a motel room for several days? Um, no. The ending was a cop-out, even though it did have sweetness. It was like he didn't have any good way to tie up all the political intrigue and time travel logistics so he just said oh well, I'll give 'em one sentence to explain it all away.
Lastly, all of the bald-faced liberal propagandizing got stale really quick, and I'm a huge liberal! The way John would just start ranting about the Bush years just didn't fit in to the book. I mean, I agree with most of his complaints, but it just stopped the action cold. That scene where him and "old Cheney" are alone in the motel room and he's just whining stock liberal complaints at him for six pages while Cheney gives snide comebacks was just painful. His shrill, sarcastic rhetoric wouldn't convince anyone who already has the opposite view. Honestly, I just skimmed the last couple chapters because I wanted it to be over so bad. I would have finished it sooner if I didn't take so many breaks for eye-rolling.
June 23, 2014
Been a while but I remember this as completely charming and a lot of fun.
April 30, 2025
This was an acid trip. That’s all.
November 7, 2011
At one time or another, we’ve all said, “If only I had known then what I know now”, or “If I had it to do over, I would…”, either quietly to ourselves or out loud. The idea of traveling back in time and rewriting history is hardly new, and the concept has been profiled repeatedly in literature, television and film.
Nevertheless, a select few titles tend to stand out as classics in the genre, such as H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and movies like Back to the Future, and The Terminator. Author and stand-up comedian Bob Smith’s second novel, Remembrance of Things I Forgot (Terrace Books), is a funny, touching and ferociously entertaining tale of time travel that has the potential to become such a classic.
John Sherkston, a comic book dealer, and his partner, Taylor Esgard, a brilliant physicist, have been together for more than a decade. The two haven’t been getting along lately, especially since Taylor was born again as a card-carrying Republican. One evening in 2006, John decides he has had enough and plans to break up with him. Yet before he can get the words out, Taylor proclaims to have made history by inventing the world’s first time machine.
When John is left alone with this breakthrough mechanism, he accidentally transports himself back to 1986. Once he recovers from the initial shock, John soon realizes the advantages to turning back the clock and tries to prevent some of the more horrific events of the past twenty years, like his sister’s downward spiral into depression, his father’s untimely death, and even the election of George W. Bush.
Knowing his disappearance has aroused suspicion in the present, John joins forces with his younger self, whom he refers to as Junior, and a younger Tyler, in a literal race against time. Their journey takes them across the entire country, beginning in the South Bronx, including stops in Buffalo, Texas, New Mexico and California.
On its own, the sequence of events makes for a compelling read, but it is Smith’s voice and signature wit, personified in the mind and spoken words of his protagonist, John, that make this novel so much more than just an adventurous road trip. The pages literally sparkle with clever, bristling, darkly comic commentary on everything from relationships and technology to politics and the environment, and how well or poorly each has evolved from then to now.
While the story is essentially a collection of outlandish incidents, Smith has created a colorful assortment of genuine, engaging characters who speak from the heart. Even those readers who are quick to dismiss a novel about time travel as absurd will be impressed or amused, at least, by the author’s choice of words and keen storytelling ability.
Bob Smith’s Remembrance of Things I Forgot is a delightful, moving portrait of a man who is given the rare opportunity to literally revisit his past, and the novel will likely be considered one of this year’s best.
Nevertheless, a select few titles tend to stand out as classics in the genre, such as H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and movies like Back to the Future, and The Terminator. Author and stand-up comedian Bob Smith’s second novel, Remembrance of Things I Forgot (Terrace Books), is a funny, touching and ferociously entertaining tale of time travel that has the potential to become such a classic.
John Sherkston, a comic book dealer, and his partner, Taylor Esgard, a brilliant physicist, have been together for more than a decade. The two haven’t been getting along lately, especially since Taylor was born again as a card-carrying Republican. One evening in 2006, John decides he has had enough and plans to break up with him. Yet before he can get the words out, Taylor proclaims to have made history by inventing the world’s first time machine.
