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A Time Outside This Time
From the acclaimed author of Immigrant, Montana comes a one-of-a-kind novel about memory, politics, a world of lies, and the ways in which truth can be not only stranger than fiction, but a fiction of its own.
'A shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.' – New Yorker
When a writer named Satya attends a prestigious artists’ retreat, he finds the pressures of the outside world won’t let the US president rages online; a dangerous virus envelops the globe; and the twenty-four-hour news cycle throws fuel on every fire. These Orwellian interruptions begin to crystallize into an idea for his new novel, Enemies of the People , about the lies we tell ourselves and each other. Satya scours his life for moments where truth bends toward the imagined, and misinformation is mistaken as fact.
As Satya sifts through newspaper clippings, the President’s tweets, childhood memories from India, and moments as an immigrant, a husband, father, and teacher, Amitava Kumar’s A Time Outside This Time captures our feverish political moment with a precisely observant intelligence and an eye for the uncanny. A brilliant meditation on life in a post-truth era, this piercing novel captures the sentiment on all our minds, of how impossible it can feel to remember, or to imagine, a time outside of this one.
'As Satya uncovers the "truth of fiction," Kumar provides a shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.' – New Yorker
'A shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.' – New Yorker
When a writer named Satya attends a prestigious artists’ retreat, he finds the pressures of the outside world won’t let the US president rages online; a dangerous virus envelops the globe; and the twenty-four-hour news cycle throws fuel on every fire. These Orwellian interruptions begin to crystallize into an idea for his new novel, Enemies of the People , about the lies we tell ourselves and each other. Satya scours his life for moments where truth bends toward the imagined, and misinformation is mistaken as fact.
As Satya sifts through newspaper clippings, the President’s tweets, childhood memories from India, and moments as an immigrant, a husband, father, and teacher, Amitava Kumar’s A Time Outside This Time captures our feverish political moment with a precisely observant intelligence and an eye for the uncanny. A brilliant meditation on life in a post-truth era, this piercing novel captures the sentiment on all our minds, of how impossible it can feel to remember, or to imagine, a time outside of this one.
'As Satya uncovers the "truth of fiction," Kumar provides a shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.' – New Yorker
Hardcover
First published October 5, 2021
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2471 people want to read
About the author
Amitava Kumar
39 books167 followersAmitava Kumar is a novelist, poet, journalist, and Professor of English at Vassar College. He was born in Bihar, India; he grew up in the town of Patna, famous for its corruption, crushing poverty, and delicious mangoes.
He is the author of Nobody Does the Right Thing; A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb; Husband of a Fanatic: A Personal Journey through India, Pakistan, Love, and Hate, a New York Times “Editors’ Choice” selection; Bombay—London—New York, a New Statesman (UK) “Book of the Year” selection; and Passport Photos. He is the editor of several books, including Away: The Indian Writer as an Expatriate, The Humour and the Pity: Essays on V. S. Naipaul, and World Bank Literature. He is also an editor of the online journal Politics and Culture and the screenwriter and narrator of the prize-winning documentary film Pure Chutney.
Kumar’s writing has appeared in The Nation, Harper’s, Vanity Fair, The American Prospect, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Hindu, and other publications in North America and India.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
January 13, 2022
Amitava Kumar's 'A Time Outside of Time' has been advertised, hyped and recommended in all 'woke' circles, therefore also trickling into bookstagram and tube, quite inevitably. There's credible reason for this but it has also been much amplified meaninglessly which rather takes away from the book.
It's a difficult task to describe what the 'narrative' (if it can be even called that) is about but in the simplest terms, you might say Kumar is waging war with the complete phenomenon of Fake News, which has almost transformed into a decisive cancer in present times (therefore my confused 2.5 rating). On the surface, the narrative is about Satya (a fictional stand-in for Kumar) and his accumulation of random thoughts, an autobiographical account almost, throughout the sudden onset of the pandemic. Kumar collates and distributes verified articles along with fictitious ones freely throughout the text, 60% of it being words from articles, clippings, scientific research experiments, reports published in Medical journals, etc. Interspersed between are finite random small fictional accounts from 'Satya's': Kumar's childhood in Bihar, excerpts from everyday family happenings and a vague attempt to examine his influences. The novel lacks structure though this seems a deliberate or hasty decision, I am unsure. Sometimes, Kumar numbers his arbitrary commentary on ongoing issues, other times leaves a piece of autobiographical memoir and jumps forward. This makes the novel quite hard to get into. Satya talks about his wife, his child and sister-in-law (his family is pitifully sketched and only serves the purpose of providing information), his acquaintances at a retreat for work, the simultaneous epidemic that Fake News has become in his adopted and native countries, offers articles and supposedly scientific proof for what the world is experiencing now and it all culminates into a rather one-tone, self-oriented deconstruction, a clinical statement of the world as Kumar sees it- I found this grating and strange which led me to conclude, Kumar probably wrote this as a record of what he sees as truth in the age of Fake news, used the novel as a means to achieve some sort of personal satisfaction.
