Book Blurb:
Two women from different worlds, Grace and Anh, are indelibly changed when a runaway boy is found on a street in their small Long Island town. Brought together by the love of this child displaced by war, the women find friendship and healing from their own painful pasts when their lives intersect with a mysterious wounded Vietnam vet. The vet, Jack, works at the Golden Hours, a watch store that mends timepieces—and might even mend damaged souls. Richman interweaves the journeys of these wonderfully diverse characters who will grip, fill, and break your heart—only to bring them together with the care and precision of an expert watchmaker, one piece at a time. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee who entrusted the dramatic account of her escape from Vietnam to the author, and also that of a wounded veteran, Richman sheds light on those whose lives were forever impacted by the devastation of that war.
My Review: 4 stars
The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman is an introspective look into the lives of a handful of characters whose lives are utterly changed by a young Vietnamese boy. This book touches on many meaningful themes from classism to prejudice to refugee life and to the benefits of volunteer service.
There were so many interesting relationships throughout the narrative that grew and morphed as the story developed. I was very invested in Jack, the Vietnam vet, and his journey. I really would love to read a whole book on his experience, albeit a fictional one. His arc was my favorite.
You can tell the author did extensive research to understand the plight of the Vietnamese people. The war was its own character as the loss and crippling of humans from all sides was immensely high. was too young to understand what was going on during the Vietnam War and I find myself gobbling up books about this time in our history.
The cast of characters came to life and the scene where Bao and Ahn were on the boat just about broke my heart. This book reads quickly, often predictably, but also quite gently. I know gently sounds odd, but there is something about Richman’s writing that just eases you into her novels.
Quotes I liked:
Time has the power to heal all wounds.”
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