The Vanishing Hours

by Barney Norris

'Shot through with compassion . . . this dreamlike, winding tale is a joy.' A. L. KENNEDY

'Moving and unconventionally wise' Guardian

This was how I heard the most important story of my life, the thing that decided me, the story that determined who I was in the end.

At a hotel bar in a quiet English town, two strangers meet by chance and share their stories. Hers is of an inconspicuous life, shaken by heartbreak and scattered with unfulfilled dreams. His is a dizzying tale of an unending quest for someone he lost in his youth.

From the blustery cliffs of Dover to the confines of a dark prison cell; from the courtroom witness box to the West End stage, we join him as he slips through time.

Extraordinary though his story is, what she has to reveal is even more surprising, and will take them to a place neither of them – or you – expected.

From the bestselling author of FIVE RIVERS MET ON A WOODED PLAIN comes this captivating novel about love, abandonment, and the power of stories to help us find meaning in a confusing world – a world that can sometimes threaten to overwhelm us, but one that is rich with possibility, and always full of wonder.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2020

About the author

Barney Norris is a playwright and novelist. His work has received awards from the International Theatre Institute, the Critics' Circle, the Evening Standard, the Society of Authors and the South Bank Sky Arts Times Breakthrough Awards, among others, and been translated into eight languages. His plays include Visitors, Nightfall and an acclaimed adaptation of Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day; his novels include Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting novel of relationship and interactions of lost love and life

[auserlesenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sie ist Ende 60, einsam und genießt die Gartenarbeit. Er ist in seinen Siebzigern und ein ehemaliger Schauspieler. In einer englischen Hotelbar treffen die beiden zufällig aufeinander. Der Mann erzählt ihr dort die Geschichte einer langen Suche.

„Die Jahre ohne uns“ ist ein Roman von Barney Norris.

Meine Meinung:
Der Roman besteht aus drei Teilen, denen jeweils ein Zitat aus der Literatur vorangestellt ist. Der erste und der dritte Teil werden aus der Sicht der Frau, der zweite aus der Sicht des Mannes erzählt - immer in der Ich-Perspektive. Dieser Aufbau funktioniert gut.

Der unaufgeregte Schreibstil ist teilweise etwas verschachtelt und erfordert viel Aufmerksamkeit beim Lesen. Er ist aber auch bildstark und atmosphärisch. Darüber hinaus zeugt er von Sprachgewandtheit und einem besonderen Ausdrucksvermögen. Einige Abschnitte sind wie Einträge einer Enzyklopädie formuliert, was ich für eine schöne Idee halte.

Die beiden Protagonisten sind durchaus interessante und authentisch dargestellte Charaktere. Ein wenig gestört hat mich, dass sie namenlos bleiben. Weitere Figuren treten nur indirekt in Erscheinung.

Die Geschichte kommt im ersten Teil nur langsam in Gang und ist recht handlungsarm. Der zweite Teil gefällt mir schon besser. Die Wendung zum Schluss war für mich leider bereits ab der Mitte recht vorhersehbar. Insgesamt ist der Roman aufgrund von einigen Ausschweifungen zudem stellenweise etwas langatmig.

Inhaltlich ist die Geschichte anders als von mir gemäß des etwas irreführenden deutschen Klappentextes erwartet. Allerdings ist sie stark philosophisch angehaucht und regt immer wieder zum Nachdenken an - auch über das eigene Leben. Darin liegt eine Stärke des Romans. Es geht unter anderem um wichtige Entscheidungen, verpasste Chancen und Reue. Außerdem konnte mich die Geschichte immer wieder berühren.

Das Cover ist erfrischend anders und passt gut zum Inhalt. Der deutsche Titel weicht vom englischsprachigen Original („The Vanishing Hours“) ab und verrät leider recht viel.

Mein Fazit:
Auch wenn „Die Jahre ohne uns“ von Barney Norris in meinen Augen mehrere Schwächen aufweist und meine Erwartungen nicht ganz erfüllt hat, ist der Roman durchaus eine besondere Lektüre.

