The Unmaking of June Farrow

I love time travel stories, but the entire concept is a paradox. It just cannot happen. What happens to the version of you that was in the past/present once you have travelled? It can be hard to even think about it, but what happens if you live this paradox? The Farrow woman have all been cursed with a form of madness that makes them think they are in the past, the present and the future. June swears in The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young that she will be the last Farrow that has to live through this, but does she have a choice? 

The madness is inevitable. It starts with voices and then seeing things. The Farrow woman all get the sense that they are living in the present, but they can hear echoes of the past and future. It drives some of them to suicide or to disappear. June’s own mother disappeared, presumed dead, but when a photo is found that suggests that she may be alive it makes June wonder if the madness may be real. The photo is from the past, well before her mother was even born. 

Science Fiction and Fantasy does not have to be wrapped up in spaceships or epic battlefields, the most epic genre fiction works best when the characters are interesting, and you are immersed in their story. This is the personal story of June Farrow and how the family curse effects the generations. As you can surmise from this being a genre piece that the time travel elements are deeper than just inside the mind. It feels like a more contained version of the Outlander series where a modern woman is made to survive in the past. 

The book is more than just this as it is also murder mystery. June does not know what is happening to her and she must unravel the clues, that in some cases she herself has placed. The story itself touched upon the paradoxical nature of time travel, but deftly steps around them with some great storytelling and compelling characters, the mystery is too fun to follow to look too deeply beyond it. 

The character of June is a very sympathetic one and the perfect foil for the story. She thinks she knows a decent amount about the family curse, but it soon becomes clear that she has only scratched the surface. She will meet people that she loves or is supposed to love. How do you cope with meeting someone you are meant to be related to for the first time or see the person that brought you up themselves as a child. The time travel elements allow for several reveals and fun red herrings. 

At its heart Unmaking is a relationship drama about a woman discovering her place in the world, which just so happens to be split across multiple timelines. The time travel elements will sate any genre fan, but it the mystery buffs that will get the most as there is a strong crime story at the centre of the book as well as the mystery of the Farrow family curse. This is a beautifully written and enjoyable book that spans the space between those that like Science Fiction and those that like general fiction.