Nevertheless, when the personal motive is removed, I might say the novel speaks of a dire cause, that if ignored, will only mutate destruction. The articles that Kumar talks about here, I have long since assiduously followed and nit-picked through a garbage dump of news for authenticity, so none of the information is novel really, neither are the author's conclusions and 'messages', the sentences of despair don't touch colours of reality. There's only one piece on the second last page of the novel which actually managed to induce some emotion, deliberate in placement, about a man being lynched to death by a mob; filled with sharp insightful commentary on the ridiculousness of mob culture and the dangers of herd tendency. Throughout, I kept waiting for some other perspective, something else, another layer, another texture, something, but it hasn't been written in till the last page. I found much of the author's voice lacking to the point that I wondered if another one of his books would anyway be worth a read. Kumar even includes themes from one of my favourites, Orwell's 1984- a clear inspiration for this novel (reflected too obviously in the title) and Kumar's likening of his book to 1984 comes off quite pompous. Littered throughout the text are tiny assertions from Kumar, his little guises that led to writing this book. The style is completely journalistic, the genres have been deliberately blurred, even the primary 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' trees- it's hard to tag it in any one and this decision seems to be made just because- a shallow experiment; but it definitely veers more to the non-fiction for me. Kumar is simultaneously trying to be meta, assertive, literary all the while squeezing the thread of logic and as a last tired resort, showing slivers of solution. In the fictional autobiographical memoir-ish paragraphs, I found Kumar's attempts to sketch characters slightly sad. He decides to cover all bases that include diasporic experiences but this becomes a pitfall too because he puts too many eggs in a single novel; which in the end, falls short of actually doing what it definitely intended to do on it's onset- shake people at the core and change something fundamental in them (in Kumar's own words on page 142).
There are faint glimmers stating the true essence in language and literature, I would have preferred if Kumar stuck to fiction and wrote this narrative with multiple layers, maybe the novel could have succeeded better in establishing it's point; but then his instinct of journalistic prose would be absent. For his style to be kept alive, a non- fiction genre suited the ambition of this novel but Kumar tries to cover up and justify his deliberate distortion of genres later on (though quite unconvincing for me). I think not many people would get into it because of the clinical nature (though the fictional parts try to spark some emotion, particularly the childhood anecdotes), the almost drab journalistic entries; though the novel's issues talk about relevant topics, endeavour to set a piece of truth/history for posterity, I wondered if it would have served a better purpose if published at least five years later- Right now, we are living in the times penned here so have we gained enough perspective to appreciate what is or has really happened? If this novel works or not, if it's a genuine record or simply a slice of today's truth, maybe it will remain only a novel speaking about limited people and their experiences instead of what it was attempting to be- a comprehensive account of this disturbing distressing period; Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, as we mask up, wash hands, sanitise and think twice about going to crowded places, we get more time to spiral into traps, books might just become our saviours- through this age of information, manipulation, literature as Kumar declares in a sweeping statement, is an expression of a tiny will to freedom. Maybe the next book will make you question your beliefs, maybe change awaits after such turmoil. In the meantime, until that novel comes, 'A Time Outside This Time', with it's many flaws will have to suffice.
It's a difficult task to describe what the 'narrative' (if it can be even called that) is about but in the simplest terms, you might say Kumar is waging war with the complete phenomenon of Fake News, which has almost transformed into a decisive cancer in present times (therefore my confused 2.5 rating). On the surface, the narrative is about Satya (a fictional stand-in for Kumar) and his accumulation of random thoughts, an autobiographical account almost, throughout the sudden onset of the pandemic. Kumar collates and distributes verified articles along with fictitious ones freely throughout the text, 60% of it being words from articles, clippings, scientific research experiments, reports published in Medical journals, etc. Interspersed between are finite random small fictional accounts from 'Satya's': Kumar's childhood in Bihar, excerpts from everyday family happenings and a vague attempt to examine his influences. The novel lacks structure though this seems a deliberate or hasty decision, I am unsure. Sometimes, Kumar numbers his arbitrary commentary on ongoing issues, other times leaves a piece of autobiographical memoir and jumps forward. This makes the novel quite hard to get into. Satya talks about his wife, his child and sister-in-law (his family is pitifully sketched and only serves the purpose of providing information), his acquaintances at a retreat for work, the simultaneous epidemic that Fake News has become in his adopted and native countries, offers articles and supposedly scientific proof for what the world is experiencing now and it all culminates into a rather one-tone, self-oriented deconstruction, a clinical statement of the world as Kumar sees it- I found this grating and strange which led me to conclude, Kumar probably wrote this as a record of what he sees as truth in the age of Fake news, used the novel as a means to achieve some sort of personal satisfaction.
Nevertheless, when the personal motive is removed, I might say the novel speaks of a dire cause, that if ignored, will only mutate destruction. The articles that Kumar talks about here, I have long since assiduously followed and nit-picked through a garbage dump of news for authenticity, so none of the information is novel really, neither are the author's conclusions and 'messages', the sentences of despair don't touch colours of reality. There's only one piece on the second last page of the novel which actually managed to induce some emotion, deliberate in placement, about a man being lynched to death by a mob; filled with sharp insightful commentary on the ridiculousness of mob culture and the dangers of herd tendency. Throughout, I kept waiting for some other perspective, something else, another layer, another texture, something, but it hasn't been written in till the last page. I found much of the author's voice lacking to the point that I wondered if another one of his books would anyway be worth a read. Kumar even includes themes from one of my favourites, Orwell's 1984- a clear inspiration for this novel (reflected too obviously in the title) and Kumar's likening of his book to 1984 comes off quite pompous. Littered throughout the text are tiny assertions from Kumar, his little guises that led to writing this book. The style is completely journalistic, the genres have been deliberately blurred, even the primary 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' trees- it's hard to tag it in any one and this decision seems to be made just because- a shallow experiment; but it definitely veers more to the non-fiction for me. Kumar is simultaneously trying to be meta, assertive, literary all the while squeezing the thread of logic and as a last tired resort, showing slivers of solution. In the fictional autobiographical memoir-ish paragraphs, I found Kumar's attempts to sketch characters slightly sad. He decides to cover all bases that include diasporic experiences but this becomes a pitfall too because he puts too many eggs in a single novel; which in the end, falls short of actually doing what it definitely intended to do on it's onset- shake people at the core and change something fundamental in them (in Kumar's own words on page 142).
