Customer Reviews

Now & Then

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As in Ms. Sheehan's previous book, Lost and Found, she uses language so richly that she creates a full world for the reader. I love this kind of book. The characters become people you know and care about, even while these happen to be hurdling through time in a nearly believable fashion. My only problem is that I was so compelled by the plot, needing to eat up the book fast enough to keep up with my curiosity as to their fate, that I know I missed some of the lovely descriptive language. The only answer is to put it down for a few months and then read it again, more slowly, and savor it.

I give this work four stars, but I wish there were something like a 3.5.

It's interesting to consider two very twenty-first century characters (lawyer Anna and her troubled nephew Joseph) in 1840's Ireland, each simply trying to survive, one way or another. Anna wants nothing but to find her nephew; Joseph isn't so sure he wants to be found. Both find love among the people of the 1840's. Both have to remember not to mention things that we take for granted in the twenty-first century.

However, there are some flaws. Madigan, the Irish wolfhound, turns out to be important to the story but he does not seem to be present as much as the sweet photo on the cover would imply. Also, the supposed "nineteeth century Irish" language ("lad," "lass", "bairn") impresses me more as Scot than Irish. There are differences, and I would've liked to see something in the back matter that indicated that the author had done her linguistic homework.

This is an enjoyable book, but I think it could have been even better.

With the overwhelming popularity of books with other-worldly themes, such as vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, etc., it's not too farfetched to find a novel about a contemporary heroine getting caught up in time travel. In Jacqueline Sheehan's latest novel, "Now and Then," she hones this quirky subject to a finer edge with a brilliant tale that will captures reader's imaginations.

Anna O'Shea was at a point in her life where things had to get better, because they couldn't get much worse. A recent divorcee, Anna had just returned from a harrowing flight from Ireland when she learned her only brother had been in a horrendous accident resulting in massive head injuries, and her 16-year old nephew, Joseph, needs to be picked up from jail.

After checking on her brother and retrieving her errant nephew, Anna hopes to be able to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before hitting other family crises head on. But her plans go awry when she wakes up to find Joseph going through her suitcases. As Anna and Joseph tussle over a partially opened package, the two suddenly find themselves hurtling through time and space to wake up separated in 19th century pre-potato famine Ireland.

Anna is found injured along the coastline, and is taken in by the local blacksmith, Tom, and his wife Glennis. As she struggles to recover from her injuries and confusion, Anna is desperate to find out what happened to Joseph, who seems to have disappeared during their "journey."

Joseph ended up miles away from Anna, and was discovered by an wealthy Englishman's servant and brought to the manor house for recovery. The wily teenager leads the household into believing he is a highly educated young man, and they treat him with the highest honor and respect. Quite the change from his reality back home where he was at the bottom of the high school pecking order

As Anna and Joseph adjust and adapt to their new situations, they both soon discover new strengths and qualities about themselves that had long been buried. But as fate and circumstances work to pull the two visitors from another era together, both find that it will be hard to return to their lives in the 21st century, if they can get back at all.

Jacqueline Sheehan has taken the subject of time travel, and combining it with an indepth look at Irish/British history to deliver a novel that is thoughtful, passionate and fascinating. There is an element of romance, as Anna and Joseph both find love in the most unlikely place, but bear in mind - this is no flighty romance. "Now and Then" is an amazing work of literary fiction to be savored and enjoyed.

I'm not a big fan of time travel books, but I love Irish Wolfhounds which is why I picked this up. The wolfhound puppy on the cover was too irresistible to pass by!

The story starts as Anna O'Shea is in the midst of trying to change her life. She has a series of miscarriages, a failed marriage and has quit her job behind her. Suddenly she and her troubled nephew 16 year old Joe end up in brutal 19th century Ireland and a chance at love amidst the hunger, poverty, chaos, and class struggles.

Although this book centers the story on time travel and romance, Madigan the Irish Wolfhound will steal your heart with his antics. Either the author has had one or knows one quite well! The two romances were finely crafted also--that of the mature Anna and then the story of young Joe and Taleen.

Sheehan did her research and the details are finely crafted into the story; so much so that you sometimes feel as though you also are back in time in Ireland!