When John is left alone with this breakthrough mechanism, he accidentally transports himself back to 1986. Once he recovers from the initial shock, John soon realizes the advantages to turning back the clock and tries to prevent some of the more horrific events of the past twenty years, like his sister’s downward spiral into depression, his father’s untimely death, and even the election of George W. Bush.
Knowing his disappearance has aroused suspicion in the present, John joins forces with his younger self, whom he refers to as Junior, and a younger Tyler, in a literal race against time. Their journey takes them across the entire country, beginning in the South Bronx, including stops in Buffalo, Texas, New Mexico and California.
On its own, the sequence of events makes for a compelling read, but it is Smith’s voice and signature wit, personified in the mind and spoken words of his protagonist, John, that make this novel so much more than just an adventurous road trip. The pages literally sparkle with clever, bristling, darkly comic commentary on everything from relationships and technology to politics and the environment, and how well or poorly each has evolved from then to now.
While the story is essentially a collection of outlandish incidents, Smith has created a colorful assortment of genuine, engaging characters who speak from the heart. Even those readers who are quick to dismiss a novel about time travel as absurd will be impressed or amused, at least, by the author’s choice of words and keen storytelling ability.
Bob Smith’s Remembrance of Things I Forgot is a delightful, moving portrait of a man who is given the rare opportunity to literally revisit his past, and the novel will likely be considered one of this year’s best.
July 11, 2014
"A comic book dealer travels back in time to stop George Bush from becoming President...." sounds like the beginning of a joke from one of Bob Smith's monologues. In fact, it is the plot of his new novel - "Remembrance of Things I Forgot."Bob Smith is a clever writer. That will come as no surprise to anyone who has heard his comedy. But layered beneath the witty observations and creative word play is book with a lot of heart. After John, the narrator, is transported back to 1986, he is faced with the "timeless" question - what parts of his past should he change? Should he make a fortune buying Microsoft stock or save someone he loves from an early death? Smith is never heavy-handed with his message, even when it comes to his pointed political and historical critiques. The story line is fun and unpredictable with a colorful cast of characters that add depth and perspective along the way. The emotional dynamic between John and the younger version of himself - "Junior" - is especially interesting and endearing. After a roller-coaster ride of misadventures, John returns to the present with a richer appreciation for the people who have shaped his life. While we don't all have boyfriends who invent time machines, some might still be able to make time stand still - at least for a little while. "Remembrance" is a wonderful novel that reminds us how, in the words of George Eliot, "It is never too late to be what you might have been."
June 30, 2011
OK so I generally hate gimmicks and I really hate time travel and this book is almost--almost--too cute for its own good, but somehow Smith managed to charm me anyway. By page three I was chortling out loud, by page ten I was relating the storyline to my bf, who proceeded to give me a wtf look. The book is seriously funny, even when it is ridiculous, I guess especially when it is ridiculous. I do feel that Smith added in too many characters towards the end in furtherance of the plot and not much else, and it made the plot move forward a bit clunkily, but his treatment of the core characters (even his over the top send-up up of Dick Cheney--then and now)more than made up for it. I guess I was willing to forgive Smith trangressions I would hate in other authors because he simply appeared to be having a good time and I had one too.
February 14, 2013
What would you do if you had the opportunity to go back in time and meet yourself? I hope it's a lot like this book. The tone is a pitch perfect --modulating seamlessly between laugh out wittiness, keenly observed trueisms and painful emotional realities. Particularly surprising and refreshing is the book's unrelenting politcal stance. He lets the villains remain the villains even though explaining (in this world) the reasons for their villianous acts. He also completely captures what's good, bad and ugly being young and not so young. Add to this romance without sappiness, boundless imagination, sexiness, silliness and wisdom and you have this compltely satisfying and utterly fabulous book. I can't say enough good things about it.
