The Time Is Now

by Pauline McLynn

Take a year in Soho and a house like no other....From a woman grieving on New Year's Day to a Victorian maid's passion for poetry, from a wartime widower picking up the pieces of his life to a young musician with a dream, one magical house has witnessed the drama of people's lives for generations. Meet the unforgettable residents of Claxton Court and discover the remarkable ties that bind them together.'The past, present and future all bleed into one another like watercolours on a canvas... time becomes irrelevant. The Time is Now is not Mrs Doyle... it is something very different from what has gone before, but it hints at a bright new direction for McLynn, the writer' Irish Independent

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish actress, comedienne and author, best known for playing Mrs Doyle on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. McLynn was born in Sligo but grew up in Galway. She studied History of Art and Modern English at Trinity College, Dublin. She was heavily involved in Trinity's Dublin University Players (college drama society). She is married to the producer and agent Richard Cook. She supports both Aston Villa and Bohemian F.C.

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many characters, too many time levels... I couldn't get into the book, kept forgetting who's who.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 1 out of 5]

the time is now or there again it could be "then" or even "soon" the then might vary although the now is constant. It is a ponderous novel, not an easy read and certainly did not draw me in. The phrasing / sentence structure is difficult and in some places just feels plain wrong. There is no real connecting text between the time periods except that the house and the street are the same. I was aware that the vignettes should connect but the author leaves the how right until the very end making the book feel like several stories

[Melissa Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about 50 some odd pages of Pauline McLynn's The Time is Now and couldn't get into the storyline at all. I felt no connection to the characters whatsoever, so I decided to add this to my "Did Not Finish" shelf.

[Aidh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time is beautiful....

[Jo Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author, this book was very clever. Would read again as so many layers 👏👏

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough read, but not really as good as some of Pauline's earlier novels.

The main issue I had with the book was that it jumped between a lot of different characters, living at different times in one building. This was one of the things that had initially drawn me to the book, however when I started to read I began to struggle with it. Each chapter changes from one character to another and is quite long so it felt more like reading a series of short stories rather than one novel. Because the chapters are long I felt I was getting really into a character and their story, and then at the end of the chapter I'd have to move on and get into someone else and it just didn't feel very fulfilling. Often I'd read one chapter and then set the book down, as a result it took quite some time to read the book, and I was often forgetting details from the start of the book by the time I reached the end.

The characters are very interesting, for the most part, though. I enjoyed their individual stories. I'd have liked some of them to be developed more. And I liked the overall message of the book - that we all make our impact on the world, no matter how small we think it may be, and no one persons story is more important than anothers.

[David Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t judge a book by its cover – isn’t that what they say?

Well, in this case you really can’t. For one thing, having red several Pauline McLynn novels, I thought I knew what to expect and was looking forward to a warm and funny tale of rural Irish folk. That is not what I got.

The book started well, if a little out of character for McLynn, following the troubled new year of young Karen. Finding her best friend dead in the bath was just the beginning. Then the story jumped to appoint in the fuure. Same building but totally different residents. I struggled to get to grips with the plot but, when the story switched to following a Victorian scullery maid, I admit I gave up.

I have read many books where the plot switches between time frames, such as Cloud Atlas, and usually manage to follow what is going on. But in this case, I found I didn’t want to know what was going on. Whilst I felt I could sympathise with Karen and her mixed up flat mate, the other two plots just left me cold ad uninterested.

A disappointing book.

[Vi Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4.5 star read. I have always enjoyed Pauline McLynn's novels but this is, for me, the best. Her Leo Street novels were humourous but dealt with some serious issues whereas her later novels dealt with serious issues but with some humour. The Time is Now is definitely the darkest - it starts with a suicide but it is, nonetheless, a story of hope. The story takes us through each month of the year, but not necessarily in the same year and ranges from 1854 through to 2144 but all centred around the same building in Soho which building resonates with echoes of the past and future. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it at the beginning, but started to get a little lost with all the characters and also found it a little boring, shame really ... Its put me off a bit reading the authors others, but some sound quite good, so wont give up on her just yet ...

[Eva Falconer]

Dull and dreary story read in a dull and dreary voice. I did not finish this audible book which is a rare occurrence for me. I can iron or sew to most books but not this one. No stars if that is allowed.