[Somersetlovestoread · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people flit around the world at speed collecting t-shirts and ticking off bucket list destinations. Others have such vivid imaginations and observe so minutely that standing still allows their minds to soak up experience and perceptions in a way the rest of us will never achieve.
"I ran the hot tap till it stung the back of my hand, then put the plug in and squeezed a bit of Fairy into the sink. I scrubbed the plate and the knife and the cup with the washing-up brush, then rinsed them under the tap that was still running and put them on the drainer. Then I picked up a tea towel and dried each object and put them back in their rightful places, in the correct drawers and cupboards." - The everyday put under the microscope and studied in minute detail with the attention of the obsessive.
Barney Norris has one of those hyper aware minds that is a precious bane. To be allowed into his thoughts is like spending time in a washing machine. Although a short novel, 'The Vanishing Hours' exhausted me but left me unable to sleep.
This is a story of two journeys, both very different but precipitated by the same moment in time.
Whether the main characters take real or imagined journeys is irrelevant. What is important is the insight into the suffering experienced by both.
'The Vanishing Hours' is unique, beautiful, extraordinary and exhausting - as I suspect is the mind of its author. But what a mind! I can't wait to see what this flawed genius writes next.

[Geoffrey Gudgion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing drew me in; there's an economy of words which is brilliant. At first I wondered if it was going to be just about two sad people meeting in a bar and telling their life stories, but the tale takes some bizarre twists and holds you to the end. Thoughtful and in places moving.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I think Norris has a wonderfully lyrical way of writing but the story was dull. It felt like chapter one could have been halved and some of the voices didn’t ring true. I know he was retelling the story but still the voices could have been clearer. I think the message behind it is a strong one, to care and connect with our life and others but I found my mind drifting constantly and had to reread passages.

[Len Northfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, deep, and deeply human book. A story of love and loss (in all its forms), of fear, and regret, and recovery, and reconciliation. Barney Norris writes a tap-root to the heart of us all. Magic.

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zwei Fremde treffen aufeinander, beide um die 70 Jahre alt. Aus der Ichperspektive erzählt die weibliche Person von Höhen und Tiefen im Leben, vom Scheitern und Neuanfangen. Weil sie geordnete Systeme und Worte liebt, besteht ihr Text aus Assoziationen zu Schlagwörtern. Damit möchte sie vermitteln, dass es lohnt, sich zu erinnern. Ihr Springen von einem Begriff zum anderen könnte jedoch beispielhaft für das assoziierende Erinnern alter Menschen stehen.

Dass ihre Idee der Enzyklopädie verknüpfter Anekdoten damals von der Open University nicht als Abschlussarbeit angenommen wird, ist einer der Tiefpunkte in ihrem Leben. Ihre Pläne waren hochfliegend; ihr Projekt sollte anderen Menschen Teilhabe ermöglichen und ihnen den Zugang zu ihrer Epoche erleichtern. In ihrer Kindheit (in der ihr Vater überraschend verschwand) lernte man noch, sich selbst nicht wichtig zu nehmen. Zum Ende ihres Lebens hin kann sie ihren Hang zu negativen Urteilen einordnen und hat gelernt, dass Traumata und die Neigung zu Depressionen an die Nachkommen vererbt werden. Die Liebe der Unbekannten zu Musik gibt dem Roman eine Tonspur; das sorgfältige Notieren der gehörten Stücke wird ihr schon immer Halt gegeben haben. An der Veränderung der Urteile der Erzählerin lässt sich ihr Altern nachvollziehen. Als Leser folgt man einer sprachlich gewandten Figur, die mit Ungesagtem eine geheimnisvolle Atmosphäre schafft – bis ihr Gesprächspartner auftaucht.

In einer Hotelbar wird sie förmlich überrumpelt von einem Mann, der sich nicht kurzfassen kann, sondern – ebenfalls in der Ichform - seine Geschichte nur komplett und in der richtigen Reihenfolge hervorbringen kann. Auch er ist ein eloquenter Erzähler, der von einer Zeit berichtet, als er noch nicht erkennen konnte, wie glücklich er damals war. Seine Erlebnisse könnten einen eigenständigen Roman füllen – dabei wartete ich beim Lesen darauf, endlich der Verbindung zwischen beiden Figuren auf die Spur zu kommen, die sie in diese Bar geführt hat. Während "ihr" Geheimnis alltäglich zu sein scheint, ist "seins" offenbar riesengroß, phantastisch und verschlungen.

Die Auflösung konnte mich verblüffen, wie auch die Sensibilität, mit der ein 1987 geborener Autor die Marotten zweier älterer Personen nachempfindet. Wer überzeugt ist, dass man durch einen Schrank in phantastische Welten klettern kann, sollte hier zugreifen.