July 3, 2011
There's an quirky glee to this book. I have precisely no interest in time travel fiction or political satire, yet this book made me laugh and nearly cry at times. With perfect wit, it is a hearty but depiction of gay men coping with the AIDS crisis, 9/11 and sneering Republican politicians. All done with a mercifully light tough.
Bob Smith has great control. He could go the Kathy Griffin over the top route, speeding right past our comprehension, but never disrespects his audience that way.
He might want to leave more room to let readers infer plot points (show, don't tell, right?). Still this is a thrilling store that deserves much mire attention than I've seen it get so far.
Bob Smith has great control. He could go the Kathy Griffin over the top route, speeding right past our comprehension, but never disrespects his audience that way.
He might want to leave more room to let readers infer plot points (show, don't tell, right?). Still this is a thrilling store that deserves much mire attention than I've seen it get so far.
May 5, 2013
I can't believe how much I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. A fun concept brilliantly executed.
The short description: a gay man gets the chance to go back in time and make some changes to his life and the world.
So charmingly written, with a nice balance of humor, politics, observations about aging and some outright absurdity with a surprisingly solid emotional core. Interesting characters, nice dramatic tension and a thorough exploration of the possibilities.
The short description: a gay man gets the chance to go back in time and make some changes to his life and the world.
So charmingly written, with a nice balance of humor, politics, observations about aging and some outright absurdity with a surprisingly solid emotional core. Interesting characters, nice dramatic tension and a thorough exploration of the possibilities.
December 26, 2011
Umm... A time-traveling homo goes back in time to stop Bush from ever becoming president of the united states thus saving all of the lives and money lost in the good-time war he created. Duh, I loved it!
April 4, 2021
Amazing title, appealing concept, but sadly it’s a big stinker. The time travel aspect lends itself to endless fixations on physical attractiveness, and sexual attraction to your/your boyfriend’s older/younger self. It is the ne plus ultra of solipsistic gay masturbatory self-absorption. Add to that a shallow kneejerk mush-headed liberal political stance - pose is a more accurate word - and it gets hard to take. There are genuinely moving moments about suicide and its effects on the survivors, but that’s 10% of an otherwise off-putting journey.
January 21, 2015
A dated read.
I started this when the book first came out and stopped about halfway through as it was too political. Americans think their two party system is FASCINATING and everyone else in the world hates it. At the same time they all know everything there is to know about the opposing party and their leaders. How can you spend so much of your life paying attention to something you hate and still be happy? Well, as this book shows, you can't.
Imagine this book were being pitched right now. A gay time-travel book that delves deep into the Bush-Cheney administration. Who would read it? I imagine the thought of reliving the Bush years would roll the eyes of a lot of Democrats now. This is how I always felt about it. I didn't even know who Dick Cheney was when I started this book!
There were elements here of a good book. The characters were strong, there was occasional bon mots on the philosophical side, such as the observation about the anti-depression pills making humanity individually but not collectively happier. But it was really weighed down by over-reaching sweeping statements like:
"Our president doesn't believe in science. None of the Republicans do."
Also of note the five pages or so of rambling bible lessons. These must be skipped when reading.
A great Rosa Parks joke is followed by the line:
"A busboy brought chips and salsa to our table and we gorged on them in the same manner that the United States devoured most of Mexico in 1848."
The book is just too uneven.
While I enjoyed gaining some insight into Smith's life and respect him more, the book just had so many rambling ideas. At one point the older self is talking to his younger self and recommending books, art and travel ideas and it goes on for about six pages. I also felt some humanizing of the two villains would have helped the plot, rather than leave Dick Cheney as Snidely Whiplash.
I started this when the book first came out and stopped about halfway through as it was too political. Americans think their two party system is FASCINATING and everyone else in the world hates it. At the same time they all know everything there is to know about the opposing party and their leaders. How can you spend so much of your life paying attention to something you hate and still be happy? Well, as this book shows, you can't.
Imagine this book were being pitched right now. A gay time-travel book that delves deep into the Bush-Cheney administration. Who would read it? I imagine the thought of reliving the Bush years would roll the eyes of a lot of Democrats now. This is how I always felt about it. I didn't even know who Dick Cheney was when I started this book!
