The Man Who Folded Himself (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
Gerrold's The Man Who Folded Himself is really the first time-travel story I've read. (Except for A Sound of Thunder of course, which now seems extraordinarily tepid by comparison.) That I rate it so highly may follow from this fact. I'm sure others who are more familiar with time-travel literature will find themes and situations they've already come across. But the content is mostly all fresh to me. I didn't quite relish the writing style; at least it read quick and smooth, that's something I suppose. Nonetheless, this is a book I would proudly exhibit as a case of substance significantly overshadowing style.It's the melancholy of the characters (or just character) and their (his/her) situation that got to me, and turned out something special and powerful. While it doesn't seem to begin very promisingly (longing young man finds a "Timebelt" and goes hog-wild), the predicament he corners himself into is unexpected and ultimately tragic. The story turns on its head the idea of time-travel as free license for unlimited adventure, as a host of problems - egotistical, cultural, sexual, and temporal ones - snowball and ruin his fun. Before the story comes to its maybe-logical conclusion he explores the logic of the system he stumbled into, ponders problems of the ego (who are you in a world of infinite yous?) and free will, and eventually finds a comfortable place in a recurring spiral of infinite universes he helped to create.If I have a single complaint about the book (besides the unspectacular prose), it is that it may be too short. This feeling seems to echo others' I've come across. The book touches on some incredible questions and some interesting philosophy, but despite this - and the fact that it wraps itself up very satisfactorily - it could have been longer and deeper. Of course, this could just be that had it been longer I would have continued enjoying it longer; not that it necessarily needed to be longer. So this may not actually be a complaint?This is one of the most textured science fiction books I've read and I look forward to returning to it again. Very highly recommended for anyone whose thought about exploring the time-travel sub-genre of science fiction. It's certainly intrigued me into exploring the topic more.
I gave Gerrold 2 stars rather than one because (1) his depiction of time travel is closest to what some physicists believe is possible (John Gribbin, In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality); and (2) the book is an autobiographical description of so much that is wrong with the worldview that dominates 21st century Europe and North America. As such, the book helped me to appreciate why the Christian worldview is so superior. Two examples:a. Dan the main character of the book is a time traveler who witnesses the major events and significant characters in Western history. He concludes that Jesus was just a deluded religious leader. Not even a mention of the Resurrection witnesses. However, he also lives briefly in a 20th century of an alternate universe where Jesus has had no impact on the world and admits that this world is a hellish place. He gets out of there fast. The blind prejudice against Jesus that dominates the literati of our age never ceases to amaze me. Yet, here is someone who passes judgment on his own blindness.b. Dan (Gerrold's admittedly auto-biographical character) is a bi-sexual hedonist with virtually unlimited resources. He falls sexually in love with himself (literally), both his male alternate universe self, of which there are hundreds of variations, and his female alternate universe self. All of his relationships fail to satisfy, and he ends up hopelessly lonely, obsessed with his own coming death, and reflecting on the meaninglessness of life. Gerrold thus describes in excruciating detail the secular narcissism and sexual promiscuity of our age, admitting that this philosophy of life is in the end hopelessly un-fulfilling.The message to David Gerrold, if he would receive it, is "David, what if....? What if the Christian view and the joys it promises were actually true? You already know where lie the false hopes. Why not give Jesus a chance?"
What do You think about The Man Who Folded Himself (2003)?
When Daniel Eakins Uncle Jim passes away, he inherits a time machine shaped as a belt known as a time-belt. He quickly begins to use the object. Will the choices he makes affect the time stream as we know it and ruin the world? Read on and find out for yourself.This was a pretty good but weird time travel story that I got for a friend as part of an ebook swap I participated in at an online book club. I liked all of it but ignored the sex parts. If you like time travel stories, def check this book out. It is available wherever books and ebooks are sold.
—Amber
Dec 28, 2009: David Gerrold uses time travel to develop an extended metaphor for human life. The potentials of time travel take the loneliness, the quest for self-knowledge, and the futile quest to understand why we exist as ourselves to the most literal and profound extremes. The (almost) omnipotent protagonist Eakins constantly reshapes the timestream he exists in to suit his changing personality, and thus all his character developments become quite literally reflected in the world around him. The tone is lonely and almost tragic near the end, showing that nothing; not money, not love, not even time travel, can protect us from the oft-unbearable aloneness of being, nor spare us the inevitable changes and losses Time imposes. The book is written in somewhat subdued diary format, which helps communicate the central issue of the plot: the developments of Daniel Eakins' character. It is very simple, and reads phenomenally quickly. While many issues are only treated briefly, and the mechanics of time travel are perhaps wisely only alluded to, I was fascinated by the implications of time travel that were explored. It was also one of the most personal, intimate, and philosophical books I've ever read. It spoke to me - resonated with things I've thought many times before, and gave a strong impression of the sense of hugeness The Big Questions have for us, which to me is quite 'spiritual' and enjoyable. Truly a 'strange and wonderful book.'
—Adam
I recently read a presentation of time travel by David Gerrold in his novel, The Man Who Folded Himself. Gerrold's novel is not recent - it was published more than thirty years ago - but a friend recommended it to me (it is one of his favorites) and I finally read it. Like Wells' novel it is slight, less than 150 pages, but in that thin novel Gerrold packs a striking picture of the nature of time travel. In his view there exist multiple universes all populated with different versions on one's original self created through the process of travelling forward and backward in time. He makes an impressive case and touches upon many of the seeming limitless possibilities for time travel creation. While the novel was not particularly suspenseful since I guessed the ending early on, Gerrold does not spoil the book by going on for too long. His prose is simple but clear and using almost epigrammatic form he manages to provide the story of the life of Daniel Eakins (and some of his alter egos). The book is not without flaws for the lack of other characters was disappointing, aside from his own multiple personae there were few other characters in the book. But that did not prevent me from enjoying this imaginative journey into the realm of time and traversing its eons.
—James