[Frau Honig liest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Idee des Buches und viele Ansätze haben mir sehr gut gefallen! Auch verwendet der Autor wunderschöne Worte. Wegen seiner Art zu schreiben habe ich mir von ganzem Herzen gewünscht, das Buch zu lieben! Leider konnte ich das nicht. Es hat mich größtenteils ziemlich verwirrt und ich hatte wirklich Probleme, die Gedankenstränge zu verfolgen. Wir landen in vielen verschiedenen Windungen der Leben der Protagonisten und ich hatte das Gefühl, mich in diesen Widnungen zu verlieren und verzweifelt den Handlungsstrang zu suchen. Ein Buch bei dem es mir sehr schwer fällt es so streng zu bewerten weil ich mir durchaus vorstellen kann, dass viele andere das Buch sehr gerne mögen werden. Vielleicht war ich nicht schlau genug um das Buch zu verstehen oder es war nicht der richtige Zeitpunkt für mich!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and crafted. Interesting content that may take some time to digest...

[Emma Newrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I picked up my glass, and stood, and walked over to where the man was sitting. This was how I heard the most important story of my life, the thing that decided me, the story that determined who I was in the end”

Beautifully written. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

[Logan Mowid · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn't a great story in my opinion. It was slow to start with not a ton of plot movement or story, then cuts to the middle where the main thing happens but it takes a while to get through it all, then the end was somewhat predictable and decent. I took a message from the book which was good but overall I only finished it because it was short

[Alan M · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I slipped across the world, through time, until a sense of vertigo overwhelmed me, until I could hardly engage with anything. You can't imagine how many lives I've lived, how many different worlds I've woken to.'

Barney Norris' third novel continues the impressive body of work from this relatively young author. It is quiet, reflective piece of writing which leaves the reader never quite sure exactly what just happened.

A woman walks into a hotel bar after a hospital appointment. As a child, her father walked out and left her mother to bring up her daughter alone. As a woman, her own husband walked out on her. Now, alone, she reflects back on her life. In the bar she meets a man who starts to tell her his astonishing life story. It is a story of different selves, different worlds; he claims that at any given point he has been transported into another body, another time, as though every door is a portal. His story is one of loss, a quest for the woman he walked out on after a marital argument, a woman he has been unable to return to as a result of his extraordinary life. Somehow, these two lost people are connected...

Norris reminds me of a (slightly) younger Jon McGregor, with his lyrical sentences, his attention to nature and our surrounding world, and with his meditations on loss and love. This is the work of a fine writer, one who is developing into a great writer. It is a book to make you stop and consider your own lives, the chances that we let slip, the regrets we have. Definitely recommended. 4 stars.

[Juliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barney Norris, author of Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain and Turning For Home, sent me a (signed!) proof of his new novel The Vanishing Hours, published next month by Doubleday/ Transworld. I've been a fan of Norris' writing from day, his sensitivity to human emotion and his deft way of weaving the interior narrative of characters with the action of the plot; The Vanishing Hours is, in that sense and more, Norris' finest work yet. The narrative is singularly thrilling, in a way unlike his previous novels yet carrying a trace, and the central premise of the novel, about two lost souls meeting amidst the chaos, is a classic trope told new, through a lens of metaphor surrounding mental illness and, more importantly, recovery. If Norris is making an argument, I think it is about sharing our stories, especially around mental illness; that we must break away from the trap of loneliness and find solace in shared experience, love and connection. I won't say too much, but I think the novel is as rewarding as it is frustrating, painstakingly crafted and heartbreakingly beautiful in its conclusion, a work that can speak to so many people. It's also fully compelling: the proof arrived yesterday and by this morning l'd finished it, unable to stop thinking about it overnight. Once again Norris has wrought a story that senses some quiet and inalienable thing about what it means to be human, and magnifies it, allowing his readers to bask in it, cry in it, and find redemption in it, the strength to march on.

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Vanishing Hours is a meditation on love, abandonment and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world we live in, and our place in it.

The first part of the novel concerns a woman who never truly recovered after her father left home when she was quite young. As an adult she moved to London and married, but when her husband also left, she returned to the Wiltshire of her childhood. Once, she dreamt of creating an encyclopedia of all the words she loved, and through these linked entries we learn about the events that have brought her to this point in time.

"PARADISE. A place that we visit in sleep. A dream people cling to by way of compensation. A journey someone hopes to go on one day. Something you remember, years later, and realise you didn’t love enough at the time it was happening to you. Youth, once it’s far enough behind you to look at it clearly."

The second section involves a man she meets in a bar. She invites him to tell her his story, and a strange one it is indeed. He is searching for his lost life, and in searching has traversed through many different lives, never staying in one long enough to forge meaningful connections with others. His lived experience speaks to the fragmentary nature of memory, how we reinvent history each time we examine past events.

As ever with Barney Norris, the writing is lyrical and swirls around these two damaged and lonely individuals weaving something quite special out of their mundane and extraordinary lives.

