Not my favorite of his books but an interesting read all together and gives a new perspective of the paths we take in life.

I've not read Brennert's more famous book -- Moloka'i -- which most everyone on Good Reads prefers. (But it's on my to-read list now). I'm just saying that up front to let you know I have no comparison books. But I really enjoyed Time and Chance. The book literally showed up on a table all by itself where I work. As I was reading the back page, someone compared it to Time and Again by Jack Finney. That was all I needed, because if you haven't read Time and Again, go get it right now and leave yourself a couple of days to read it straight through.

Back to Time and Chance: It has an intriguing hook. The main characters, Rick and Richard, are really the same person, but he came to a diverging path in his life after college and took the one that stayed in his hometown and married his pregnant girlfriend. Brennert then introduces us to Richard who took the other path -- he moved to New York City for the theater and left his girlfriend behind. Now, twenty years later, neither is happy and they both look with regret at their choices. As Richard returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral, the two meet and change lives.

It's not a perfect book and several reviewers complained that they had to suspend belief. Well, yes. It's a novel that plays with time. (I stayed up all night to finish it.) But that said, much of this book has stayed with me. What it said to me is that yes, we all have regrets, but when we live our lives in the present and take responsibility for our choices and actions, we are better for it. There are consequences for every action, and we need to take bad with good and not blame, not accuse, not wallow in self-pity or guilt. Don't look back with longing because there is no perfect life in this imperfect world, and the sooner we understand that, the happier and more well-adjusted we will be... Of course, all that is not said in the novel; it isn't preachy at all. But we get to live out Rick and Richard's second chances and discover with them, that our choices make us who we are, and when we learn that, it's all good.

It was okay from beginning to end. Many have commented on how this idea of getting to live out your parallel life from the path not taken is so original, but it's been done quite a few times and this was not one of the finest examples. Many of the characters were unlikable and some of the choices the main character, Rick, made seemed drastic and didn't make sense. It had good moments, but there were too many points in the book where I was bored at how predictable the story was.

I literally put down the book when Caitlin said the line about burying the ducks and running their heads over with a lawnmower and spent the rest of the story wanting to punch Rick in the neck after he decided to pursue a relationship with her immediately afterwords.

The first thing I ever read by Alan Brennert was "The Third Sex", from The Best of Pulphouse. It was about just that, a person who was neither male nor female. It was a story about love, identity, and relationships, and it lingered with me long after I finished the story. I had actually been exposed to Brennert before then through Weird Romance, which featured another of his stories, but this was the first fiction of his I read, and from that moment forward, I knew he was a writer to read.

Fast forward a few years, when I chance upon a historical novel he wrote about a leper colony on Hawaii called Moloka'i. I took a chance on it, since I knew Brennert could evoke complex emotion in a short story, even though it didn't sound like my kind of story. It's still one of only two books that made me cry (the other being The Book Thief), and if I hadn't already made a mental note to read everything this author writes, Moloka'i would have done it.

Time and Chance is an earlier novel of Brennert's, though it still has that emotional resonance I've associated with his previous works. It's about a man named Richard Cochrane who, thirteen years ago, made a decision to give up the woman he loved in order to go to New York to become an actor. It's also about a man named Richard Cochrane who, thirteen years ago, made a decision to give up on his dreams to become an actor in order to stay with the woman he loved to raise a family. Neither Richard is entirely happy with his decision and the life he's led since then, but time and chance have somehow conspired to allow them to swap places. The story is how they adapt to their new, alternate lives.

What I really liked about this novel is how Brennert took one character and made two characters out of him. Each have the same backstory, the same histories. Their divergence allowed him to examine their lives in different ways, and see how it affected them in their later years. He doesn't make it easy for either Richard to step into the other's life, which is as it should be. Thirteen years after making a difficult decision affects one's personality. The bitter, angry man who resents having given up a chance to become an actor isn't the same person as the melancholy, morose man who regrets having given up a chance at a family. Each character has a challenge stepping into the other's shoes, but Brennert does make it easier for one than the other.

Brennert's talent is in his people, and their relationships. I've noticed also that in many of his stories -- "The Third Sex", Her Pilgrim Soul (as much as I know about it from Weird Romance, at least), and Time and Chance, at least -- he features a troubled relationship, and the ways that those relationships can mend. They're very hopeful affairs, which is a nice antidote to the other kinds of fiction I often read.

Alan Brennert is a treat, and a gem. I haven't read anything of his that I wouldn't recommend without hesitation.

Un bon livre qui réussit à me toucher.

This was a sort of fantasy, because the character was able to switch places with the himself who had made a different choice in life, but it takes place in the real, contemporary world. Wonderful book.

I am giving up on this book. I loved Molokai by Alan Brennert so I thought I would like this book. Nope. I am giving up, and I rarely openly give up. Usually the book sits dog eared on a shelf for ages. This one is going straight to the donation bin. Every minute thus far has been completely predictable and I don't want to spend the 4-5 hours it will take to get to the end and find out if it gets better.

http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts... and http://www.starbaseandromeda.com/Grap...

Clearly a first novel, the author has taken on more than he can handle. A "What If?" story, where the same man somehow leading parallel lives switches the two--with each leading the life of the other version. Fantasy like this requires a deft hand, and while the author gets credit for trying he misses the mark more often than not. And although I brought to the book a healthy suspension of belief, there were glaring logic holes that couldn't be overcome.

Enjoyed his writing style. He gave each character thier own voice. Such a talent. More, please!

-captivating like his later books
-character development almost as good as Honolulu, not as good as Molokai
-an earlier work, more like a twilight zone episode than historical fiction

A brilliant book about roads not walked, guilt, and second chances. Brennert does a magnificent job of creating a deeply emotional story and imbuing its characters with real life. Despite its science fiction trope, this is a book about people and the lives they live.