That Time I Loved You

That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I was actually prepared to dislike this book so it came as a surprise to find myself quite enjoying it. I like books, libraries and librarians; however, I generally don't like librarian suggestions. It seems my preferences and those of most librarians are 180 degrees apart. Apparently there is some sort of special library event coming up in September and this book is a part of it. The head librarian at the branch I go to was looking for volunteers to read the book and attend the event. I didn't think I volunteered but suddenly a copy appeared in front of me and that was that.

I wouldn't exactly describe this as a page-turner but I read it in two days without really trying so I guess it is quite compelling. To some extent it reminded me of a movie the name of which I've forgotten but after searching the internet have been Hotel Room. It consisted of a series of short stories of people who check into this one particular hotel room, experience some sort of interesting event and then move on. In this book we have a series of short stories each of which involves a person in a family living in a three-block area of Scarborough. Some individuals feature in more than one story. The neighborhood has been rocked by a series of deaths - two suicides and one deemed to be of natural causes. It's a new neighborhood and the author suggests that beyond the facade of normality there lurks various undercurrents of unpleasant things.

We learn of the deaths in the first couple of pages and I figured this book was going to do nothing more than attack middle-class suburbia and there was a hint of that but for the most part the author explored the lives of various individuals on the periphery of the events and suggested there may be more to their lives than meets the eye. It wasn't heavy handed at all. The characters were believable and well developed.

I rated this book a 4 but in actuality it's more of a 3.8 - good, but not terrific. The best thing is the author piques the readers curiosity enough to keep going from story to story. Because this is a book of short stories and not a novel there is no final conclusion and I found the last story a bit of a downer but not really unpleasant.

If you like to imagine the lives of the people in the various houses in your neighborhood I think you'll like this. Likewise, I suppose, if you like to peek in people's windows and into their backyards you might like it as well. I regard the time I spent reading it as worthwhile.



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