The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
The latest New York Times bestseller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a “wonderful story of love and growth” (Stephen King).
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.
As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?
From “the reigning queen of magical realism” (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author), this is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.
My Review
I have been a massive fan of Alice Hoffman for many years, with The Museum of Extraordinary Things being one of my favourite books of all time. However, the jury is still out on this one. The writing is sublime, the characterisations are amazing, every word, every turn of phrase as magical and beautiful as you would expect from this author. I listened to it as an audiobook from Borrowbox, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment.
But I am not sure about the time slip element. And looking at other reviews, it appears that I am not the only one.
Pregnant and alone, Mia’s mother Ivy ran away from home when she was sixteen. She joined a cult known as the Community, led by the charismatic Joel Davies, but things were not as she imagined. He took her as his wife and became a surrogate father to daughter Mia. Children, however, were looked after by everyone – mothers were not allowed to favour their own. But Ivy cannot let go, loving Mia so fiercely, that she is often punished for her ‘misdemeanors’.
Books are banned in the Community. Joel knows that once you have read a book, your life is changed forever. That doesn’t stop Mia from visiting the library, where one day she discovers a new future, and a book called The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne that will save her life.
In Part Two, Mia slips into Nathaniel’s life in the 1800s, where they fall in love, and this is where it all became a bit too fantastical for me. I love magical realism, but I am not always a fan of time slip novels, where it is really more like time travel, as it is in this case. I could have coped with Mia going back. but not some of the other things that happened.
However, even though I have only given it 4 stars instead of my usual 5 stars for Hoffman, I still really enjoyed it. She will always be my favourite author and in reality can do no wrong.
About the Author
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.
