Alison Rose’s Reviews > The House on the Strand > Status Update

There are few strains more intolerable in life than waiting for the arrival of unwelcome guests.

As eavesdropper in time my role was passive, without commitment or responsibility. I could move about in their world unwatched, knowing that whatever happened I could do nothing to prevent it—comedy, tragedy, or farce—whereas in my twentieth-century existence, I must take my share in shaping my own future and that of my family.

(As a nosy bitch myself, “eavesdropper in time” sounds absolutely awesome)