[Iruss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't what I was expecting based on the blurb but I really enjoyed it. It begins with the perspective of a slightly lost and wistful older woman, reflecting on her life, and the fact she never fully recovered from the grief and loss in it and never wrote her book (which we get snippets of throughout; a 'dictionary' of terms which have meant something to her in her life). I thought it was well written but as it was quite slow and I was reading at night I wasn't fully engaged, until the perspective shifts to the life story of a man she meets at a bar. He tells of leaving his wife as a naiive young man, only to be propelled back and forth between the bodies of various other people living traumatic lives and never settling in any of them or with any other person again. I thought it was bizarre that it had a sudden magic realism tinge, but then it dawns on you, and on the woman, that she was the wife he left behind all those years ago. She realises she recognises most of his stories from news articles, and in fact his life story is an extended apology to her and an account of how he too feels he wasted his life and never recovered from leaving the woman he realised he truly loved and belonged to. Beautifully written and moving.

[Claudia Mika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zwei Fremde treffen sich in einer Hotelbar. Sie, traumatisiert vom Verschwinden ihres Vaters, er, auf der endlosen Suche nach jemand Verlorenem. Barney Norris' "The Vanishing Hours" (dt.: Die Jahre ohne uns) ist ein Buch in drei Akten, beginnend mit einem Monolog der Protagonistin. Recht schnell habe ich mir hier allerdings über MEINE verlorenen Stunden Gedanken gemacht, die ich in die ersten 50 Seiten investiert habe. Ein Gedankenfluss ohne Ziel und Ende war ein schwerer Einstieg in diesen Roman. Im zweiten Teil erzählt der Mann seine Geschichte - und hier wirkt es, als würde Norris das Genre wechseln. Die Geschichte wird zunehmend fantastisch, surreal und kompliziert. Fast bis zum Schluss konnte ich den Plot nicht greifen, wusste nicht, worauf Norris mit seinen Charakteren eigentlich hinaus will und allein die Tatsache, dass das Buch keine 200 Seiten hat, hat mich nicht abbrechen lassen. Der dritte Teil gibt dann zumindest eine Art von Erklärung und Auflösung, bei mir blieb aber der Beigeschmack, dass die Geschichte von einer geradlinigen Erzählweise weitaus mehr profitiert hätte.

[yellowdog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fließende Erinnerungen

Es beginnt mit den Erinnerungen einer Frau in England. Das umfasst zum Beispiel die Gedanken an ihren Vater, der verschwand als sie sieben Jahre alt war. Später wurde sie auch von ihrem Mann verlassen.
Als sie in einer Bar eine Mann trifft, wechselt der Plot in dessen Erzählung. Und es ist eine ziemlich obskure Geschichte, die er erzählt.
In dritten Teil des Buches übernimmt wieder die Frau und formuliert ihre Reaktion auf das Gehörte.

Was dieses Buch so stark macht, ist der leicht melancholische Erzählton, der ganz durch das fließende Erzählen der Erinnerungen entsteht. Oft sind es einzelne Wörter, von denen sich die Erinnerungen ableiten. Wie Barney Norris das formuliert ist ausgewogen und originell, aber auch unaufdringlich. Daher bleibt es ein ruhiges Buch und wenn man sich beim Lesen nicht konzentriert, entgeht einen viel.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extraordinary book I picked up in a charity shop, and not what I was expecting at all. Also, it is set in Wiltshire, Devizes, the Savernake Firest, among other places, but the settings being so familiar was also quite surprising. Two people meet in a pub one snowy day, she is shot through with heartbreak from years before, and he has the most incredible story to tell about his life. From the cliffs of Dover, a cannabis farm in a bunker, to the Somme and a murderer from Swindon, it is the tale of compassion and hurt and redemption and loss, but of healing and recovery and mental illness. The story he tells will change their lives, especially the secret he keeps. It was a book very different to what you might expect, but beautifully written, wonderful descriptions of life, and two fascinating characters, telling the tales of their lives.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Durch Zufall treffen sie sich, in einer Hotelbar in einer kleinen englischen Stadt: ein Mann und eine Frau in ihren Sechzigern, zwei Fremde, die einander ihre Geschichten erzählen. Sie ist einsam, ihr Leben ist voller unerfüllter Träume, ihre Tage verlaufen stets gleich, einzig bei der Arbeit im Garten findet sie zu sich. Er ist ehemaliger Schauspieler, und seine Geschichte ist die einer endlosen Suche nach jemandem, den er verloren hat. Seit Jahrzehnten führt er ein haltloses Leben im Dazwischen: Wann immer er eine Tür öffnet, droht er, in eine neue Existenz hineinkatapultiert zu werden. Hunderte Leben hat er berührt, niemand ist ihm geblieben. Doch diese Begegnung wird sie beide verändern – und einen Neuanfang bedeuten.

