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JHSiess
Profoundly Thought-Provoking & Emotionally Elegant The Day Tripper is author James Goodhand’s first published adult novel, but he has previously penned two young adult books, Last Lesson and Man Down. For about the past twenty years, he has earned a living as an auto mechanic, which he enjoys and finds satisfying. He is also a musician who did not formally study writing, an impressive fact considering how skillfully written and memorable The Day Tripper is. He says he often gets story ideas during walks in the woods near the home in England he shares with his wife and son.
“What if you woke up each morning on a different random day of your life?” That’s the premise of the story that opens in 1995. Alex Dean is twenty years old, has been admitted to Cambridge University, and has been dating twenty-one-year-old Holly, who is studying to become a doctor, for just five weeks. But he already knows she is the woman for him because “becoming the person I should be for her is more important than seeing her,” he notes in the first-person narrative Goodhand effectively employs to relate Alex’s story. Alex grew up a loner who hid in his room playing his guitar and earning excellent grades. Their perfect date is blissful until he encounters Blake Benfield for the first time in four years. Alex admits that “just hearing that name in his head” can paralyze him. Clearly, they have a troubled history (revealed later in the story). Suddenly, Benfield strikes him, but Alex is incapable of defending himself or fighting back, leaving him puzzled and frustrated. “Why do I pity him?” he asks himself. Benfield beats him so badly that he blacks out and plunges into the Thames River.
Next, he wakes up hungover in a dank room that is barely twice the size of the single bed on which he has been sleeping. Dirty clothes are scattered about, and the windowsill is littered with empty bottles and cigarette butts. Emerging into a dark hallway, he encounters Kenzie, a young woman he does not recognize, in the kitchen. But she obviously knows him and seems accustomed to Alex being confused on mornings that follow a night of blackout drinking. She responds to his inquiries with sad amusement, but Alex finds no humor in Kenzie’s revelation that it is November 2010. Fifteen years since Alex’s violent encounter with Benfield. He cannot figure out why he has no recollection of fifteen years of his life. Is it a joke? Or has he been in some sort of fugue state? The landlord is banging on his door, demanding payment of past rent, but his focus is immediately on Holly. Where is she?
Making his way back to the bar by the river, he runs into Jazz, a young man who, like Kenzie, is acquainted with him and fills in some of the details about the life Alex has been living. He also goes to Holly’s home and has a deeply disturbing verbal altercation with her father. Readers learn that something terrible happened a couple of years ago, for which her father blames Alex. In fact, he reminds Alex that he is violating an injunction prohibiting him from having any contact with Holly’s family.
When he next wakes up, he finds himself in 2019, and with each successive visit to another time period, Alex begins to piece together not only what has happened to him, but also the fates of the people who mean the most to him. His visits to his parents’ home are particularly poignant and revelatory, as Goodhand demonstrates how much Alex loves and admires his mother, the dynamics of his parents’ marriage, and Alex’s troubled relationship with his father. He is often baffled by the things he learns from other characters but recognizes that he cannot express his confusion or the circumstances in which he finds himself with them because they would surely think he is delusional. Perhaps he is. But he confirms that his life has continued uninterrupted, even though he does not remember anything that happened to him after Benfield knocked him into the river. He pieces together that he has barely eked out a living as a street performer, playing his guitar and singing, and he never attended Cambridge. Holly is no longer in his life. And he is an alcoholic.
Alex recalls a conversation with Holly on that fateful day before everything went wrong. They discussed cause and effect. “This life I’m experiencing is all effect. But what of the cause? What has led me to this?” Alex asks himself. He meets Dr. Paul Defrates, a mysterious scientist who calls himself an expert on Alex’s situation, studying the phenomenon in a quest to fully understand it. (Goodhand injects a plot twist involving Paul that is shocking and brilliant.) As they meet from time to time during different time periods, Paul tends to ask many thought-provoking questions, but provide few answers. He suggests approaches Alex might pursue in his effort to escape his predicament. Because Alex is intent on finding a way out and restoring his life to a linear progression. With Paul’s help, he begins to find that if he does something different on an earlier date, circumstances are in fact different when he wakes up at a later time in his life.
