What do you think?
Rate this book
Lost in Time
In this innovative time-travel tale, Enzensberger treats history with the same wit, knowledge, adn charm that he broght to mathematics in The Number Devil.
When fourteen-year-old Robert blinks, he is pulled into the place and time of whatever he happens to be looking at. A television documentary leaves him shivering in Siberia in 1956, a movie drops him into the opal mines of post-war Australia, a photo on a mantle zips him off to impoverished Weimar Germany. And that's only the beginning. Hans Magnus Enzensberger takes us through seven countries and historical periods, recreating in each place the mood and temper of the time. But how can Robert return to his own home and kitchen? Landing in seventeenth-century Holland as apprentice to a great painter, Robert comes upon a solution -- but only if he can recall the future, perfectly.
Readers will be swept along by Enzensberger's fast-paced plot, keen eye for detail, fine sense of romance and intrigue, and clever techniques for propelling Robert along his journey. An enchanting introduction to world history, Lost in Time is an engaging novel for readers of all ages.
When fourteen-year-old Robert blinks, he is pulled into the place and time of whatever he happens to be looking at. A television documentary leaves him shivering in Siberia in 1956, a movie drops him into the opal mines of post-war Australia, a photo on a mantle zips him off to impoverished Weimar Germany. And that's only the beginning. Hans Magnus Enzensberger takes us through seven countries and historical periods, recreating in each place the mood and temper of the time. But how can Robert return to his own home and kitchen? Landing in seventeenth-century Holland as apprentice to a great painter, Robert comes upon a solution -- but only if he can recall the future, perfectly.
Readers will be swept along by Enzensberger's fast-paced plot, keen eye for detail, fine sense of romance and intrigue, and clever techniques for propelling Robert along his journey. An enchanting introduction to world history, Lost in Time is an engaging novel for readers of all ages.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1998
8 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
About the author
Hans Magnus Enzensberger
310 books165 followersSee also:
Cyrillic: Ханс Магнус Енценсбергер
Hans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr.
Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the Pour Le Mérite, among many others.
He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.
Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.
Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Cyrillic: Ханс Магнус Енценсбергер
Hans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr.
Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the Pour Le Mérite, among many others.
He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.
Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.
Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 4, 2020
Dang, I love this book.
So, I read this back in '01, when I first moved to LA, and I was so impressed with it I put it on my Amazon wishlist. In 2012, a friend bought it for me several moves later, when I had come back to LA again, and (like most of my books) it sat on my shelves until I got around to rereading it. I think privately I was hoping the suck fairy hadn't come to visit, and you can imagine my relief when I discovered it hadn't.
Anyway, I've noticed that many YA time travel books tend to follow the same sort of plot. The young hero travels back in time, usually to Victorian or Edwardian times, learns some valuable life lesson, and either stays in the past or comes back. There's a heaping dose of sentiment, learning about history, the power of friendship, etc.
But LOST IN TIME inverts/subverts all of those tropes. Our hero, Robert, for some mysterious reason, finds himself falls deeper and deeper in sporadic leaps down the well of time. First, he finds himself in 1956 Siberia; then 1946 Australia; then his hometown in during the Weimar Republic in 1930. The leaps then get more progressively distant from his time and culture, and Robert wonders if he's going to spiral back to the Stone Age, falling further and further away from his friends and family and everything he's ever loved.
This is what you would get if you asked a famous German mathematician/poet to write a kid's fantasy novel, but I love it, because it IS so weird, twisty and unexpected. And yet, all the episodes link together, and it builds to a satisfying climax. I won't spoil it, because I think it's definitely worth a read. But it's the kind of book that lingers in your head for days.
As can be expected, this is book can be dark as pitch; it doesn't sugar coat the past. It is very unsentimental. Robert sees a lot of truly horrible things, like robbery, slaughter, and executions, and I think he probably has some PTSD at the end. But it's nice to see a time travel book aimed for kids set in the past that doesn't sugar coat it: and most importantly, Robert has NO INTEREST in staying in the past. He meets some lovely people during all his stops, but every time period has different flavors of awfulness. If it's not the KGB, it's rampant racism against Aborigines, or anti-Semitism and Brownshirts, or parochial xenophobia, or a murderous royal hierarchy, or brigandage and rape, or... or... The list goes on and on. I know mentioning this might make this book sound extremely depressing, but it really isn't. There's so much great humor and gentle humanity that really leavens the grim surroundings; along with the confident, stripped down, elegant prose, it's a joy to read, from start to finish.
I also loved how Robert constantly struggles with practical necessities. Money, food, clothes... How does he live? How can he fit in? How can he not seem crazy? I live for this stuff in time travel stories, but I'm constantly surprised at how many authors choose to ignore it. But yeah-- it's all here. The details are great for all the periods. I loved Robert's irritation with a schmaltzy tango played repetitively on a Gramophone in 1930, marveling at how all the boys in small town Norway in 1860 look like characters from Struwwelpeter, and his slow adaptation to flowery courtly language in the early 18th century.
