Review # 49: How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

When I read, I may read a passage twice, or flip back to remember why what I am reading should make sense. You can't do that when you are listening to an audio book. Some things may get by and names of people and places may not be heard correctly.
You can not pull out a dictionary when you are listening in the car, at least not if you are the driver. Still it is a pleasant way to pass the time driving back and forth to work.
The last (and maybe the first) Science Fiction I read, about 10 years ago, was Card's "Ender's Game" series, read out of curiosity as to what one of my children was reading. This to say, I am not a huge science fiction fan and would not normally seek it out, however, I am always willing to give a book that comes my way at least a chance. Keep my lack of science fiction savvy in mind when you read the review.

The review goes like this:

The protagonist in How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is named Charles Yu, same name as author. Charles is a time machine mechanic in Minor Universe 31. He rescues people who have gotten stuck in their time machines or are about to mess with the past (because it turns out that you can go back and view your past but you can not change it.) he fixes their machines, gives them some advice, and sends them on their way. He has spent nine years living non chronologically, in a phone booth sized time machine with a computer companion named Tammy and a not real dog named Ed. He is searching for his time machine inventor father, who time travelled and got lost. His mother lives in a time loop, the science fiction version of a nursing home - a one hour loop of Sunday Dinner, which Charles hopes to upgrade to the 90 minute version when he saves enough money.
Charles shoots his future self in the stomach which causes him to enter a time loop which can only be broken by doing something differently, yet in order to stay in the universe in which he (and the father he is searching for) exists, he can not alter any physical thing in the past.
Sound weird? Confusing? Maybe a little, probably a lot, because a world with no tenses is hard to follow, but it is at heart a story of self examination, a story of a boy and his father, a father who has a good idea but is unable to execute it when he has the opportunity, a story of a father lost and found through a son's eyes
Like this review is getting, this book could become rambly and self indulgent in spots. Overall, though it was different, interesting, funny and sad. How many times have I shot my future self in the stomach or repeated the same thing over and over again? It is something to think about.
Since this a review of an audio book, let me toss in here that it was read by James Yaegashi whose voice and intonations were pleasant as audio book readers go.
If you come across it, give it a try.