I have returned to this book several times since I first read it and every time I have a renewed sense of awe and appreciation for the quality of the prose, the emotion brilliantly portrayed behind seemingly simple phrases, and the frustration that such an exceptional writer is not a household literary name. In my opinion, Bryan Walpert’s Entanglement is as good as, if not better than many books you will find on a Booker Longlist. A bold statement perhaps, but not one I make lightly.
Entanglement is first and foremost clever. Okay I’ll admit it - there were times I felt the protagonist (and surely this means the author) was thinking on a plane higher than most. And I had to concentrate HARD on some of the paragraphs that went on and on and had me gasping for breath! But you know what? I loved that about this book. Like all good literary fiction, Entanglement challenges us to think harder, to appreciate the subtleties until we suddenly sit back and mouth ‘oh, wow’ as we realise how cleverly the author has weaved the three strands of this story together.
Entanglement is about time travel, but it is not a time travel story. It is about a man haunted by his past, and lost in his search for answers. Most importantly, it is a poignant story about love. Without giving anything away, when I reached one particular chapter near the end of the book I didn’t want to read it because I knew what was coming, I knew what I was in for, and even then I wasn’t prepared. The chapter was so heart-breaking and so simple and so beautiful and…oh just go and read this already. Then you’ll understand what I’m going on about.
— Olivia