The Time Table
Caroline Mather
Historical/Time Travel
“Every so often we lose a ball . . . I wonder in what century they are rolling about?” Jeremy Finch, 1812
“. . . Tony Finch was never found . . .” Larry Fischer to Sophie Fischer, 2016
In the billiard room of Larry Fischer’s London home stands an antique billiard table that came with the house.
Set up in the 1600’s by Phineas Finch as the craze for billiards dawned, the table was cut from a standing stone on the Finches’ north-country estate and shipped to London . . .
“They kept popping in and out, from the Restoration until . . .” Larry to Sophie, 2016
The lives of generations of Finches are intertwined with the modern-day Fischers and others through the curious properties of The Time Table. Travel with them as they seek the love that transcends time.
Uncaged Review: This is a time travel book. What is different is the method is via a pool table which was made from a standing stone. Things like shot glasses, balls and people disappear through the table, ending up in different centuries.
The book is writing in parts with a different person as the focus for each story. Throughout the book is a Larry Fischer who owns the house where the table was placed when it was made. It has been there for over two hundred years.
Part 1, Between Times, deals with Emily, the sister of Larry’s fiancé, Dilys and Jeremy Finch, whose family owned the house 200 years ago. Emily falls through the table and meets Jeremy. When she returns to present day, Jeremy follows her when he realizes he’ll never find another like her. They end up going back to his time to live.
Part 2 The Shot Glass, involves Tony Finch who, according to the family history, disappeared without a trace from his time period. He shows up in the standing stones where Sophia was at the time. He ends up staying in the present time.
Part 3, The Stone, is the story of Phineas and Davila where Phineas goes back in time.
Part 4 The Compass, involves a compass from Tony’s great uncle. He is aware Phineas went back to 1320 and returned to his time with the compass which originated in the 1600s and was use by a Captain Andrew Finch. Tony and Larry are studying the time travel and attempting to figure out how the various people and objects travel through the time and get to or from where they were.
Part 5 The Ivory Ball, deals with Dane Carter, Sophie’s ex-boyfriend (Part 2) and Cara. Cara goes to 1776 with an ivory ball she sees in an exhibit in 2021 to meet Garret Finch. She attempts to go back to her time but ends up in 2016 (present day) and meets Dane. They jump to the future after realizing they had been dreaming of each other for years.
I will admit, most time travel books I find trite and not all that interesting. This one was done in a format where it was short stories about each couple which weren’t boring. In fact, it was almost believable. I loved that she tied it all together with Larry and Dilys and the Finch family. (I have to admit I liked Tony a lot.) Unlike most time travel, there was nothing fantastic any of the characters did other than going to a different century. Ms. Mather deals with the adaptations of the one who jumps through time, and sets the stage for various romances. The only unbelievable part is the immediate acceptance of a person showing up out of nowhere who is totally different. That had me thinking, “Right! As if someone will act like it’s normal for strange people to pop out of nowhere.”
Over all, the book is one you can read Part at a time. It was fun to discover which Finch was going where and who they would meet. I give it 4 stars. As I said, the plausibility of belief was pushed too far when everyone seems to expect the unexpected and aren’t the least bit surprised when a strange person pops into their world.
Reviewed by Barbara
4 Stars
