**The Time Cellar** A book by our very own DFW!
Last edited Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:11 AM - Edit history (1)
I've been hearing about this book around DU, and it sounded intriguing, so I bought a copy, and WOW.
For starters, here is the first sentence: "For the record, if there ever is one, the body in my basement with the pitchfork sticking out of its back isn't mine."
Well. That's all it took. I started reading it around 9:30 p.m. one night recently, and I didn't (rather, I couldn't) put it down till I was finished at around 1:00 a.m.
The plot is beautifully done, the characters are believable, and the story flows like, well, wine! Wine is one of the central themes and even if you don't know anything about it, it doesn't matter. The story is completely compelling. There is also time travel which is fantastic and takes you off to some very interesting places and people. There is also suspense and romance. It's wonderful!
I strongly recommend this wonderful book.
I hope DFW will sell many many copies, along with a screenplay.
On edit: here's the link to the Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Cellar-Marc-Emory/dp/159967971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424876987&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Time+Cellar
= new reply since forum marked as read
Congratulations to DFW! I will definitely buy it! 
And the pace doesn't let up.
Thanks for your kind words!
And thanks..
Imagine my surprise when Amazon told me I had already purchased this book. Turns out my DW had already bought it 6 weeks ago and had loved it! So, I had sent it to my Kindle and placed on my 'must read' list. 
I hope you don't have anything planned that you have to do for today...
I don't think you'll be able to put it down!
Looks fabulous.
I love good time travel novels, and the first rec on Amazon compares DFW's work very favorably to imo one of the very best: Time and Again by Jack Finney. I still have the paperback from 1970.
I just downloaded a copy. It looks good, and is even the type of literature I enjoy snuggling up with during a cold winter night. Of which it appears I still have plenty to go this season! 
I'm looking forward to reading it!
There is a love interest, but I found it entirely engrossing. I don't want to give away any plot points! Have a look at the blurb on Amazon. Maybe that will help clarify things for you.
Cabbages have souls too!
I had to order the book - it looks fantastic - and wound up with another of my "wish list" items (an electric skillet) on the order too..........
LOL!!! I've wanted this skillet forever - we are on a "turn it on to cook" propane tank and this will eliminate some of the 30 below run outside to the tank evenings!
Enjoy your new skillet and the book too!
First of all, thanks for the positive feedback/leap of faith to try it:
Yes, there is a romance in there. It's not really the central theme, but it is a part of the story, so fair warning if you don't like that kind of thing. The central figure does make a remark about falling for a woman born 142 years before he was ("you may start in with the 'older woman' comments any time"
. He also notes her growing affection for him ("Never mind what a girl tells you. It's when she shows she's willing to vaporize her cat for you that you know she's serious" .
But there is also some historical fiction, some serious conversation with Thomas Jefferson, some educated Las Vegas Mafiosi, a pompous Rodeo Drive wine dealer who looks like Danny DeVito, a genius Guatemalteca who writes like someone with a PhD in English Literature but verbalizes like Speedy Gonzales, her brother who is a master of "maa shalats," a friendly lawyer friend nicknamed Zorro, a helpful numismatist and, of course, the Little Old Lady From Pasadena, who isn't from Pasadena after all.
Some books reflect deep thinking and emotional exploring. I don't offer a lot of that, though some of the dialogue with Jefferson comes close. One reader even told me that was his favorite part of the book. I just wanted to offer people a good time and some "thinking man's escapism," i.e. this is not "The Delta Force Meets King Kong." My inspiration came more from Tom Robbins than Tom Clancy.
Not all reviews figured out where I was coming from. One said this: "The author's passion for fine wines shines through as he uses all of the senses to describe setting."
Oh, really? I never touch wine or any other alcohol. I have no passion for it whatsoever, never liked the taste of it. Always seemed to be like a huge waste of perfectly good grapes. I just talked to a few wine lovers and read up on how some of them express their impression of this vintage or that. I tried to figure out where THEY were coming from. It looks like I convinced at least ONE reviewer, anyway! 
Some people who know me said they saw a lot of me in there. Well, sure. This was my first book. I wasn't very detached when I wrote it. But I made sure that my scatter-brained nature offered a lot of diverse themes and threads, so that I didn't end up hitting readers over the head with any one subject. If I succeeded with that, and gave readers a few laughs, a few moments of suspense, a few moments of "right on!" and left them with a smile on their faces when they put the book down, then "mission accomplished." I'll wait to hear from those who end up reading it to see if I got there. And thanks again to those who have already said I did!
It IS a fun read!