Robert could have easily been a Gary Stu, but he's full of flaws as anyone else; he's irritable, judgmental, hot-tempered, and prone to impulse. Over the course of the book he has to learn how to be patient, and plan, and adjust, and be less quick to judge. I really liked his character arc. My only quibble with the book is that it could have easily been longer, and some of the episodes could have been developed more, but that might have taken away from Robert's arc.
Anyway, this is an excellent book. I would rate it a 4.5. This is a YA classic, and a strong, subversive example of the time travel genre. Highly recommended!
So, I read this back in '01, when I first moved to LA, and I was so impressed with it I put it on my Amazon wishlist. In 2012, a friend bought it for me several moves later, when I had come back to LA again, and (like most of my books) it sat on my shelves until I got around to rereading it. I think privately I was hoping the suck fairy hadn't come to visit, and you can imagine my relief when I discovered it hadn't.
Anyway, I've noticed that many YA time travel books tend to follow the same sort of plot. The young hero travels back in time, usually to Victorian or Edwardian times, learns some valuable life lesson, and either stays in the past or comes back. There's a heaping dose of sentiment, learning about history, the power of friendship, etc.
But LOST IN TIME inverts/subverts all of those tropes. Our hero, Robert, for some mysterious reason, finds himself falls deeper and deeper in sporadic leaps down the well of time. First, he finds himself in 1956 Siberia; then 1946 Australia; then his hometown in during the Weimar Republic in 1930. The leaps then get more progressively distant from his time and culture, and Robert wonders if he's going to spiral back to the Stone Age, falling further and further away from his friends and family and everything he's ever loved.
This is what you would get if you asked a famous German mathematician/poet to write a kid's fantasy novel, but I love it, because it IS so weird, twisty and unexpected. And yet, all the episodes link together, and it builds to a satisfying climax. I won't spoil it, because I think it's definitely worth a read. But it's the kind of book that lingers in your head for days.
As can be expected, this is book can be dark as pitch; it doesn't sugar coat the past. It is very unsentimental. Robert sees a lot of truly horrible things, like robbery, slaughter, and executions, and I think he probably has some PTSD at the end. But it's nice to see a time travel book aimed for kids set in the past that doesn't sugar coat it: and most importantly, Robert has NO INTEREST in staying in the past. He meets some lovely people during all his stops, but every time period has different flavors of awfulness. If it's not the KGB, it's rampant racism against Aborigines, or anti-Semitism and Brownshirts, or parochial xenophobia, or a murderous royal hierarchy, or brigandage and rape, or... or... The list goes on and on. I know mentioning this might make this book sound extremely depressing, but it really isn't. There's so much great humor and gentle humanity that really leavens the grim surroundings; along with the confident, stripped down, elegant prose, it's a joy to read, from start to finish.
I also loved how Robert constantly struggles with practical necessities. Money, food, clothes... How does he live? How can he fit in? How can he not seem crazy? I live for this stuff in time travel stories, but I'm constantly surprised at how many authors choose to ignore it. But yeah-- it's all here. The details are great for all the periods. I loved Robert's irritation with a schmaltzy tango played repetitively on a Gramophone in 1930, marveling at how all the boys in small town Norway in 1860 look like characters from Struwwelpeter, and his slow adaptation to flowery courtly language in the early 18th century.
Robert could have easily been a Gary Stu, but he's full of flaws as anyone else; he's irritable, judgmental, hot-tempered, and prone to impulse. Over the course of the book he has to learn how to be patient, and plan, and adjust, and be less quick to judge. I really liked his character arc. My only quibble with the book is that it could have easily been longer, and some of the episodes could have been developed more, but that might have taken away from Robert's arc.
Anyway, this is an excellent book. I would rate it a 4.5. This is a YA classic, and a strong, subversive example of the time travel genre. Highly recommended!
February 10, 2008
Lost in time is a different sort of time travel novel, indeed the German origins are quite apparent. Robert is a young hero who will appeal to both boys and girls, he moves through time, spending a total of two years in the past, divided between seven different times. His mechinism for time travel is that in times of stress when he is staring at some image he will be transported to when the image was made, thus he travels through slow increments backwards. He first travels to the 1950s in Siberia and then to the 1940s in Australia. One interesting aspect of this book is the use of languages. Robert speaks German and studied English in school, but when he travels to the past he doesn't automatically speak the language of the time and lands. His travels are limited to areas where he finds someone who speaks at least a little of either German or English. There are some interesting comments on language, and ways that people fit into their surroundings.
