This was actually quite lovely. (I did not like her previous Station Eleven and was completely prepared to put this down if it did not work for me.) This novel is purportedly a time-travel novel, as a mysterious effect echoes through the lives of a disillusioned young man in 1912 Canada, a young woman in prepandemic 2020 NYC, an author on tour in 2203, and scientists in the moon colony in 2401. The first half of this book is taken up by atmospheric writing and mysterious hinting; the second half is where the time travel kicks in, and it’s done quite well. Though there’s plenty to keep a reader busy in the time travel area, I think that the real heart of the novel is in the character of the author Olive. Olive’s on a book tour but her heart yearns for home; her book tour has gone on for so long that she barely knows what city she is in or what fan she is addressing at any given moment, feeling as adrift in time and space as any time traveler. As a reader, I can’t help but think that similar circumstances must have prompted the writing of this book.