A category invested in matters of time. Some of the books shall have "time" in the title, of course.  But  others shall separate it out into minutes, hours, seconds, and so forth--with the idea of eventually separating these out into categories of their ownd, but I will have to see how the reading goes...

This is Ms. Tyler's first novel, originally published in 1964. Ms. Tyler has since become a very prolific and beloved author. It is my thought that I would like to read her books. Never have but it is never to late to start, especially, as her newest work features the word "June" in its title which would make it a good fit for my 2026 "Book Of The Month Club" category.

I'm assuming she gets better...yada yada yada...I am sure it is a product of its time and as it is almost as old as I am...it doesn't share the same modern sensibilities as does 2025. For the record, it is not her writing, it is the subject matter that apparently has me quite ruffled.

Our "hero" Ben Jo (don't get me started) is currently away at college (in NYC) when he discovers that one of his many sisters has left her husband and returned home with her new baby in tow. So Ben Jo goes AWOL from school, and hops the next train home to Sandhill, NC. Clearly they need the "man" of the family to straighten things out. 

The sisters all reside with their mother in the family home, the father having passed away some years ago. They are a group of strong capable women, who have their lives and their choices well under control---just not to the liking and sensiblities of our rescuing "hero". A condition Ben Jo calls headstrong, emotional, and flighty. 

In the course of his short stay in his family home, he gets tolerated and somewhat schooled by his sisters and by the end he throws his hands up having not fixed or taught his sisters anything. Of course that is not all he does...he visits his old girlfriend. After he dumped her before he went to college, she was understandly hurt and uspet, but in the intervening years she had built her life back up with a nice home, good job, and a steady boyfriend. By the end of the book (for no good reason that I could tell) she throws it all away and moves to NYC with Ben Jo who promises to marry her once they get there....and that's how the book ends. 

For now I will keep reading and hope for the best.

Reading Challenge: Once Around the Categories (A Matter of Time)

A "be"witching story set across time. A witch who was bound to her lover by a curse and is doomed to living out the same tragic scenario through multiple time lines and multiple lives. This time around she thinks she might have the power to break the curse...very imaginative storytelleing, I really enjoyed. Read time well spent.

2025 Challenge-Once Around the Categories Categories: Bewitching Reads/ A Matter of Time