There are faint glimmers stating the true essence in language and literature, I would have preferred if Kumar stuck to fiction and wrote this narrative with multiple layers, maybe the novel could have succeeded better in establishing it's point; but then his instinct of journalistic prose would be absent. For his style to be kept alive, a non- fiction genre suited the ambition of this novel but Kumar tries to cover up and justify his deliberate distortion of genres later on (though quite unconvincing for me). I think not many people would get into it because of the clinical nature (though the fictional parts try to spark some emotion, particularly the childhood anecdotes), the almost drab journalistic entries; though the novel's issues talk about relevant topics, endeavour to set a piece of truth/history for posterity, I wondered if it would have served a better purpose if published at least five years later- Right now, we are living in the times penned here so have we gained enough perspective to appreciate what is or has really happened? If this novel works or not, if it's a genuine record or simply a slice of today's truth, maybe it will remain only a novel speaking about limited people and their experiences instead of what it was attempting to be- a comprehensive account of this disturbing distressing period; Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, as we mask up, wash hands, sanitise and think twice about going to crowded places, we get more time to spiral into traps, books might just become our saviours- through this age of information, manipulation, literature as Kumar declares in a sweeping statement, is an expression of a tiny will to freedom. Maybe the next book will make you question your beliefs, maybe change awaits after such turmoil. In the meantime, until that novel comes, 'A Time Outside This Time', with it's many flaws will have to suffice.
November 4, 2021
A Time outside This Time by Amitava Kumar is a story that would make you question a lot.
The story starts with Satya who's a professor and author. He is roots are in India but now he is in America.
When he was approached to write an artist's retreat, his world around him seems like an imaginary place to him
A dangerous virus is about to eat cup the world and on the other hand, America is facing political issues.
Needless to say, there are some true stories deep down this fictional makeup.
Satya is a representative of us in a world where truth is bent and controlled by the media.
If you are looking for a literary retreat, it may not work for you. But if you are looking for something to stir your pre-loaded brain... Go for it!
The story starts with Satya who's a professor and author. He is roots are in India but now he is in America.
When he was approached to write an artist's retreat, his world around him seems like an imaginary place to him
A dangerous virus is about to eat cup the world and on the other hand, America is facing political issues.
Needless to say, there are some true stories deep down this fictional makeup.
Satya is a representative of us in a world where truth is bent and controlled by the media.
If you are looking for a literary retreat, it may not work for you. But if you are looking for something to stir your pre-loaded brain... Go for it!
November 13, 2021
Can you imagine a time before COVID-19? I am sure you can remember the pre-masking times when vacations and hugs were aplenty. But can you imagine a time now where people have forgotten the havoc COVID had unleashed, swallowing jobs, businesses and families in one clean sweep?
Stay with me, would you, a little longer?
Now, tell me, can you imagine a time when the politicians governed the country, not your minds? Or a time when you truly looked up to people in power for their integrity and eloquence?
A Time Outside This Time meditates on many such uncomfortable truths, the harshest of which is that we cannot go back to a time when reality didn’t resemble a never-ending bad dream. In the book, the protagonist Satya is at an artist’s residency, trying to write a novel to fight the pandemic of lies that a certain Mr. (now ex) President trades in. With roots in India and the US, Satya’s task is doubly exigent as he finds himself mired in the onslaught of terrible news coming from both the countries. The more he documents the truth, the more gruesome, he realises, the zeitgeist.
Satya’s writing project is interspersed with digressions that consist of conversations with his wife Vaani. Vaani is a psychologist with a repertoire of behavioural studies that she cites often in her discussions with Satya. The result is a novel sprinkled with the truths of everyday life ensconced within a novel (that we’re reading) satirising the world we have built for ourselves.
The tone of A Time Outside This Time reminded me of the overseers who’ve been in the society long enough to have witnessed both its peak and downfall, the ones who are worst hit by a world spiralling quickly for they realise the unmitigated tyranny of human ego.
Fair warning, the book may not be for everyone but it’s definitely a book for our times.
Stay with me, would you, a little longer?
Now, tell me, can you imagine a time when the politicians governed the country, not your minds? Or a time when you truly looked up to people in power for their integrity and eloquence?
A Time Outside This Time meditates on many such uncomfortable truths, the harshest of which is that we cannot go back to a time when reality didn’t resemble a never-ending bad dream. In the book, the protagonist Satya is at an artist’s residency, trying to write a novel to fight the pandemic of lies that a certain Mr. (now ex) President trades in. With roots in India and the US, Satya’s task is doubly exigent as he finds himself mired in the onslaught of terrible news coming from both the countries. The more he documents the truth, the more gruesome, he realises, the zeitgeist.
Satya’s writing project is interspersed with digressions that consist of conversations with his wife Vaani. Vaani is a psychologist with a repertoire of behavioural studies that she cites often in her discussions with Satya. The result is a novel sprinkled with the truths of everyday life ensconced within a novel (that we’re reading) satirising the world we have built for ourselves.
The tone of A Time Outside This Time reminded me of the overseers who’ve been in the society long enough to have witnessed both its peak and downfall, the ones who are worst hit by a world spiralling quickly for they realise the unmitigated tyranny of human ego.
Fair warning, the book may not be for everyone but it’s definitely a book for our times.
January 23, 2022
I am always curious about how the socio-cultural narratives around tech use enter the literary and artistic canon. This is why I read Patricia Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This and now, A Time Outside This Time. Unlike Lockwood’s intrinsic monologues and free styling, A Time Outside This Time is more real in the author’s anger and bewilderment, it’s more democratic representing a cross section of narratives and probably also more inclusive, cutting across narratives on myths, urban legends and widespread misinformation from the US and India primarily but also other parts of the world.