Goodhand says his uncle, an alcoholic lost to addiction at the young age of thirty-nine, was “a lot of the inspiration behind Alex’s story.” His research revealed that his uncle suffered trauma in his early life and that made him wonder, “What does that do to somebody?” He concluded those experiences may have been catalysts for his uncle’s troubles and employed that concept in what he describes as “an investigation into why things have gone wrong for Alex, what those small decisions are, and what small decisions he can make at the right times that divert him from” alcoholism, instead of “just reaching for” a drink. In The Day Tripper, he wanted to explore very serious subject matter but “lighten it by looking at it through the lens of a high concept idea.” That is “why readers see Alex both at his worst and his best” as they develop an understanding of the trajectory of Alex’s life and, hopefully, refrain from judging him or others struggling with addiction.
As the story proceeds, Goodhand explores Alex’s relationships both with Benfield and his father, who he knows he has bitterly disappointed. They have both bullied and belittled Alex through the years. Alex comes to appreciate that “by focusing hate back on them, he is being dragged into their game, expending negative energy, when what he needs to do is remove himself from their control.” His progression toward maturity and wisdom is gradual and not without hiccups as Alex realizes that he has been subjected to toxic masculinity and succumbed to its influence on his life choices.
The Day Tripper is an expertly crafted and refreshingly inventive tale. As Alex’s journey careens into the future and back to the past, Goodhand illustrates how his actions have impacted not only his life, but the lives of those with whom he interacts. It is an emotional journey both for Alex and readers as he realizes how profoundly he has hurt people he loves and grapples with his guilt, remorse, and regrets. And grows increasingly desperate to alter the future that has been revealed to him. Alex is likable, endearing, and empathetic because readers can relate to his distress about his mistakes and desire to un-do them. At one point, his “beautiful, perfect Holly” is gone from his life – they agreed “right person, wrong time” – and Alex declares that he is “broken by booze.”
But Goodhand gives Alex enviable opportunities to change both his past and the future, and the story becomes hopeful and affirming as Alex begins to implement changes that bring about better results. The dialogue flows naturally and believably, and Goodhand’s prose is deceptively profound and emotionally resonant. He viscerally conveys Alex’s inner turmoil, and Alex’s ruminations about Goodhand’s themes are richly thought-provoking and beautifully crafted.
“Ultimately,” Goodhand says, “it’s a love story,”. Alex’s overriding and unwavering motivation to understand and extricate himself from his predicament is his intense desire to win Holly back. Alex does “infuriating things” and even when his goal is almost in his grasp, he manages to “miss it.” Watching him fumble his chances and learn from his failures is absorbing, entertaining, and frequently heartbreaking. And suspenseful. Will he figure out how to get his life on track and find happiness?
The Day Tripper, despite dark moments, is an optimistic meditation on one deceptively simple truth: “Change doesn’t happen by accident,” but is possible. Goodhand illustrates that the power of love can and does inspire and facilitate positive change through an intriguing story populated with memorable and fully developed characters. The Day Tripper establishes Goodhand as a creative and talented writer storyteller, leaving readers anxious to read more from him.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Deborah C. (Rochester Hills, MI)
The Day Tripper is a Treat! I've always been fascinated by time travel stories, from the original Back to the Future movies to the TV series Quantum Leap, and the books The Time Traveler's Wife, The Midnight Library, and Oona Out of Order. Each of these stories have their own plots, problems, and solutions. The thing that they all have in common is that you are unsure how it will all work out until the end.
This book, The Day Tripper, is ingenious and thought-provoking and kept me entranced. It started out slow, but once the main character, Alex, became caught up in his daily time switch, I was reeled in. I could feel his frantic confusion and his frustration while he was trying to figure out what was happening to him.
This story ultimately becomes a testament to the power of love and leaves the reader asking themselves, If I could change something in MY past, would I do it and what would it be?
This book is a "must read" for fans of time travel stories, but I would also recommend it to just about everyone. This could possibly be a good discussion book for book clubs also.
