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[starreview]
Classification: Plot Device
One day Dierdre MacCallum receives a call from her wealthy great-grandmother, Bridget, who’s on her deathbed and has chosen Dierdre, out of everyone in her family, to settle her standing affairs. Although Dierdre is somewhat perplexed by the choice, she agrees and comes to her grandmother’s building in Washington Square park (located in New York’s Greenwich Village) to do her bidding.
Dierdre quickly finds out that there is something odd about her grandmother’s apartment. Specifically, the fact that the view from the doors in one of the rooms is different from the view everywhere else. To her amazement, she discovers that these doors lead 72 years to the past. Same place, same apartment – different year. And of course, once she’s there, the doors lead back to the present.
Curious about the history of the place, Dierdre manages to find her grandmother’s journals. She then discovers that the notorious Aleister Crowley was a tenant in the building in the early 20th century. In fact, Bridget, her grandmother, was one of his most devoted followers.
In case you are not familiar with the name, Aleister Crowley, a real historical figure, was the founder of the major 20th century occult organization, The Golden Dawn. He used to practice magick (“real” magic), including sexual magick, supposedly invoking the power generated by sex to gain certain abilities. He was definitely a colorful and interesting character – you may want to check out his Wikipedia entry (at least, if you choose to read this book). Interestingly, he really did live in the Village for a short amount of time.
Using the door which is always at her disposal, Dierdre begins exploring the past. She meets Aleister, and befriends the young version of her grandmother. She also meets – and falls in love – with the poet Noah Hathaway. The problem is that her actions begin to destabilize the present and eventually result in Noah’s death. What does Dierdre do? Read the book to find out.
This book is unlike any other novel I have ever read. It’s an intriguing, modern, urban fantasy love story involving time travel. What I liked about it is that it was extremely well written: the characters, particularly Aleister Crowley, were very convincing and felt like real people. The usage of the historical setting was also handled in a way that greatly helped emphasize the plot; the door to the past was really Dierdre’s way of “escaping” to a secluded place from her world – when it was raining in modern day New York, at times it was sunny and pleasant in the 1918 version. And the best part: the story was very good: it had several unexpected twists, and utilized time travel in a very unusual way.
As a side note I must mention that during the 90s my father used to live in Washington square. After reading the book, whenever I used to visit him, I kept wondering: where did Aleister Crowley live? Where did all the wondrous events described in the book take place? Although, obviously, it is a fictional story – this fact made the book even more real to me, and probably even more enjoyable.
Overall, this is a modern fantasy novel with a lot of romance thrown in. However, its usage of time travel is really what makes the story unique – and special. I simply could not put it down! I recommend it to anyone who likes time travel books and isn’t put off by reading about magical rituals. Being a romantic at heart is probably a requirement as well 😉
Link to the book’s details on Amazon.com
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