[Angelika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
In einer Hotelbar treffen sich zwei Menschen, ein Mann und eine Frau, bei schon in den Siebzigern und sie erzählen sich die Geschichte ihres Lebens. Wir dürfen die beiden durch ihr Leben begleiten und erfahren viel über die eigentlich wesentlichen Dinge.
Meine Meinung:
Was mich am meisten an dem Buch gefallen hat, ist die wortgewaltige Art der Erzählung. Ich habe das Buch wirklich genossen und kann das Buch jedem empfehlen. Die Geschichte berührt auf eine ganz besondere Art ohne dass man ganz genau sagen kann, was es eigentlich ist oder war. Aber das muss man auch nicht erklären, man muss ein Buch genießen und im Zweifel noch etwas für sich selbst mitnehmen.
Fazit:
Toller Schreibstil

[Justsayfitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best books I have read this year, perhaps even the last few years. Although the first half of the book unfolds ever so slowly as to almost feel stagnant, it was even then extraordinarly beautiful in its words and sentiments. The second part picks up the pace, and finally in the last part, the suspense .......well, you might have to read it yourself. My heart and mind aches still a bit, my soul is jolted. I have been asked questions about my life in a most creative fashion. Will I look kindly back on mine? Will my mind and soul be intact? Dis I deserve what I got? And many others

[JanGlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This starts when two strangers, a man and a woman, meet in a bar. The woman has never really come to terms with being walked out on twice - once as a child by her father, and later by her husband. She dreams of writing a book about all the words that she loves. She agrees to listen to the man's story which is episodic and fantastical. He flits from one life and one time and one body to another, and another and another. Whether his experience is real or imaginary doesnt really matter.
It's a book about love, abandonment, regret, reconciliation, memory. The writing is lyrical and meditative. I really enjoyed it.

[Mark Ludmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

At turns contemplative and quirky, The Vanishing Hours is hard to pin down. It opens with a woman examining the devastating impact of her father walking out on the family when she was a child - a chapter full of sadness, depression and loss. It then shifts to the story of a man she meets in a bar - a bizarre fantastical story that hints at mental health problems but explores identity and compassion. Lots of memorable and interesting elements but disappointingly woolly as a whole, especially as Barney Norris is such a promising new writer after several successful plays.

[Ennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is probably my favorite story from mr.norris so far since i dived into his bibliography, simple story but offered various perspectives and with such imagination, it’s about recovery, it’s about second chance, it’s about taking hold of your own sanity when the world around you collapses, it’s about even after going through so many different lives you still want to right the wrong to the person you feel most connected with but too afraid so that remorse gets in the way, some go back to the first place to rectify, but some simply to say a proper goodbye.

[Daren Kearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t quite sure about this short novel as initially the tone and narrative was a familiar one of loss and coping. But in the second section we get to hear multiple snippets of narrative with no conclusions as a man in a bar relates his Quantum Leap life and I felt it was going on too long with no end in sight. The final section brings the two together with a wonderful conclusion, however, that is profound and life affirming.

[Mary Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual book which starts with the life of a woman whose husband walked out on her years ago, her father also left his mother. This woman meets a man in a bar and he begins to tell her about his life and his story of walking through doors to different experiences at various points in his life. The book tell us about choices, difficult situations, repeated mistakes and wrong assumptions. Found it hard to follow on occasion but really liked the writing.

[Pam Keevil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I'd expected more from the reviews. The portrayal of two people in late middle age, particularly the woman was unconvincing and patronizing. The time shifts started well but petered out. I did like some of the insightful ways Norris describes life and love, especially his comment on the frantic nature of our twenty something lives.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at only 39 pages. Just couldn’t get into it. Guess I just didn’t like the style of writing. Seemed like lots of words and very long sentences that weren’t really telling much of a story. Disappointed.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book at only 208 pages, this is an intriguing story. The tale told by the man seems so unbelievable that it draws the reader into wondering how the author will resolve the reasons for his seemingly false claims. The ending, however, is perfect.

[Booksnaps · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book at only 208 pages, this is an intriguing story. The tale told by the man seems so unbelievable that it draws the reader into wondering how the author will resolve the reasons for his seemingly false claims. The ending, however, is perfect.