While I enjoyed some of the micro- narratives around how the police recruits informers or the craziness of Trump’s claims or a glimpse at a student coming face to face with white supremacists and their point of view, I think my favourite part of @amitavawriter’s work is the real acknowledgment of how bewildering it is to live in this world where one creative misinformation supersedes the other in no time!
This got me thinking - has art become more challenging to create for artists? Is there a difference between fiction writers and misinformation creators? Aren’t they competing for the same thing - how to create memorable stories? As a credible author, you now have to uphold some form of narrative authenticity. You are responsible for questioning what’s good and what’s harmful creativity! You are probably less free in how much poetic license you can take as the others have free rein.
Read this book if you are curious about how misinformation is seeping deep into our societies and forcing us to rethink what we know of history, the growing storytelling machinery that is being fostered by states around the world and the risk of stories being used for mass harm without necessary fact checking and verification.
Fast paced, deeply ingrained in real human experiences, with a tinge of nostalgia for the world gone by and profound caution of an Orwellian dystopia, A Time Outside This Time is a must read for those who enjoy social commentary, artistic critique and being able to connect with a global sensitivity even while we are stuck at home in circumscribed worlds.
While I enjoyed some of the micro- narratives around how the police recruits informers or the craziness of Trump’s claims or a glimpse at a student coming face to face with white supremacists and their point of view, I think my favourite part of @amitavawriter’s work is the real acknowledgment of how bewildering it is to live in this world where one creative misinformation supersedes the other in no time!
This got me thinking - has art become more challenging to create for artists? Is there a difference between fiction writers and misinformation creators? Aren’t they competing for the same thing - how to create memorable stories? As a credible author, you now have to uphold some form of narrative authenticity. You are responsible for questioning what’s good and what’s harmful creativity! You are probably less free in how much poetic license you can take as the others have free rein.
Read this book if you are curious about how misinformation is seeping deep into our societies and forcing us to rethink what we know of history, the growing storytelling machinery that is being fostered by states around the world and the risk of stories being used for mass harm without necessary fact checking and verification.
Fast paced, deeply ingrained in real human experiences, with a tinge of nostalgia for the world gone by and profound caution of an Orwellian dystopia, A Time Outside This Time is a must read for those who enjoy social commentary, artistic critique and being able to connect with a global sensitivity even while we are stuck at home in circumscribed worlds.
November 7, 2021
A Time Outside This Time by Amitava Kumar is many things in one: it is a novel within a novel, it is subtle meta fiction and it is non fiction making its appearance in a world of fiction. Set in the contemporary world of today, the author sequesters Satya, a writer and academic based in the US in a remote creative residency to write a book while meditating on the politics of lies and fake news in real life even as there is talk about a new virus outbreak in the world outside.
More than what Satya actually writes, Amitava Kumar takes us on a philosophical journey that is embellished with literary elements, social psychology and the politics of news that breeds tailor made content for propaganda and fanning divisions on social and religious lines. That Satya has roots in India and the US also means that the author examines the similarities in a world driven by and around lies by Trump and Modi. It is a scathing analysis, one that starts from whether fictional writing is subversion of truth since it is not real and then repositions it all by having the protagonist reading Orwell's 1984, a work of fiction that has come true in contemporary times. That Satya is the author's alter ego is a foregone conclusion, especially since Satya is made the author of The Lovers, a book that Amitava Kumar wrote!
One other element I loved was the one on social psychology, using Satya's spouse and her work as a social scientist to flesh out the narrative further, bringing lab experiments on humans and animals. This is a book that is very relevant in the times we live in today in the way it talks about how sensationalism and propaganda passes as news that fuels our prejudices. It starts and ends with a very crucial question: where would you stand if someone close to you is being taken away by a misuse of force/authority? This is a book you will enjoy if you are into thinking through contemporary times and politics, not one to be read for a story or characters.
More than what Satya actually writes, Amitava Kumar takes us on a philosophical journey that is embellished with literary elements, social psychology and the politics of news that breeds tailor made content for propaganda and fanning divisions on social and religious lines. That Satya has roots in India and the US also means that the author examines the similarities in a world driven by and around lies by Trump and Modi. It is a scathing analysis, one that starts from whether fictional writing is subversion of truth since it is not real and then repositions it all by having the protagonist reading Orwell's 1984, a work of fiction that has come true in contemporary times. That Satya is the author's alter ego is a foregone conclusion, especially since Satya is made the author of The Lovers, a book that Amitava Kumar wrote!
One other element I loved was the one on social psychology, using Satya's spouse and her work as a social scientist to flesh out the narrative further, bringing lab experiments on humans and animals. This is a book that is very relevant in the times we live in today in the way it talks about how sensationalism and propaganda passes as news that fuels our prejudices. It starts and ends with a very crucial question: where would you stand if someone close to you is being taken away by a misuse of force/authority? This is a book you will enjoy if you are into thinking through contemporary times and politics, not one to be read for a story or characters.
March 17, 2022
A book that purports to be a novel about a novelist trying to write a novel, but turns out to be more like a jumble of his ruminations about the dark times we live in does not sound appealing. And it really isn’t.
Beyond mention of Anna Abramovich, I was unable to find anything to enjoy about the book, A Time Outside This Time. I use the looser term “book”, because it seems implausible to call it a novel. I can only assume that the writer may have aimed to produce something that blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. I certainly found it a blur. A hotchpotch of what appear to be semi-autobiographical musings about fake news, the Covid pandemic and the presidency of Donald Trump, references to psychological research, tweets, Facebook, and a truly tedious commentary to George Orwell’s 1984. On the very few occasions there appear to be seeds of hope for a real story, perhaps even a work of fiction, the author quickly quashes them, allowing them to lead to nowhere.