Anna O'Shea has just returned from a trip to London, a getaway after going through a divorce five months before. The divorce was a painful one; after years of miscarriages, her husband told Anna that he was leaving her for someone else. His mistress was able to give him something Anna was unable-a child.

Immediately upon her return, she learns her brother, Patrick, has been in a severe automobile accident.

Before she is able to unpack from her Ireland trip, Anna makes her way to the hospital to see her brother. Her mother, Alice, was already there. Patrick sustained severe head injuries and his fate is undetermined. Anna's brother then drops another bomb: Patrick was on the way to pick up his teenage son, Joseph, from jail when he got into the accident. Joseph was arrested after stealing a car with a friend.

Anna is asked to pick up her nephew, who is in a jail approximately five hours away. She does so, grudgingly. She'd rather stay by her brother's side until he regains consciousness.

Anna picks up Joseph and returns to her home to get some rest. She's exhausted, so she quickly succumbs to sleep. She's awoken to the sound of the zipper on her suitcase. She finds Joseph holding an object in his hand. She grabs on to the item, and the both of them are sucked into what Anna believes is a tornado or some other catastrophic event.

Anna awakes on a beach, her body riddled with injures from the sea, including a long gash that extends from her knee to her ankle. She hovers in and out of consciousness. She is soon rescued and is taken to a small village to recover. Anna soon realizes that something is amiss. Her rescuers use primitive methods (leeches!) for healing her leg injury. When she asks the date her suspicions are confirmed: It is September 1844. Joseph is no where in sight.

Joseph awakes on a bed made of corn husks. His rescuers have brought him to a local manor. He heals relatively quickly and soon begins exploring the manor in which he currently resides. His memories of his father's accident are faint and fading quickly.

And so begins Anna's desperate search for Joseph. While on her search, she soon realizes that her leap through time is her destiny. Her family's fate is dependent upon her...

Sheehan has done an outstanding job of combining rich,multifaceted characters and a compelling storyline. Fans of historical fiction, particularly Irish history, will be fascinated by this book. Sheehan's writing is incredibly descriptive; you can't help but be pulled in. The underlying issues of infertility and family issues add depth to the storyline. My only complaint would be the references to the dog. The paperback has an image of a dog clearly displayed on the cover, and the line "A magical tale of hope, second chances...and a not-so-little dog." At first glance, it appears the book is about this dog. While the dog does play a fairly key role in the novel, I think it's a little misleading to readers to give that much attention to a seemingly minor character. But this is really the only complaint I have with this book! If you can see past this, as I could ultimately, then I highly recommend that you read this book!

I got this book because of the picture of the dog on the cover, but it did not turn out to be a dog story. Though it does include a dog character or two. I was so happy to have found this new (to me!) author. I enjoyed the story so much I had originally read it as a library book and as soon as I finished reading, I went online to Amazon.com and bought my own copy!! I also called my sisters and told them to read it! They are not profound dog lovers, as I am, so I made sure they knew it was not a "Dog Story"!! It is a very enjoyable book!!! I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book grabbed me from the first pages. I read it in two days. The main character, Anna, is such a refreshing heroine. She's smart, and funny and interesting, someone I wanted to succeed and could empathize with. There aren't that many great female main characters and Anna is certainly one. This was one of those books that I was sad to finish.

I found this to be a fast paced tale of a contemporary woman and her nephew, each in crisis, who find themselves unexpectedly and dramatically thrown into 1844 Ireland, a year before the potato famine. There they experience the warmth, suspicion, precariousness, and love of the subjugated Irish. If you like the idea of time travel, as I do, you will appreciate Sheehan's imaginings of the travel itself, and in the end will be rewarded by her adept handling of the problem of what happens when people from the future influence the past, and perhaps the course their lives have taken in the present. There are pivotal moments near the end that I particularly enjoyed, but no spoiler here--you'll have to experience them for yourself.

This is a quick, easy read. The characters are fairly well developed,however, the ending seems rushed and sketchy given the arc of the storyline. The book is also very reminiscent of Outlander (Gabaldon), but if you like time travel, a bit of romance, and a light summer read, pick it up.

I was really not that impressed with the book. It was very slow and when it did pick up it was really hard to follow everything happening. The end of the book I was really confused. Everything ended really quickly and I had a lot of questions still unanswered.