I had already read Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and so I simply couldn't resist his latest offering, The Time Keeper. And I wasn't disappointed.
It's all about the use and the meaning of the word "time". We use so many phrases with it. Pass time. Waste time. Kill time. Lose time. In good time. About time. Take your time. Save time. A long time. Right on time. Out of time. Mind the time. Be on time. Spare time. Keep time. Stall for time. There are as many expressions with "time" as there are minutes in a day.
But once, there was no word for it at all. Because no one was counting. But then time became an industry. Man divided the world into zones so that transportation could be accurately scheduled. Trains pulled away at precise moments; airplanes pushed their engines to ensure on-time arrivals. People awoke to clanging alarms. Businesses adhered to "hours of operation". Every factory had a whistle. Every classroom had a clock. "What time is it?" became one of the world's most common questions, found on page one of every foreign-language instruction book. What time is it? Qué hora es? Skol'ko syejchas vryemyeni?
Read the book. If you have the time.