Beyond mention of Anna Abramovich, I was unable to find anything to enjoy about the book, A Time Outside This Time. I use the looser term “book”, because it seems implausible to call it a novel. I can only assume that the writer may have aimed to produce something that blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. I certainly found it a blur. A hotchpotch of what appear to be semi-autobiographical musings about fake news, the Covid pandemic and the presidency of Donald Trump, references to psychological research, tweets, Facebook, and a truly tedious commentary to George Orwell’s 1984. On the very few occasions there appear to be seeds of hope for a real story, perhaps even a work of fiction, the author quickly quashes them, allowing them to lead to nowhere.
Read
October 11, 2021DNF
1/2 thru
Cannot connect to the manner of writing. Does not read like fiction at all.
1/2 thru
Cannot connect to the manner of writing. Does not read like fiction at all.
December 1, 2021
I typically ignore political rhetoric but there was so much negativity in the very first part of this book that I was unable to continue.
December 6, 2021
I found Amitava Kumar's novel to be a difficult, bleak, and unenjoyable read.
November 1, 2021
"Our beautiful villa stands on a hill, the sloping ground covered with small olive trees and long lines of tall, angular cypresses; a mansion in the distance is said to be where George and Amal Clooney spend their summers. I'm on the island for a cushy fellowship, working on a novel. In the week I have been here, this is what I've discovered: one sure way to stop visiting fellows and their spouses from talking to me is to answer them truthfully when they ask what it is I'm doing here."
Imagine you wake up one fine day and sanitizers are sold out, you see someone pushing a cartload of toilet papers out of the supermarket. You have no idea what's going on and then at nine o'clock at night you hear a sound, that grows steadily, people are banging pots and pans and shouting "Go corona go!" from rooftops and balconies. 'A shouting contest? Eh, they must be cheering for some guy to run faster' you think.
Amitava Kumar's reportage style in A time outside this time has the perfect amount of absurdity, sarcasm, poignance and immediacy. As he follows the course of his imagination he weaves into the narration stories of people who have suffered the aftermath of the pandemic– stories of lovers meeting in queues outside liquor stores; stories of Koko the gorilla, who was taught sign language; stories of lynching; and various such anecdotes spanning multitude of themes and you see the hidden thread of truthful sarcasm that runs along with them. The narrator Satya, whose name seems amusing as well as ironic as it translates to 'truth' in Hindi, considering the fake news that he comes across and uncovers is a Indian writer living in New York. Amidst attending a prestigious artist’s retreat in Italy and a deadly pandemic the idea for his next novel strikes him and what follows is an immersive reading experience.
Imagine you wake up one fine day and sanitizers are sold out, you see someone pushing a cartload of toilet papers out of the supermarket. You have no idea what's going on and then at nine o'clock at night you hear a sound, that grows steadily, people are banging pots and pans and shouting "Go corona go!" from rooftops and balconies. 'A shouting contest? Eh, they must be cheering for some guy to run faster' you think.
Amitava Kumar's reportage style in A time outside this time has the perfect amount of absurdity, sarcasm, poignance and immediacy. As he follows the course of his imagination he weaves into the narration stories of people who have suffered the aftermath of the pandemic– stories of lovers meeting in queues outside liquor stores; stories of Koko the gorilla, who was taught sign language; stories of lynching; and various such anecdotes spanning multitude of themes and you see the hidden thread of truthful sarcasm that runs along with them. The narrator Satya, whose name seems amusing as well as ironic as it translates to 'truth' in Hindi, considering the fake news that he comes across and uncovers is a Indian writer living in New York. Amidst attending a prestigious artist’s retreat in Italy and a deadly pandemic the idea for his next novel strikes him and what follows is an immersive reading experience.
November 2, 2021
First of all, I want to thank the publisher (Knopf) for sending me the finished copy of this book.
I found this book very pleasant to read but all the time I found myself asking if this really is a novel. In any case, it doesn’t read like a work of fiction. Kumar's protagonist (alter ego?) and narrator is a writer, journalist, and professor named Satya, an Indian immigrant that lives in the US with his wife Vaani, and their daughter. When the Covid pandemic starts to spread around the world, Satya is in Italy, attending a writer’s retreat, trying to give shape to his new book and reflecting on lies and disinformation during the Trump’s era. As he tries to advance in his writing, the proliferation of fake news throughout the media about Covid 19, and his reading of Orwell’s 1984, make him reflect on other topics that will be part of another book, the one we are reading. And in the process, he is going to illustrate his reflections with lots of psychological experiments that will give an account of his academic background and his wife’s research subject. He feels the need to contrast his observations with an authorized voice, that of the academic research because all around him is uncertainty.
That’s how we find out about different colorful characters that Satya met throughout his life and his relationship with fiction and truth. Kumar’s prose and his treatment of the form and the content are so perfect, that the book can pass for a non-fictional work. There lies the book's strength but also its weakness because sometimes it can be too distant and even too technical and phlegmatic.
Overall, a good book worth reading.
I found this book very pleasant to read but all the time I found myself asking if this really is a novel. In any case, it doesn’t read like a work of fiction. Kumar's protagonist (alter ego?) and narrator is a writer, journalist, and professor named Satya, an Indian immigrant that lives in the US with his wife Vaani, and their daughter. When the Covid pandemic starts to spread around the world, Satya is in Italy, attending a writer’s retreat, trying to give shape to his new book and reflecting on lies and disinformation during the Trump’s era. As he tries to advance in his writing, the proliferation of fake news throughout the media about Covid 19, and his reading of Orwell’s 1984, make him reflect on other topics that will be part of another book, the one we are reading. And in the process, he is going to illustrate his reflections with lots of psychological experiments that will give an account of his academic background and his wife’s research subject. He feels the need to contrast his observations with an authorized voice, that of the academic research because all around him is uncertainty.