There were elements here of a good book. The characters were strong, there was occasional bon mots on the philosophical side, such as the observation about the anti-depression pills making humanity individually but not collectively happier. But it was really weighed down by over-reaching sweeping statements like:
"Our president doesn't believe in science. None of the Republicans do."
Also of note the five pages or so of rambling bible lessons. These must be skipped when reading.
A great Rosa Parks joke is followed by the line:
"A busboy brought chips and salsa to our table and we gorged on them in the same manner that the United States devoured most of Mexico in 1848."
The book is just too uneven.
While I enjoyed gaining some insight into Smith's life and respect him more, the book just had so many rambling ideas. At one point the older self is talking to his younger self and recommending books, art and travel ideas and it goes on for about six pages. I also felt some humanizing of the two villains would have helped the plot, rather than leave Dick Cheney as Snidely Whiplash.
September 1, 2012
I was surprised to learn this was not a debut novel. The writing is quite amateurish and uneven, the characters flat and unfocused, and the whole thing seemed constructed quite flimsily. (The final chapters that resolve the whole time-travel issue are almost laughably opaque in their attempt to overlook gaping plotholes in the story.) I also agree wholeheartedly with the narrator's progressive politics, but the scatching political rants injected into what is effectively a piece of queer pop fluff were all extremely awkward. Really, the main issue of the book was an issue of tone. Everything felt uncomfortably out of whack.
So why 3 stars? Luckily for Smith, the tantalizing allure of his premise -- what if you could go back in time and both save all your failed relationships AND keep Bush/Cheney and his cronies from ruining our country? -- was enough to keep me flipping anxiously to the end, even though I scowlingly hate-read every word of it the entire time.
So why 3 stars? Luckily for Smith, the tantalizing allure of his premise -- what if you could go back in time and both save all your failed relationships AND keep Bush/Cheney and his cronies from ruining our country? -- was enough to keep me flipping anxiously to the end, even though I scowlingly hate-read every word of it the entire time.
October 21, 2015
This is two stories, really; one I enjoyed, one I didn't. The first is an introspective piece about family and aging and what can (and can't) be done to fix the past. There's some interesting meat here about how we assess our own success or failure and what it means to come to terms with mortality. The second is a pseudo-political thriller, in which a caricature of Dick Cheney spends a lot of time unconvincingly chewing scenery and the liberal protagonist spends a lot of time ranting about the evils of the Republican party. I am pretty damn liberal, but the political philosophy advanced here, such as it was, was so shallow as to make me embarrassed for my side. It read almost like a conservative's take on what a liberal might think.
I'm glad I read it, but man, I wish there was a version with only the A storyline.
I'm glad I read it, but man, I wish there was a version with only the A storyline.
September 17, 2016
This endearing novel alternates between sweet humor and serious politics. What if you could time travel? Would you save the world or save your family? In breaking all the rules of a typical 'Doctor Who' episode, our hero John Sherkson, on the brink of breaking up with his boyfriend Taylor, decides to save his sister after no less than evil Dick Cheney bumps him back twenty years to the mid-1980s via Taylor's steampunk-style time machine, placed amusingly in a SoHo loft. He immediately gravitates toward his younger self, whom he dubs Junior, and a road trip with a younger Taylor combines sometimes polemical politics that rehashes the horrid Bush-Cheney administration's corruption, to the men themselves, via a trip to Midland, Texas. Will he and his pals save the world, and his family? No spoilers, sweetie!
March 8, 2012
Started out strong - funny & interesting, and I can't resist good time-travel love story. (The strong beginning is the only reason it gets more than one star from me.) Then it went downhill. and then it kept going downhill. and then it went further. and then.... you get the idea.
