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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative account of a different form of time abuse, 19 Dec 1999
I bought this novel on the strength of a reference to it in James Gleick's recent book: "Faster: The acceleration of just about everything". Gleick dissects our changing attitude - particularly in the last decade - towards time. He examines how there never seems to be enough time to get things done, how we feel dissatisfied when we feel we are not making the most of our time. In the Fermata, Arno Strine is lucky enough to have the power to stop the planet, to "explore the instant", and the idea is certainly imaginative and interesting. Yet his time-halting powers are used solely for selfish, sexual and often, masturbatory pleasures. On this level, the book is funny, highly charged and erotic. Yet you can't help feeling that there is something empty and missing from the novel. For me, it loses two stars simply because Baker's fails to explore issues of "the abuse of time" in more depth. He doesn't allow his character to exploit his powers positively (unlike in the film, Groundhog Day, in which the central role, Phil played by Bill Murray, managed to emerge from different circumstances as a better human being). With the Fermata, you just get the feeling that the time-stopping idea provides Baker with the opportunity to write a pornographic account, which despite the Blurb on the cover, does at times come over as very misogynist and unsettling. Nevertheless, The Fermata is provocative - you find yourself questioning how you would apply Arno Strine's power if you had it. It's just a shame Baker doesn't do this himself within the context of the story.
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