Making Sense of Past Time – Novel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079329NZV/
Through the prism of memory, middle-aged Harry sets out to recapture his youthful years and the right but mostly wrong turnings he made.
Book Summary
Making Sense of Past Time – Novel
Through the prism of memory, middle-aged Harry sets out to recapture his youthful years and the right but mostly wrong turnings he made.
Making Sense of Past Time is a coming-of-age story of an idealistic young man’s attempt to escape his provincial hometown in pursuit of a life of enrichment.
Just age twenty, Harry could not know that leaving his country to enter another would place him in a state of total uprootedness and that success may not come his way. He hoped to fulfil his ambition of obtaining a better life and self-realisation.
Harry chronicles his fears of not amounting to much if he remained in Georgetown, Guyana, and struggles with his father. He was overjoyed to leave his provincial country for “greener pastures” in the big-city energy of London.
However, surprises were in store for him and challenging his character. He had difficulties finding employment, housing and happiness in the environment of racial discrimination in Great Britain during the early 1960s.
Life in London wasn’t everything he’d hoped it would be. “Living on the dole” from the Employment Exchange to “beating the tube” and learning to shoplift with a rough group of friends.
His idealistic pursuit of an authentic life runs into trouble and becomes contradictory, compelling him to make compromises along the way.
This saga is full of humour, youthful passion, and dreams and allows the reader to glimpse the British class system and the social life of immigrant London. Harry Holmes’s story involves introspection, self-flagellation, irony, determination, and perseverance.
Follow Harry as he makes another attempt by quitting London for Stockholm and meeting Nordic people whose way of life is a mixture of reservedness and hospitality. He faces challenging times again––most of all, a new language.
BOOK REVIEW — Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers’ Favorite
Making Sense of Past Time: A Novel by Lawrence G. Taylor is an exciting story that reflects the reality faced by millions of young migrants, especially those from black communities.
Born and raised in the Caribbean with an authoritative father, the anxious and restless Harry decides to seek opportunities abroad while nurturing the dream of becoming a ship’s captain one day. He sets out for London to ultimately begin his journey to the United States. Follow a story filled with realism to discover the challenges he faces along the way and how the experiences shape him. But can he eventually become the man he’s always wanted to be?
Lawrence G. Taylor crafts a narrative that is deceptively simple in plot structure but with a sophisticated protagonist and themes that capture the reality of what it feels like to experience racism. “In London, I’d learnt what it was like to be black and a second-class citizen. A couple of practices, customs appeared questionable during my work search and rented lodgings.”
The narrative is replete with social and cultural commentaries that give readers powerful insights into social constructs and race relationships. The underlying conflict is personal and primarily internal, a young man’s struggle to redefine himself in a society that wants him to be someone he is not. The competition is introduced from the very opening of the novel. Readers meet a young man who left his country frustrated to try his luck in another.
Making Sense of Past Time: A Novel is told in a solid first-person narrative voice that forces the reader to see the world from the protagonist’s viewpoint. It is confident, the prose is excellent, and the setting elements are skilfully written into the story.
Making Sense of Past Time is both entertaining and inspiring.
What readers say about the book🧐
I always find it interesting when reading about the life stories of other people. I have found that Lawrence G. Taylor improves with each and every book that he writes. His style and characters draw the reader into his stories. Making Sense of Past Time shows the change that takes place in the life of Harry Holmes. Who moves from Guyana, South America to Great Britain. Harry then makes the career change and moves to Sweden. When he first arrives in Great Britain, he has trouble finding employment. He eventually overcomes adversity and reaches for the stars and obtains his dream of returning to school and becoming a success. I have awarded this novel a 5 star rating and look forward with anticipation to reading the next novel by Lawrence G. Taylor. You will find that the author is able to bring his characters into the reality of your imagination.
Vermont Reviewer
About the Author
Lawrence G. Taylor
I was born in Guyana, went to England, and worked and studied in London and relocated to Sweden in autumn 1969.
In the 70s, I tried my hand at mainly writing short stories, a four-act closet drama, a novella, and an unfinished novel. I had spent two years nurturing the ambition to become an author of some repute. But the going was tough, creating a feeling of insecurity for the future. In time, I shelved the idea, got a hospital porter job, and later obtained a BA (Eng. & Edu.). I enrolled in a 4-term course for mental-health carers after a summer job at a psychiatric hospital. After that, I completed the first two stages of psychotherapy education and several short studies in cognitive therapy. After retirement in 2007, I did private mental health counselling for several years, which ended in 2015.
In February 2016, my debut book appeared: Strangers In Another Country – a collection of two short stories and two novellas, available in e-book and paperback at Amazon. This collection and the rest of my stories fall under literary fiction, except for the short story Darker Than Blue – This Mortal Coil, an experimental blend of fantasy, dystopia, and satire.
On December 9th, 2016, I published a novella, The Eternal Struggle: An Amorous Story.
In March 2017, a short story appeared, Two Girls in a Café.
Making Sense of Past Time – a Novel available in paperback and e-book format.
Tell Me Who My Enemy Is – a four-act closet drama published this summer (2018).
The Ballad of Calle and Maja – a novella published Nov 2018.
Getting it Right, if Ever – Romance Novella available for pre-order; to be published
August 22nd -19
Four Bittersweet Romances & A Four-Act Closet Drama was published on November 3rd, 2019.
Short Story “Darker Than Blue – This Mortal Coil was published July 24th, 2020.
Religion as tormentor of the soul and a negative refuge – an essay (an assignment from my university days in the 70s: Go Tell It on The Mountain by James Baldwin, a Black American writer (1924 – 1987)
Binky’s Reverie is a YA story revised and first appeared in my debut book, Strangers In Another Country. This collection of stories received 21 reviews.
A Day In The Life Of Charlie Cheddar – a story which appeared in my debut book.
“Betty And the Black Puppy – Short Story – YA Kindle Edition. Revised (Dec 2021). It is one of four stories in my debut book.
Darker Than Blue––This Mortal Coil ––a dystopian short story set in the fictitious nation Atlantis Island in 2030. Published June, 2020.
SHORT STORIES NOVELLAS A CLOSET DRAMA (a collection of most of my already published writings.
Regarding reviews of my books, reviews are available at Amazon.com.
MY BOOKS ARE REVISED AND UPDATED (2021-2023).
Today I put out STRANGERS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY––A Short Story. February 22, 2023.. The story appeared in my debut book (a collection of four stories) with the same title. The other three stories have appeared as Single stories.
WHAT IS MY WRITING ABOUT?
The reader will likely enjoy my stories for the following reasons.
My writing is literary fiction, which is no longer popular.
My stories are grounded in realism, with a dash of fantasy or humour for flavour.
Based on input from reviews, the target audience will likely be socially, culturally, psychologically, or philosophically minded. I take pleasure in leaving the reader with something to think about. Themes include loneliness, romantic relationships, migrants’ yearning for a better life, and their social and psychological issues in a setting rife with prejudice and xenophobia.
The only exception is my short story Darker Than Blue––This Mortal Coil, in which I attempt satire, comedy, and fantasy.
My Twitter account is @lgt41, and my blog page is lgt41blog.wordpress.com. I’m a hobby photographer, and you can view several of my images at https://www.foap.com/community/profiles/lgt41
I sincerely hope you find my stories enjoyable, and a review of my books would be much appreciated.
Lawrence Gordon Taylor
Are you ready to read it now?
Through the prism of memory, middle-aged Harry sets out to recapture his youthful years and the right but mostly wrong turnings he made.