Tournament of Books discussion

space to discuss Version Control by Dexter Palmer

So am I the only one who found this to be the most delightful surprise of the shortlist? I loved this book. The ending fell a little short, but I loved the rest of it so much I rated it 5 stars, and if I'm going just on sheer reading enjoyment alone, it would be my pick to win the Rooster.

Heather wrote: "So am I the only one who found this to be the most delightful surprise of the shortlist? I loved this book. The ending fell a little short, but I loved the rest of it so much I rated it 5 stars, an..."

I didn't love it as much as you did, but given that I wouldn't have picked up a book set in the near future that features lots of discussions about time travel without the Rooster, I was surprised and delighted by how much I liked it.

I loved it as well. Haven't gotten around to writing my review yet. Saw that it was matched first round against My Name is Lucy Barton. Hope it advances.

Heather wrote: "So am I the only one who found this to be the most delightful surprise of the shortlist? I loved this book. The ending fell a little short, but I loved the rest of it so much I rated it 5 stars, an..."

This was a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. I would describe it as a cross between The Post-Birthday World and Super Sad True Love Story.

Interesting comparison...Post-Birthday World is one of my favorite books of all time, so clearly I have a type! I haven't read Super Sad True Love Story, but now I'm definitely gonna check it out.

I really liked it too. I've told people it's a literary Dark Matter.

I just finished this one last night and I really liked it. My big question is: WHICH VERSION IS THE RIGHT ONE? Which I don’t actually think can be answered; which is what I liked about this book…you can ponder and ponder and I like being able to make up my own theory.

Drew wrote: "I would describe it as a cross between The Post-Birthday World and Super Sad True Love Story."

I have only read The Post-Birthday World, but I agree that there is a similarity there. I also thought of Fates & Furies a bit because of the portrait of a marriage from different perspectives.

I liked this a lot for its fresh take on time travel. But by the end I could have done without a few of the insanely long monologues on religion, physics, social media, etc. Just get on with it!

I loved this book. I read it every spare second I had. Unique, mind bending, thought provoking. I hope it advances, Lucy Barton was m'eh for me. It deserves a wider audience!

I think this is my favorite of the 13 that I've read/attempted to read for TOB this year. It felt like a really new take on time travel and it held my interest from beginning to end (which is a tough thing to do these days). I really hope it advances.

I must be in the minority here. I liked it, enjoyed it, but was also annoyed by it. It felt like a good story, a good idea, and interesting. But so rambly. So much time spent rambling about unnecessary things. I think he could have cut out a lot and made it a better book. Lucy Barton wasn't really my favorite either - right now these 2 are at the bottom, with the only book below both for me being The Vegetarian. But it sounds like I'm the only one!

Well, so far it's giving me an out-of-body experience since apparently the author must live within a mile or two of me. It's very weird, if you don't live in, say, New York City, or London, or Chicago or somewhere, to have the characters frequenting places you go every day.

That said -- I really do like it. Another surprise I would never have read if it weren't for the ToB.

Meg wrote: "I must be in the minority here. I liked it, enjoyed it, but was also annoyed by it. It felt like a good story, a good idea, and interesting. But so rambly. So much time spent rambling about unneces..."

I'm with you Meg. I think the first half of the book went on way too long, belaboring Rebecca's life and making the rushed ending feel even more rushed. Although I'm not shy about abandoning a book I don't enjoy, I kept on with this one because it was well written, the characters felt fully rounded, and the glimpses of the new future world of the novel was interesting. But I found myself hurrying through the last two sections to get it over with. The 'scientific/philosophical' explanations at the end seemed pretty thin to me. Maybe that was due to my rushed reading though. Also, Rebecca's father seemed like a one-dimensional character who only existed to be a spokesperson for a philosophical position.

Nadine wrote: "Meg wrote: "I must be in the minority here. I liked it, enjoyed it, but was also annoyed by it. It felt like a good story, a good idea, and interesting. But so rambly. So much time spent rambling a..."

Yes yes yes -- I agree so much with all of this. I felt like the book had so much potential, but the pacing was off, and the philosophical pieces felt forced in some way.

I went into this one not sure I'd like it but it was available at the library so I figured I'd give it a go. I'm not really interested in sci-fi time travel (I love alternate fantasy universe but science based physics of time travel is meh for me). This book didn't surprise me in any positive way. There was a large swath of I guess you'd call it her second life I found compelling and really moved along but then once she got his diary it all grinder back down (it went back to being very science laden). Some of the race/gender POVs were interesting and different. But overall I didn't expect to love this one and really didn't.

Meg wrote: "I must be in the minority here. I liked it, enjoyed it, but was also annoyed by it. It felt like a good story, a good idea, and interesting. But so rambly. So much time spent rambling about unneces..."

I'm in that minority with you, Meg. I wouldn't have known about this book without the ToB, and I'm glad I read it, but I have some issues with it. The rambling bothered me, as it does with most long books. Also, I was confused about why the author repeatedly chose to make Carson's race an issue. At times, it seemed the point was to show that subtle racism is always present, and that it shaped Carson's life choices. But, if the author's goal was to denounce racism, why the epithets shouted by the teen on the train? Shock value? And, why the negative stereotypes of overweight people, who were presented as either arrogant and obnoxious, or impoverished and slovenly? I found the stereotypes pointless and off-putting, and they took away from my enjoyment of an otherwise good novel.

Peggy wrote: "I liked this a lot for its fresh take on time travel. But by the end I could have done without a few of the insanely long monologues on religion, physics, social media, etc. Just get on with it!"

Agreed! In recent years, I have read so many long books that would have benefited from 100-page edits.

Sorry if this has already been asked... but I'm skipping many of these comments due to spoilers...

Is this set in the future? It seems to be. I am on chapter 5? and she is getting lectured by her father about social media. He mentions screwing around on MySpace and she replies that everyone moved to Facebook over a year or two ago... which doesn't jive with this world's timeline and the technology we have. I know this book is about time travel, so maybe the answer itself will be a spoiler... and if so... don't worry about it. Now I'm just itching to figure it out.

AmberBug wrote: "Sorry if this has already been asked... but I'm skipping many of these comments due to spoilers...

Is this set in the future? It seems to be. I am on chapter 5? and she is getting lectured by her ..."
The answer would be a spoiler Amber. When you get to the end, come back and tell me if you think it was set in the future or not.

o0oo goodie!

I just reread that section and I figured out that the chapter I am referring to is her in the early 20's... so that statement wouldn't be false per se.

Thanks Ruthiella!

Yes, I believe she mentioned that had been 13 years before. I think most people started switching to FB somewhere around 2008, so I put the main story at around 2020, give or take a couple of years.

I have so many questions! But I have to go to work. I'll try to come back and ask them this evening or at least by the weekend.

I just finished this one and loved it! Another book I wouldn't have bothered with if not for ToB -- I don't like action-adventure time-travel (which this is not) or sad weighty novels about grieving alcoholic parents (which this is also not) -- but I expected it to be one of those. What it actually was fascinated me; I also came away with tons of questions & look forward to speculating with people here, but I love the fact that the book works without needing solid answers.