July 30, 2022
A very mild read
April 26, 2012
Enzenberger wrote a delightful children's story that is well enough written that an adult can enjoy it too. The concept of time travel is not new or unique for fiction, but Robert's adventures make for good reading. The forays into periods of European history are interesting.
June 6, 2020
I read this when I was abroad - I think I borrowed it from a library in New Zealand. It's quite haunting and very compelling, not quite like anything else I've read. Gentle yet meaningful. Good for existentialists who have had enough trauma...
December 12, 2023
I picked this Book up while I was in a small bookshop in Manchester that was packed with second hand Books to the ceiling.
I brought it back with me to germany and found out later that it was actually a german book translated to english hahah...
But that aside, the book is very interesting.
I didnt think id get past the first few chapters on a book I only randomly took with me inthr spur of a moment but i ended up loving it unexpectedly.
None of the characters are particularly designed to be likable or relatable so its a book that purely strives off of the weirdness and execution of its premise but it does that well.
I usually am never interested in book with time travel as I often find it irritaed and overexplained and so on but the pure magic of this book is that the protagonist has no idea either.
He travels back in time and as someone who usually reads more books focussed on the inner working of people and the human condition, having to figure out how to travel back home in time with his unique and strangely "controlled" power actually had me wondering.
Its very interesting to explore the time periods our protagonist travels to with him but it never feels like you know too much.
You are similarly stranded in this very particular situation which gives the book a lot of charm.
As the main character learns how to roll with the punches and fit in as to avoid unwanted attention while also trying to survive in a time period he practically always gets thrown into without and resources at all we get an interesting narrative and journey to follow and it feels truely magical.
I brought it back with me to germany and found out later that it was actually a german book translated to english hahah...
But that aside, the book is very interesting.
I didnt think id get past the first few chapters on a book I only randomly took with me inthr spur of a moment but i ended up loving it unexpectedly.
None of the characters are particularly designed to be likable or relatable so its a book that purely strives off of the weirdness and execution of its premise but it does that well.
I usually am never interested in book with time travel as I often find it irritaed and overexplained and so on but the pure magic of this book is that the protagonist has no idea either.
He travels back in time and as someone who usually reads more books focussed on the inner working of people and the human condition, having to figure out how to travel back home in time with his unique and strangely "controlled" power actually had me wondering.
Its very interesting to explore the time periods our protagonist travels to with him but it never feels like you know too much.
You are similarly stranded in this very particular situation which gives the book a lot of charm.
As the main character learns how to roll with the punches and fit in as to avoid unwanted attention while also trying to survive in a time period he practically always gets thrown into without and resources at all we get an interesting narrative and journey to follow and it feels truely magical.
January 29, 2022
Where Were you Robert? By Hans Magnus Enzensberger is about a boy called Robert who finds he has the ability to be thrown into time when he looks at some sort of visual stimulus.
The first time this happens he is watching a documentary about Siberia and is throwing into it, then whilst in Siberia he watches a film and is thrown to where they’re making that. Then photographs may send him somewhere, then even illustrations. His biggest problem is that because he can only travel through images, he necessarily finds himself further back in time and further away from home.
At first I thought this was a book about resilience. Robert lands in countries and times completely different to any he knows but finds himself adapting and building lives in each. Despite some helpful people, he is largely left to his own ingenuity and manages to build something of a life in each timezone before he is shot off again. However, as the book went on it became clearer that its main problem was one of identity. The book takes place over two years in Robert’s personal timeline, he is changing in himself. Not only that but the need to create a new life in each new time and place means he becomes many different people; from spy, to painter, to brigand. How can Robert maintain his sense of self and what is a self when it can’t even be charted along a timeline?
Written for older children, I found it a really engaging story with a deep philosophical core.
The first time this happens he is watching a documentary about Siberia and is throwing into it, then whilst in Siberia he watches a film and is thrown to where they’re making that. Then photographs may send him somewhere, then even illustrations. His biggest problem is that because he can only travel through images, he necessarily finds himself further back in time and further away from home.
At first I thought this was a book about resilience. Robert lands in countries and times completely different to any he knows but finds himself adapting and building lives in each. Despite some helpful people, he is largely left to his own ingenuity and manages to build something of a life in each timezone before he is shot off again. However, as the book went on it became clearer that its main problem was one of identity. The book takes place over two years in Robert’s personal timeline, he is changing in himself. Not only that but the need to create a new life in each new time and place means he becomes many different people; from spy, to painter, to brigand. How can Robert maintain his sense of self and what is a self when it can’t even be charted along a timeline?
Written for older children, I found it a really engaging story with a deep philosophical core.
September 27, 2023
Powerful and beautiful descriptions of the environment of every time and place that Robert ends up, fascinating adventures and details of his struggles for survival as a time-traveller. You grow to love Robert as a main character, as well as other side characters, even though they have little to none opportunity to develop. After all, it is a short story for children, teenagers & YA, but it is well written and interesting enough for adults to also have a satisfying, pleasant read. Especially interesting and captivating as you move past the first travels of Robert and reach the climax and resolution of the story.
