A real good read. Somewhat confusing concept, but I decided to just let go of reality and enjoy. It wasn't cut and dried neat. One would expect the Rick/Richard thing to balance out even in the end, or else have the selfish one being the one with the most to learn,but this story was too smart for cop-outs. I like that the author didn't take any predictible or easy way out in resolving this strange plot.

This is marketed as a time travel book. Which is not true at all. There is no time travel. Only the ability to swap lives in parallel universes/alternate history.

Luckily, I found these concepts far more intriguing than time travel. Because I have always been a "What if?" thinker, regretting choices I have made, from life changing ones like marrying or not, to miniscule ones like buying Frosted Flashes instead of Golden Grahams. I am the first to admit how ridiculous this sounds, silly and futile. After all, wiring, like a rocking chair, will give you something to do, but will get you nowhere . But, alas, a lifelong overanalyzed, I cannot seem to help myself. The nights I waste, obsessing....

Rick and Richard. 35 years old, they each made to drastically different decisions at a crossroads 13 years ago.

Rick decides to stay in his hometown, the small suburb of Appleton, New Hampshire- where everyone knows everyone else's business- to marry his high school sweetheart. Debra. They have two kids. Following in his footsteps, his daughter is perusing her passion for theater and has been cast as Juliet in her school's production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Bitter for giving up his dream of moving to New York in favor of family life, he finds in difficult to compliment or support her. Over the years, his marriage and devotion to Debra has waned. He has become so angry that on the night he meets Richard, he has hit his daughter for the first time. Divorce seems imminent.

Richard, on the other hand, pursued his dream to make it big in theater. Giving up marriage to Debra, he still loves you very much today, he moves to New York. His romantic relationship since then have been tumultuous and unfulfilling at best- most notably represented by a marriage to a cocaine-addicted, selfish ex-wife. Professionally, he had done well for himself, performing with for the most well-respected actors in the industry. He has a close friend in his agent, and friends that love him. Although not as angry as Rick, he does greatly regret his choice 13 years ago.

When the two meet, there is little hesitation for them to change lives.

By the end of their time in the parallel universes, if nothing else, both have learned a great deal about themselves. The opportunity comes for them to switch back into their original lives, but greatly altered. In some ways for the better, in others for the worse. What will they choose?

I would kill to have the opportunity to do this, to experience a what-if parallel universe. I wish I could say that I am confident that I would choose to return to my life today, because it seems like cheating to switch lives.

But, if I am honest with myself right now (and openly exposing myself to vulnerability), I am not happy with so many things in my life. I suppose I could experience the same thing Richard and Rick did, the well evidenced "grass is greener on the other side" effect, but I am pretty sure that this will not be the case with me. Without going into too many details, I am very depressed, as a result of some mental health issues that very likely would be alleviated had I taken a different turn at a crossroads many years ago. And things could not be too much worse than they are now.

Alas, this was science fiction and therefore a fantasy for me. Not to end this on such a depressing note, there is always hope that I will eventually be given enough new crossroads in life that I will no longer feel this painful regret.

**** Spoilers ****

Both of them choose to return to their original lives, although less immediately certain than the first time they switched. Good for them. I would have done the same. What they each learned through their experiences made both of them better prepared and more appreciative to continue their lives.

Interesting concept.

A parallel worlds novel. Until they were twenty-three Rick and Richard lived the same life. Thirteen years later Rick feels stifled in his home town married to his high school sweetheart and he is full of rage. Richard is a moderately successful actor living in New York, the run of his current play just ended when he gets a message that his mother died. He is guilt ridden that he didn't spend enough time with his mother or his friend, Finney, who got in a car accident and became a paraplegic.

Richard goes back to his home town to make funeral arrangements. After the funeral he's walking through town and notices a house where a couple is in a heated argument. The woman is Debra who he just saw at the funeral, but the man isn't her husband. It's him!

They switch places. Richard knows Debra, but not the years of marriage or their daughter or how to do the Rick's job. Rick has a whole new set of friends. It is presented as a one time switch with no further communication between them. The question now is how they handle life in their new lives.

Fast and except for a cringe moment or two fun read. The characters, especially Rick, had to battle their inner demons leading to the behavior that made me cringe. I was delighted at the interaction between Richard and Paige. 4.5 stars.

Time and Chance is about the journey rather than the destination. It’s a book filled with conflict, love, tenderness and confusion all propped up by an intense emotional thread that seems to compliment the book well, without ever being overdone. If, at points, the plot did seem to lag, it does pick up and recover, especially during the last third of the book. Time and Chance is an impressive character study, which manages to hook the reader while also forcing them to examine their own lives, and choices.

Read my full review here:

http://bookwormblues.blogspot.com/201...

This is the book I read on my Nook for my Third Tuesday Book Club meeting tomorrow night (October 21, 2o14). I found it to be an interesting exploration of both alternative universes and second chances, with a good dose of circumstances and consequences tossed in. I do not think it a great book, but it is an interesting read.


Richard Cochrane is thirty-five, and has one divorce and several failed relationships behind him, and no children. He grew up in Appleton, New Hampshire, but broke up with his pregnant girlfriend thirteen years ago to seek his fame and fortune as an actor in New York City, and has been quite successful in doing so, but regrets never having a family. Rick Cochrane is thirty-five, married, with two children. Thirteen years ago he gave up his dream of acting and married his pregnant girlfriend, remaining in his home town of Appleton, New Hampshire, and working at an insurance company. If these two men sound similar, it is because they are the same man, in different universes that are running concurrently; one in which he became New York Richard, and one in which he became Small-Town Rick, with the split occurring with his decision to leave / stay with his pregnant girlfriend thirteen years ago.

The two men meet at a joint crux point: Richard has come home to Appleton to bury his widowed mother, and Rick is deeply angry at his job, his marriage, and his life. The two men figure that their universes have converged for a reason, and after some discussion, New York Richard steps into life in the Small Town with Rick’s family, and Small Town Rick steps into the acting world of New York Richard. Most of the book alternates between the two characters, exploring how they cope and manage (or not) in the different universes they now inhabit.

I found this book quite interesting; at its heart are themes of second chances, of seeking one’s dreams, and of dealing with the consequences of actions or inactions. I did not find it a great book, but I think it will be a good book to discuss at our book club meeting tomorrow night.

I like Brennert's historical novels better. This book was interesting in the way that he approached the road not taken in our lives. The characters were hard for me to relate to but the contrast between city and small town life and the pursuit of a career and the giving up the dream to have family was well done. It was interesting but not a gripping story. If you like the author it is worth a read.

3.5

3.5. Dark Matter meets Time Travelers Wife - not as good as either but I still enjoy this kind of premise.

This book had many stars, was hoping to love it. It was a bit too much like Freaky Friday to me - and that has been done a number of times. Could not get into it, but gave it the old college try.

This is an earlier work by Alan Brennert, the same author of my current FAVORITE book, Moloka'i. This is the sole reason I bought the book. Halfway through it, I was ready to give it only 2 stars. It had an interesting premise (a semi-famous actor switches places with his alter-ego who opted to marry his high school sweetheart instead of pursuing acting), but it just wasn't keeping my interest as the two men sorted through each other's lives. But the last third of the book picked up, and I found myself "pulled in". So, I upped the rating to 3 stars. I think Alan Brennert is a very talented writer. I'm hoping he writes something else soon.

A truly wonderful book -- beautifully written, insightful, meaningful. I plan to read it again (a rare occurrence).