SPOILER:
time travel and making out with your past self and convincing your mom that you're you from the future and your sister's going to kill herself, that's all well and good, but where one version of Dick Cheney is waterboarding another version of Dick Cheney on an ironing board in a hotel room... that's where you lose me, as far as credibility goes.
also, WAY too much focus on the sister. The whole THING becomes about the sister and we haven't met her and have no reason to care about her.
SPOILER:
time travel and making out with your past self and convincing your mom that you're you from the future and your sister's going to kill herself, that's all well and good, but where one version of Dick Cheney is waterboarding another version of Dick Cheney on an ironing board in a hotel room... that's where you lose me, as far as credibility goes.
also, WAY too much focus on the sister. The whole THING becomes about the sister and we haven't met her and have no reason to care about her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2014
From the acknowledgments:
"The first person I want to thank is Michael Carroll, who read a time-travel short story I'd written and told me, 'I think this should be a novel.'"
I strongly disagree. This would have been a fine short story, and Smith writes really well, with an acerbic sense of humor that is actually funny. But the relentless digressions and left-wing politics, jokes, and even Dick Cheney showing up with a gun and stalking the narrator into the past—well, it was all a bit too much. The first chapter boded well; it was sort of a plot mess after that.
"The first person I want to thank is Michael Carroll, who read a time-travel short story I'd written and told me, 'I think this should be a novel.'"
I strongly disagree. This would have been a fine short story, and Smith writes really well, with an acerbic sense of humor that is actually funny. But the relentless digressions and left-wing politics, jokes, and even Dick Cheney showing up with a gun and stalking the narrator into the past—well, it was all a bit too much. The first chapter boded well; it was sort of a plot mess after that.
April 12, 2012
Is gay fiction dead? Based on the glorious reviews and cover blurbs from Edmund White and Christopher Bram I expected so much more from this book but found it too trite and too cute to get through. The gay stuff read like something written 30 years ago and the scifi was just lazy. Bram's own Father of Frankenstein is a superior read - a great book that deftly incorporates both gay and scifi elements that propel and enrich the story.
March 11, 2012
Hilarious book about a gay Democratic guy sent back in time by Dick Cheney in order to change events, so that ultimately his actions end up sending the Bush/Cheney team to the White House. His interactions with his mother, his younger self, the younger George Bush & both Dick Cheneys become quite complex, and forces him to examine all of his beliefs and values. Some heatwarming moments, especially when he realizes the effect he has had on his sister. Well recommended.
January 21, 2016
A time-traveling homosexual--being chased by two evil Dick Cheneys--on a mission to save his sister from suicide, stop his boyfriend from becoming a Republican, and derail George W. Bush's ascendancy to the presidency?!? So absurd it surely cannot be pulled off; and yet, with this deeply funny and touching novel, Bob Smith more than pulls it off. A must-read for any gay Doctor Who fan/hater of the Bush presidency.
June 13, 2012
Remembrance Of Things I Forgot:
One of Amazon's Top Ten Gay and Lesbian Books of 2011
Shortlisted for the United Kingdom's prestigious award for LGBT books, The Green Carnation Prize
Nominated for the Publishing Triangle's Award for Best Novel.
Won an Honor Award for LGBT books presented by the American Library Association
One of Amazon's Top Ten Gay and Lesbian Books of 2011
Shortlisted for the United Kingdom's prestigious award for LGBT books, The Green Carnation Prize
Nominated for the Publishing Triangle's Award for Best Novel.
Won an Honor Award for LGBT books presented by the American Library Association
July 30, 2012
This is absolutely the best book I have read in years! If you haven't read it, stop whatever you're doing right this minute and BUY THIS BOOK. Bob Smith is absolutely brilliant. His writing is so crisp, funny, engaging, entertaining - he's a fantastic writer. This book is ingenious and brilliantly executed. Loved the book and have given copies to friends. READ IT NOW!
February 20, 2012
Interesting premise, and amusing, for the most part. But I knew how the book would end about one chapter in. I rarely do this, but I skipped ahead to see if I was right, and sure enough. Then I went back through and skimmed to see if there were any more interesting parts. There weren't.
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