In Five Years...revisited

Our book group selected this for our May discussion so it seems appropriate to reprint my original thoughts from my first reading.  I never dreamed  this simple, Sunday afternoon read would would be so meaningful.  Five years. So much can change in so little time.  Last week I received a tender note from a friend who, along with one other friend, and me  found ourselves facing life altering situations in the past years.  His note reminded me of how profound, maddening, confusing, and scary those days were, and how, with lessons learned, we have all come to terms with the meanings of ambiguity...and above all, clarity.  In that way we are lucky humans.  Thank you, Mary, for suggesting this book for us. (Be prepared for a lit into magical realism.  Accept it an move on...if not the storyline will annoy you to the final pages.)

My original thoughts from 2020...

 In five Years seems to be the hot go-to book right now.  Chick lit?  Rom-com? Beach read?  Sure. All of them.  When you applied for your first real job – you know the one you hoped would be a “career” and not just a nine to five gig – were you asked the big question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”?  Most of us were.  That’s where we poured our altruistic selves out to the interviewers in Miss America fashion.  Now, with my teaching career behind me, I understand what a very big question that was.  This book blows open our expectations of the future and suggests that we may not be in charge after all.

Our protagonist, Dannie Cohan, type A, resume building, stoic, has her days, her life, and her world planned.  She calculates every decision with a keen eye to whether or not it will get her where she wants to go.  She’s hard to relate to, for sure, but not unlikeable.  In fact, I can’t think of another novel I have read where I have rooted for every character. 

Dannie falls into a deep sleep on the night of her engagement and dreams she awakens in a strange apartment, with a strange man.  It is 2025.  The man, Aaron, knows her, knows everything about her, and goes about the day’s business as though it were routine for both of them.  Oh, it gets a bit steamy, and Dannie confesses it is the best bit of steam she has experienced in a long time.Shortly after, she wakes from her dream and moves on with only minimal thought about the dream until….

…Bella, Dannie’s lifelong friend introduces her to her latest…and TaDa…her latest is Aaron, from the DREAM!  I’m not revealing any spoilers here, all of that happens in the first twenty-five pages.  Here’s where I got a big surprise.  I thought, Oh, this is going to be tons of fun, a jolly romp as the Brits might say,  lots of cat and mouse type games, a door slammer plot.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  The author takes us on all sorts of twists and bumps, including some tear-jerking moments, and an unexpected ending. 

This quick Sunday afternoon read might be just the thing you need for a little escape.  Maybe, if we all stay healthy and work hard to keep those around us healthy, we will be back to normal in  five years.

Thanks for stopping by