That’s how we find out about different colorful characters that Satya met throughout his life and his relationship with fiction and truth. Kumar’s prose and his treatment of the form and the content are so perfect, that the book can pass for a non-fictional work. There lies the book's strength but also its weakness because sometimes it can be too distant and even too technical and phlegmatic.
Overall, a good book worth reading.
Read
November 26, 2021A “fiction” about our world right now which at times seems less real than fiction. This is very relevant to right now but only if you’re ready to rehash the news from the last 5 years - maybe a bit cathartic. He tells of news from India as well and juxtaposes issues and problems. I think the US needs to look at our issues a bit from the outside— we are too divided and too manipulable. But he may be saying that this is the human condition in our times— to be manipulated and not truly led. Not convinced but lied to.
What does it mean to live in a post-truth world? Fact-checking everything, we have to even be aware of the fact that scientific studies are trying to tell a story. Facts are sometimes partial truths, sometimes purposefully misleading, sometimes accidentally towards a bias. Especially in a world where “novelty” takes precedence over reality. Every day there’s a new scientific study that says such and such thing that we maybe shouldn’t take too seriously. Science is a process, not an end.
And so he writes a novel about the news. If the news can be fake/misleading can a novel be more real than the news? Can it set us on the right path?
He alludes to 1984 throughout the book and briefly War and Peace. I always do wish that I got my news in a more thoughtful way and more dry unbiased way. It’s nearly impossible to escape this reactionary way we live— but he does also say that the news of the day, whether or not it’s factual, tells about the world/nation’s viewpoint which is eventually important in history.
What does it mean to live in a post-truth world? Fact-checking everything, we have to even be aware of the fact that scientific studies are trying to tell a story. Facts are sometimes partial truths, sometimes purposefully misleading, sometimes accidentally towards a bias. Especially in a world where “novelty” takes precedence over reality. Every day there’s a new scientific study that says such and such thing that we maybe shouldn’t take too seriously. Science is a process, not an end.
And so he writes a novel about the news. If the news can be fake/misleading can a novel be more real than the news? Can it set us on the right path?
He alludes to 1984 throughout the book and briefly War and Peace. I always do wish that I got my news in a more thoughtful way and more dry unbiased way. It’s nearly impossible to escape this reactionary way we live— but he does also say that the news of the day, whether or not it’s factual, tells about the world/nation’s viewpoint which is eventually important in history.
January 17, 2025
“In our world, we are surrounded by lies. And worse, bad faith.” I really love A Time Outside This Time, the third novel by Amitava Kumar, forthcoming from Picador in January 2022, an example of the publisher’s extraordinary new year roster — I have no doubts Kumar’s latest will appear on many ‘best of’ lists around this time next year! Since it’s still a few months off, and since I’ve only read an uncorrected proof, I will try not to say too much, but I do want to advocate for this exciting, provocative novel. Told from the perspective of a professor and writer, Satya, attending a significant retreat for artists while the world around him seems on the verge of collapse — tyrants and/or idiots in charge across the globe, misinformation rife, a deadly pandemic encroaching. It’s the ways these issues intersect in a wider discussion on truth, imagination and humanity, that supply such substantial food for thought as a reader; Kumar deftly weaves together his narrator’s internal monologue with news items, images, his writing (particularly his work-in-progress, a novel called Enemies of the People), his notes on reading Orwell’s 1984 through the Trump administration, and interactions with friends and loved ones, his wife and child. “What you are reading now is a memory experiment”, he declares, freewheeling through his memories, through stories / other texts, blurring the lines between digressions + narrative thread. The final result is a smart, searching, timely novel.
January 14, 2022
I don’t really know what to make of this book. It’s a marginally fictional account exploring fake news, the psychology of lies and rumors, what people determine to be their own closely guarded worldview, and how far they’ll go to hang on to that reality in the face of overwhelming counter-evidence. I think. Among other things. I’m not sure why this was conceived as a work of fiction. I guess the hypothesis is everything is a narrative and there really isn’t truth—which is just depressing as shit.
The book focuses on the tweets and devastatingly destructive misinformation generated in the last couple of years by assholes in power (be it political, social, or both). This time period dovetails nicely with the rise of Covid and the shitstorm of worldwide stupid and/or cynical reaction, non-action, disinformation, and stumbling response to it. It’s like we want to ruin everything we have. And I don’t understand why.
Reading a history of something we’re still living through is tiring. It’s depressing. And, it must be noted; Trump—what a fuckhead. Truly, truly, king asshole...
Here’s my one true sentence for today: The future is bleak and I’ve lost all hope.
The book focuses on the tweets and devastatingly destructive misinformation generated in the last couple of years by assholes in power (be it political, social, or both). This time period dovetails nicely with the rise of Covid and the shitstorm of worldwide stupid and/or cynical reaction, non-action, disinformation, and stumbling response to it. It’s like we want to ruin everything we have. And I don’t understand why.
Reading a history of something we’re still living through is tiring. It’s depressing. And, it must be noted; Trump—what a fuckhead. Truly, truly, king asshole...
Here’s my one true sentence for today: The future is bleak and I’ve lost all hope.
January 22, 2022
A writer in a writer’s retreat in Italy at the onset of the pandemic, reflecting on the nature of truth, the proliferation of fake news and comparing with scientific discourse, which may be perceived as more authoritative and embodied by his psychologist-wife. A thought-provoking read, urgent in its analysis of how language and power work and ultimately of our times.
