Sacred Time
by Ursula Hegi
★★★★☆
The story opens in an Italian neighborhood in the Bronx in the 1950s. Our narrator is a young boy named Anthony who is frustrated when his cousins and aunt move into his cramped apartment over the holidays. The story morphs into something new as our narrator changes to Anthony’s mother and then to his aunt Leonora, then his cousin. The book covers three time periods as well; first the ‘50s, then the ‘70s, and finally the early 2000s.
We watch as the family grows and changes over the course of those decades. We see how a single event can resonate throughout the lives involved. Each of the stories ties the whole picture together, giving a wide and wonderful look at what makes a family a family. How we are able to both hurt and help each other so much more when we are connected by blood.
I really enjoyed every second of this book. It’s not that the story itself is particularly startling; it’s that the characters are so beautifully drawn. They feel like they could be people from our own families. They struggle with the same hurts and unhappiness and guilt that plague us all from time to time.
BOTTOM LINE: What begins as a simple coming-of-age story quickly becomes a powerful look at family dynamics. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this one and I will be searching out more work from this author.
p.s. I listened to the audio version and it was excellent!
“Some days being sure only meant you had to double check, because if you didn’t, everything else would come undone.”