Mark S. (Blauvelt, NY)
A must read for time travel enthusiasts As a fan of all things related to time travel, The Day Tripper was outstanding! While I generally spend a few weeks reading each book, this page turner was completed in two days. Goodhand is a gifted writer who does an amazing job of dropping the reader into the same sense of confusion that Alex feels as he navigates through various iterations of his life. We are drawn into his progression from trying to understand what is happening to him to his later recognition of how his choices directly impact his life and the lives of those around him. What makes this novel even more enjoyable is the way in which Goodhand dances with the debate between fate and free will. This allows Alex to exist as character who is both frustrating and likable at the same time. It felt like a blend of It's a Wonderful Life and Groundhog Day, with a splash of The Five People You Meet in Heaven. This would be a great read for a book club!
Catherine H. (Asbury Park, NJ)
The Day Tripper The Day Tripper by James Goodhand is a novel showing how events in the main character's life are responsible for other future events, and how these events can be altered by time travel. Most of us at some point have thought "What if I had done something differently." This story shows how cause and effect in our daily life influences us to be a better person.
I really enjoyed this book and plan to re-read it. I liked the fast pace and little jewels of thought such as "The worse our enemies can do is to turn us into them."
Fans of Quantum Leap and The Twilight Zone would be impressed with this story. I recommend this book for group discussions for others who think about free will, change, and commitment to making a difference.
Linda S. (West Linn, OR)
Time Travel With A Twist I'm drawn to time travel books, favorites being Stephen King's 11/22/63 and Jack Finney's two-book series Time and Again; and From Time to Time. James Goodhand's new book The Day Tripper is time travel with a twist. Each day Alex Dean confronts a new place and year, but the days are not in chronological order. One day he might be 36 years old and the next he's 22. He is experiencing his life out of order, often bewildered as to what events have gotten him to a specific place and time. For the reader It would be easy to get frustrated and confused. At the beginning you have no idea what is going on nor why, but neither does Alex! It doesn't take long, however, for the story to begin to take shape and you are hooked. The format is so unique and the book is so well-written that you are swept up in the quest to find out what is happening, how it's happening and why it's happening.
My feelings about Alex Dean were all over the place. Much of his life is fueled by alcohol, laziness, and irresponsibility. However, he also has a loving kindness about him that is so endearing it moves you to tears. As you learn his background story you can't help but root for him.
About half way through the book I decided I needed a visual aid and I made a timeline, with very brief descriptions of what took place on each date. I don't typically interrupt my reading with note taking, but the time line was actually quite helpful. Prepare to put everything on hold as you delve into this beautifully written, one-of-a-kind time travel escapade.
Sina_De_Capri
The Day Tripper review The Day Tripper invites readers on a tumultuous journey through time, blending elements of science fiction, romance, and mystery. Set in 1995, the novel introduces Alex Dean, a young man seemingly destined for greatness. His life takes an unexpected turn when a brutal encounter leaves him battered and disoriented, almost drowning in the Thames.
The central premise is captivating: Alex wakes up in a derelict room, older than he should be, with no memory of the intervening years. The days shift unpredictably between 1999 and 2010, leaving Alex perpetually disoriented. As he navigates this temporal maze, he discovers that seemingly insignificant actions have far-reaching consequences.
Goodhand skillfully explores the butterfly effect—the ripples caused by a single stone thrown into the river of time. Alex’s choices impact not only his own life but also those of the people he loves. The novel raises thought-provoking questions: Can we alter our fate? How do our decisions echo across time?
While the concept is intriguing, execution falls short in places. The writing lacks depth, and character development feels one-dimensional. Alex’s emotional journey could have been more nuanced. Additionally, the romance subplot, while promising, remains underdeveloped.
The novel’s strength lies in its portrayal of the human condition. Alex grapples with existential questions, haunted by the past and uncertain of the future. His relationships—particularly with Holly—add emotional weight to the narrative. The moments of connection and loss resonate deeply.
The pacing keeps readers engaged, but some transitions between time periods feel abrupt. The mystery surrounding Alex’s predicament builds suspense, urging us to unravel the secrets hidden within the temporal fabric.
In summary, The Day Tripper offers a tantalizing blend of time travel and emotional exploration. While imperfect, it leaves us pondering the fragility of existence and the choices that shape our destiny. If you enjoy thought-provoking narratives and don’t mind occasional narrative hiccups, this book is worth a read.
...12 more reader reviews