I was totally fascinated by the issue of alt-truth when it arised a few years ago. If you are interested in the topic you will find it very relevant. However, it is not an easy read and definitely not plot driven, also as it tackles the idea of dismantling the traditional novel as a bourgeois construct. A, timely, deeply political work and a reflection on the Trump era. Sprawling and rhizomatic, experimental and digressive, but ultimately visionary and full of enlightening moments.
Thanks to #Netgalley and thr published for an arc in exchangefor an honest review.
I was totally fascinated by the issue of alt-truth when it arised a few years ago. If you are interested in the topic you will find it very relevant. However, it is not an easy read and definitely not plot driven, also as it tackles the idea of dismantling the traditional novel as a bourgeois construct. A, timely, deeply political work and a reflection on the Trump era. Sprawling and rhizomatic, experimental and digressive, but ultimately visionary and full of enlightening moments.
Thanks to #Netgalley and thr published for an arc in exchangefor an honest review.
May 15, 2022
What made me pick up this book?
‘A lot of life is left in a man being killed’.
I heard this line in one of the interviews of Amitava, and wanted to know what made him write this. Later I discovered the contents of the book and put it on my to read list.
Personally, I liked the book for two main reasons. One, and the trivial one is the content that it presents. This book is related to the subject of fake news - something that is being served to us routinely. I wanted to read his thoughts on the matter, and see what can be done in this regard.
The second reason was about his writing style. The way amitava has written extremely powerful thoughts, was definately a treat to read. While reading the book, I also could see several writing excersies and prompts that I plan to use in my day to day life. For instance, amitava saw a hindi poem on facebook, and immediately wanted to translate it to english.
‘A lot of life is left in a man being killed’.
I heard this line in one of the interviews of Amitava, and wanted to know what made him write this. Later I discovered the contents of the book and put it on my to read list.
Personally, I liked the book for two main reasons. One, and the trivial one is the content that it presents. This book is related to the subject of fake news - something that is being served to us routinely. I wanted to read his thoughts on the matter, and see what can be done in this regard.
The second reason was about his writing style. The way amitava has written extremely powerful thoughts, was definately a treat to read. While reading the book, I also could see several writing excersies and prompts that I plan to use in my day to day life. For instance, amitava saw a hindi poem on facebook, and immediately wanted to translate it to english.
November 18, 2021
In writing about a social reality Amitava Kumar shares with us, he is not shy in his observation and in his ability to remark. He writes about many incidents, some longer than others; many people, from past and present; many issues but really about only one, carrying the same message throughout — that we need to open our eyes to be able to see the cliff we are walking on, as a society; that we need to be able to realise that it is dark only because our eyes are closed.
I think this not-so-underlying message is all that separates Satya's story from others', because it is a story we all share; because he writes about himself and he writes about us.
What I have also learnt is that the characters can be semi-fictional and still tell true stories.
A Time Outside This Time is one of most nuanced books I have read this year.
I think this not-so-underlying message is all that separates Satya's story from others', because it is a story we all share; because he writes about himself and he writes about us.
What I have also learnt is that the characters can be semi-fictional and still tell true stories.
A Time Outside This Time is one of most nuanced books I have read this year.
July 23, 2022
Not done yet!!!!
This not a book for casual reading. I loved it, but I cannot imagine recommending it to a casual reader. It is thought provoking and layered. It is also eloquent and spoke to the horror of the 2016 Election results. It reflected my feelings but my warning or caution is that if you are inclined to agree with that election, you might be disappointed. My exact words; as I came home from voting are stuck in my head forever. I said outloud. .. "this is not going to end well". Being right does not always feel good!
Kumar is an exquisite writer, but I also agreed with the views he wrote about. And the title, whose author was mentioned (which I did not note) was so fitting and describes the Global Angst we are embroiled in, i and is in fact, "a time outside this time". As an aside...it makes me wonder; if you were an outside observer of this planet, you might be wondering, "what on Earth is happening?" We on Earth join you in this question!
This not a book for casual reading. I loved it, but I cannot imagine recommending it to a casual reader. It is thought provoking and layered. It is also eloquent and spoke to the horror of the 2016 Election results. It reflected my feelings but my warning or caution is that if you are inclined to agree with that election, you might be disappointed. My exact words; as I came home from voting are stuck in my head forever. I said outloud. .. "this is not going to end well". Being right does not always feel good!
Kumar is an exquisite writer, but I also agreed with the views he wrote about. And the title, whose author was mentioned (which I did not note) was so fitting and describes the Global Angst we are embroiled in, i and is in fact, "a time outside this time". As an aside...it makes me wonder; if you were an outside observer of this planet, you might be wondering, "what on Earth is happening?" We on Earth join you in this question!
October 31, 2021
While it is a dystopian apocalyptic novel, it has the feel of one. Satya, born in India but having lived most of his life in the US, is in a luxurious villa on an Italian island. He is at an artist’s residency where he is writing a novel on fake news. While the novel goes nowhere, and he ends up spending most of his time in despair as he reads the headlines of the news both in the US and India. In the early days of the COVID crisis, there’s plenty of misinformation for him to collect. His wife is back in the US and their conversations seem to go nowhere as well. They just keep rehashing the problems of their nine-year old daughter telling lies and whit works best positive or negative reinforcement. There wasn’t much reason for me to keep reading. The book went nowhere.
October 19, 2021
Reading this novel was an interesting experience. It was fiction that read like nonfiction. With real news events and mentions of real people interspersed throughout the fictional storyline, my mind was constantly questioning, “Did this really happen?” And I think that is the whole point of this book. I’ve read a number of thrillers and romcoms as a mental escape the past few years. This book was the opposite of that. Read this if you struggle to make sense of the world in an era of fake news and alternative facts and want an exploration of this experience in a well articulated novel.
Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy.
Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy.
October 30, 2021
A Time Outside This Time is an intelligent display of linking the events in real life with the threads of imagination only to present a potpourri of information mixed with satire and truth! The story pans around the lives of people who reeled under the aftermath of the pandemic. Using the fictional character of Satya, the author tries to allude to the prevailing circumstances in the world. Sadly, the references made by Satya allude to people, places and situations that seem like a far cry from reality.
Read the full review here: https://www.aliveshadow.com/category-...
Read the full review here: https://www.aliveshadow.com/category-...
January 19, 2022
I appreciate the approach and motive of this book: a (fictional?) account of a writer at a retreat/on fellowship as the pandemic starts to happen, already embarking on a quest to "document facts" as a political statement against Trump. The main thing that got really old is the protagonist's complete reliance on his wife as a "scientific foil" with which to interrogate what facts are; Trump lies, but scientists can't counter him, only my art. The wife character is used to introduce all the "science" but it's completely limited to psychology, as if no other types of science exist (and it takes up a HUGE portion of the book)??
October 22, 2021
This book which is penned over the span of four years reiterates unusual yet extraordinary stories. The book voices author's filtered-unfiltered thoughts in 8 chapters.The author doggedly goes after real news amidst the clamour of fake news. "My passion was for something narrower: I felt the need to keep an eye on the real even in the fake." This persistence is quite evident throughout the book.
Read the entire review here https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
Read the entire review here https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
January 2, 2022
As a new coronavirus feeds on anxiety and ignorance, the world needs accurate information more than ever. Can the stories of science help us? Can psychology explain how propaganda takes hold? Can we take hope from the Black Lives Matter protests, or do we despair at the mindless violence of the mob? And what is the role of literature? Can the deliberate lies of the novel point the way to truth?
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https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post...
January 9, 2022
In this timely and urgent book, Amitava Kumar, attempts to counteract the plague of misinformation, fake news and fictional facts with the literary language of fiction.
This novel is a people's record of our times and how the state unleashes brutal violence on us, in a way it does, and why we must not forget it.
Somewhere in the book, Kumar writes - "... in our times, fiction is to help readers recognize
what is fictional about all that is touted as fact." And this novel is exactly that fiction.
This novel is a people's record of our times and how the state unleashes brutal violence on us, in a way it does, and why we must not forget it.
Somewhere in the book, Kumar writes - "... in our times, fiction is to help readers recognize
what is fictional about all that is touted as fact." And this novel is exactly that fiction.
January 24, 2022
How did you do it @amitava?? How did you take all that i had successfully walled myself off from and displayed it so honestly and almost in syncopated waveforms of thoughts?
The unimaginable pain this world causes on a daily basis from Nigeria to Kowloon; even if it’s not personal every time (it feels personal - ashamed to be part of the same species personal) and the the tiny sunspots of hope too (Kashmiri youths - my fav) - all woven into these pages.
You made me cry without tears.
- A Fellow Patnaite and a migrant too
The unimaginable pain this world causes on a daily basis from Nigeria to Kowloon; even if it’s not personal every time (it feels personal - ashamed to be part of the same species personal) and the the tiny sunspots of hope too (Kashmiri youths - my fav) - all woven into these pages.
You made me cry without tears.
- A Fellow Patnaite and a migrant too
April 18, 2022
Reminds the reader of life during lockdown, when the supermarket shelves were being emptied by hoarders etc.
I like a line about how things that rhyme are more easily taken as truth; that's probably why Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic to "appreciate" the truthfulness of the beauty of the Qur'an in its original rhyming and rhythmic metres. (Caveat: that's not what Amitava was talking about in the novel - he was squarely focused on the prevalence of fake news in Trump's America and Modi's India.)
I like a line about how things that rhyme are more easily taken as truth; that's probably why Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic to "appreciate" the truthfulness of the beauty of the Qur'an in its original rhyming and rhythmic metres. (Caveat: that's not what Amitava was talking about in the novel - he was squarely focused on the prevalence of fake news in Trump's America and Modi's India.)
June 13, 2022
Compelling writing. I have come across the first time this way of narration and writing.
There was never a better time to have such book coming forth than ours.
The books reads like an actual account of an author and to some extent, I do believe that these are the stories which are just as close to reality as the day to the sun. The threat to the common sense and camaraderie are actual and existing.
This is one of those books which, I think, needs to be read by everyone - no matter which part of the world they are in.
There was never a better time to have such book coming forth than ours.
The books reads like an actual account of an author and to some extent, I do believe that these are the stories which are just as close to reality as the day to the sun. The threat to the common sense and camaraderie are actual and existing.
This is one of those books which, I think, needs to be read by everyone - no matter which part of the world they are in.
March 30, 2024
My biggest problem with this book is that I don't really know what it is, which story it is telling. I picked it up as a free book from a bookstore in Budapest, and throughout reading the book, I thought about what it is: fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, something providing information? I finished it and am still not sure. There were stories inside that were very interesting and that I really enjoyed reading, but especially towards the end, a lot was about the authors experiences with the pandemic and stories others told him about BLM which was unfortunately not that interesting for me.
November 11, 2021
Loved it on multiple levels. It is a fictional story that lives in the same room as today's reality. I love the depth that the author has given his wife. She is a psychological explainer on everything he encounters. As a reader, that helped me parse otherwise outrageous incidents in a little more detail.
The prose, itself, is lean and crisp, which is Amitava Kumar's forte anyway. I will come back to this book many more times just for the craft of writing.
The prose, itself, is lean and crisp, which is Amitava Kumar's forte anyway. I will come back to this book many more times just for the craft of writing.
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