The Trick to Time
Published on 29. March 2018
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-241-20710-9 (ISBN)
Description
A heart-wrenching love story from the internationally bestselling author of My Name Is Leon
Mona is a young Irish girl in the big city, with the thrill of a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding house. On her first night out in 1970s Birmingham, she meets William, a charming Irish boy with an easy smile and an open face. They embark upon a passionate affair, a whirlwind marriage - before a sudden tragedy tears them apart.
Decades later, Mona pieces together the memories of the years that separate them. But can she ever learn to love again?
The Trick to Time is an unforgettable tale of grief, longing, and a love that lasts a lifetime.
Mona is a young Irish girl in the big city, with the thrill of a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding house. On her first night out in 1970s Birmingham, she meets William, a charming Irish boy with an easy smile and an open face. They embark upon a passionate affair, a whirlwind marriage - before a sudden tragedy tears them apart.
Decades later, Mona pieces together the memories of the years that separate them. But can she ever learn to love again?
The Trick to Time is an unforgettable tale of grief, longing, and a love that lasts a lifetime.
Reviews / Votes
Weaving tragedy and joy, big themes and the minutiae of life, this is a love story to take on the classics * Emerald Street * [An] emotionally sure-handed novel exploring harrowing terrain with deft sensitivity * Sunday Times * The "trick to time" is that it can expand or contract at will, and in creating a mature heroine with decades of history, De Waal has herself performed a feat of skilful comprehension * Guardian Review * It's slight but engaging. The style is simple yet artful * Evening Standard * An unforgettable tale of grief and life-long love * Woman's Own * Moving and enlightening * Independent * A beautifully written, exquisitely crafted story of love, grief and the quiet courage it takes to survive great loss * S Magazine * A story that's full of care; even in its saddest moments it is tender and kind. It feels like a book about all the best parts of being human, about family and friendship, and the way that loss only hurts the way it does because it's grounded in love. -- S K Perry Tender with a fierce undercurrent of tension and heartbreak -- Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter' A beautiful book -- Andrew Marr These distillations of everyday life have all the beauty of a finely crafted life drawing * Financial Times * The Trick to Time starts gently and ratchets up the emotional intensity until you're ugly crying into your pillow * Sunday Times * A warm and endearing book about learning to live again * Good Housekeeping * The Trick to Time proves that Kit de Waal is a writer destined for even greater things * Red * [The] ending will leave you reeling * Daily Mail *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 204 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
326 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-20710-9 (9780241207109)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the 60's and 70's. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah is shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. She also crowdfunded and edited an anthology of working class memoir, Common People, which was published in 2018. Kit was named the FutureBook Person of the Year in 2019.