The Time That's Given

By: David Litwack
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Publication Date: October 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62253-442-5
Reviewed by: Diane Lunsford
Review Date: February 2, 2020

David Litwack’s latest novel, The Time That’s Given, challenges his audience with the premise of: is this real or is it simply a dream?

Burt Higgins is retired. His children are grown and his wife, Betty, is off in pursuit of a late-life degree. Alone with his thoughts and the vast emptiness of his home, Burt has too much time to think about nothing. He broods often and consumes far too much cable news and its delivery of the bleak existence his beloved country faces. The internet isn’t much of a friend either. He ponders what it would be like to live out his fantasy of transporting to another place...another time. Maybe this is what his retirement truly had planned for him.

On another day just like so many other days, Burt is at his wits end with his thoughts. A fierce nor’easter is blowing in and how he wishes Betty was with him. He seeks refuge in his library and finds comfort among his many books. He focuses on a candle he purchased years ago in a Prague shop. He retrieves the candle, places it on his desk and lights it. Instantly a magical guide appears to take him on a quest of his choosing. Little did he know that by lighting the candle, his familiar life would be upended and the journey about to unfold would change his life forever.

David Litwack is a master of fantasy in his latest body of work. The premise of time traveling and being transported to a life that could have been may be fantasy at best, but this story is superbly grounded. The progression of descriptive scenery and rich dialogue throughout this read takes his readers by the hand and leads them on a somewhat credible and epic journey. Effortlessly, Litwack guides his pen across the pages and the magic continues to thrive. There is no predictability of what lurks on the next page to come. Rather, Litwack’s intentional command of his pen is true artistic talent. I’ve not had the pleasure of reading any of Mr. Litwack’s previous books, but believe it is time to do so. Well done Mr. Litwack! I am a fan.

Quill says: The Time That’s Given is a delicious and thought-provoking book full of introspective questions and the choices one makes in the moment.

For more information on The Time That's Given please visit the author's website at: davidlitwack.com