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Staff Pick
Do you ever wonder if reality is the result of a time-travel catastrophe? The rakish narrator of All Our Wrong Todays is here to tell you that's exactly what's happened — and it's all his fault. But how do you fix that mistake — and would you really want to, if you could? Recommended By Ashleigh B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
"A thrilling tale of time travel and alternate timelines with a refreshingly optimistic view of humanity's future." — Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian
"Elan Mastai has conjured up a witty and freewheeling time-traveling romance that packs an emotional wallop. All Our Wrong Todays is a page-turning delight." —
Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different and Where'd You Go, Bernadette
You know the future that people in the 1950s imagined we'd have? Well, it happened. In Tom Barren s 2016, humanity thrives in a techno-utopian paradise of flying cars, moving sidewalks, and moon bases, where avocados never go bad and punk rock never existed... because it wasn't necessary.
Except Tom just can't seem to find his place in this dazzling, idealistic world, and that's before his life gets turned upside down. Utterly blindsided by an accident of fate, Tom makes a rash decision that drastically changes not only his own life but the very fabric of the universe itself. In a time-travel mishap, Tom finds himself stranded in our 2016, what we think of as the real world. For Tom, our normal reality seems like a dystopian wasteland.
But when he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his family, his career, and maybe, just maybe his soul mate, Tom has a decision to make. Does he fix the flow of history, bringing his utopian universe back into existence, or does he try to forge a new life in our messy, unpredictable reality? Tom s search for the answer takes him across countries, continents, and timelines in a quest to figure out, finally, who he really is and what his future our future is supposed to be.
All Our Wrong Todays is about the versions of ourselves that we shed and grow into over time. It is a story of friendship and family, of unexpected journeys and alternate paths, and of love in its multitude of forms. Filled with humor and heart, and saturated with insight and intelligence and a mind-bending talent for invention, this novel signals the arrival of a major talent.
Review
"Mastai’s novel is both charming and wondrously plotted….'Existence is not a thing with which to muck around,' and yet that’s exactly what fantastic storytelling attempts, warping reality, perception, and truth — and hopefully entertaining us as well as this novel does." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"With humor, grace and dizzying skill, Mastai crafts a time-traveling novel that challenges every convention of the trope, and succeeds brilliantly. His droll, unassuming writing style couches a number of razor-sharp critiques about both our own reality and that of his hero, while the endless array of technological gadgets, innovations and possibilities give the story its drive and irresistible exuberance… heartrending, funny, smart, and stunningly, almost brazenly hopeful." RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
Review
"Mastai creates a fascinating tapestry of interconnected alternate realities….A potent mixture of sincere introspection and a riveting examination of time travel and alternate realities, this highly recommended novel is reminiscent of Jo Walton’s My Real Children with the breeziness of Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore." Library Journal (Starred Review)
About the Author
Elan Mastai was born in Vancouver and lives in Toronto with his wife and children. He is an award-winning screenwriter. This is his first novel.