June 23, 2023
Das Buch hat recht interessante Momente: Ich fand es recht spannend, wie Robert durch die Zeit gereist ist und auch die Kontraste zwischen den Charakteren, die er trifft, waren recht interessant- manche waren obdachlos, andere besaßen so viel Land, dass sie nicht einmal wussten, wie viel sie davon besaßen... Mit Robert selbst kam ich aber nicht zurecht, denn stellenweise reagierte er nicht wirklich oder zu schwach auf das, was ihm passierte.
February 7, 2021
A cute time travel book, written in spare prose. Not a very deep book in terms of character development but very evocative, by drawing precise pictures of all the worlds Robert passes through on his way back home. A neat read.
December 1, 2025
Encontré este libro en una librería vieja y lo tomé sin leer siquiera de qué trataba; realmente fue muy divertido e interesante poder adentrarme en tantos escenarios a través de la historia, no suelo releer libros pero no me molestaría en lo absoluto repetir esta lectura.
March 13, 2022
Un carinissimo romanzo per ragazzi.
November 26, 2023
«Por inútiles que fueran sus recuerdos le tranquilizaba haberlos salvado, porque eran la única prueba palpable de que seguía siendo él mismo».
November 28, 2023
Boring and uninspired imo
July 19, 2024
Δεν περίμενα να είναι τόσο καλό !
June 20, 2012
This is one of these weird books. Historical fiction, my eye. Time travel is always a sticky topic to categorize.
But the book. The book was okay, but he could have tried for a little more emotion. As a study of math, The Number Devil worked without adding too much emotion. As a study of history, which is more nebulous and often (dare I say) boring, I think adding emotion would have induced my interest a little more.
As a result of no emotion, the two girlfriends (or, he believed they were his girlfriends for no apparent reason whatsoever than their proximity to him in age) were unexpected and unpleasant.
Another thing, but this is just for those of us reading this book in English: the original language is German. So Robert's language troubles as he travels through the years are slightly more confusing. You just have to remember that Robert speaks German and a little English and learns other languages along the way.
But the book. The book was okay, but he could have tried for a little more emotion. As a study of math, The Number Devil worked without adding too much emotion. As a study of history, which is more nebulous and often (dare I say) boring, I think adding emotion would have induced my interest a little more.
As a result of no emotion, the two girlfriends (or, he believed they were his girlfriends for no apparent reason whatsoever than their proximity to him in age) were unexpected and unpleasant.
Another thing, but this is just for those of us reading this book in English: the original language is German. So Robert's language troubles as he travels through the years are slightly more confusing. You just have to remember that Robert speaks German and a little English and learns other languages along the way.
October 30, 2013
This was a very disappointing book. The write-up promised an intriguing journey through time, but it just did not deliver. It was disjointed with very little integration between each 'episode'. The 'episodes' were all unbelievable in the way the lead character landed on his feet each time, despite being in some very bad situations, and spent most of the time just explaining the time period. There was also very little continuity throughout the 'episodes', all leading to very little story. I would not recommend this book.
January 15, 2012
Roberto was also present in the other book of Enzensberger I read. Despite seeing it only 2 times, I feel like I know Roberto :P He is clever enough to be a 15 years old, but not too much to be unpleasant. So he finds himself thrown in the past for 7 times, and he must be brave enough to look like he is not coming from future.
A really pretty story, with a bit of history (but not too tedious!)
A really pretty story, with a bit of history (but not too tedious!)
October 2, 2013
Ik begin vandaag dit boek te lezen. Het is de eerste roman van deze dichter die ik lees. Inmiddels is het klaar. Erg lezenswaardig; spijtig dat er nog wat tikfouten in de tekst staan. Lijkt tegenwoordig wel een trend, een boek uitgeven met fouten.
Vond iets van mezelf terug in het nawoord.
Vond iets van mezelf terug in het nawoord.
March 19, 2008
Reviewed for CPBR
November 3, 2009
I liked this book better than The Number Devil.
July 27, 2013
By reading this book, I had traveled to places together with Robert. It's really descriptive! And I love descriptive stories! Glad I picked up this book.
April 19, 2017
Lost in Time is about 13 year old Robert who day dreams regularly. He travels backwards in time every time he rub his eyes and looks at a image, picture, etc. But every time he goes back in time, Robert really doesn't have control over where or when. The best aspects of the book were how every time Robert traveled back in time he had to adapt to the new place, language, and culture. The book thoroughly explains in details of Roberts point of view of what he experiences. He then had to face the biggest challenge, a way to find home. The whole adventure is over a period of two years over 7 different journey's .
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews