How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

By: Charles Yu

Narrated by: James Yaegashi

Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor, part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life.

©2010 Charles Yu (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Dull and often irritating metaphor

I had high hopes for this book, having seen a positive review for it on some form or other. Ultimately, I found it to be a creative but dull and often irritating metaphor for a fraught father and son relationship.

Cerebral

I enjoyed Yu's metaphorical look at modern life and family. Sometimes fantastic situations are the best way to relay profound truths. It reminded me of Vonnegut.

depressing

how to make everything good idea depressing. should have returned this when I could but I suppose I didn't pay much

word word word word word word word word

Surrealistic Fluff

The inner monologue of a not - too - exciting person in a surreal universe. I ended up feeling like very little actually happened.

High Hopes, Dashed

I love time travel stories, and I love science fiction... Those aspects of this book were great, and I really enjoyed the writing style. What I couldn't get past, was the lack of story. It's a worth while read/listen for the science fiction, but if you're looking for a story, it's just not there...

a surprise

What did you love best about How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe?

The book sneaks up on you, becoming an elegy for times past, family, relationships, self discovery and longing, all under the guise of a time traveler - as he says toward the end, we are all time travelers being just who we are.

Confusing and Unsatisfying Payoff

I was not blown away by this story. It felt like two different books smashed together. About aman trying to rekindle his relationship with his father and a hyper technical sci-fi time travel story. I was let down by the end.

How to Whine About Daddy for 6 Hours

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The title of this book seemed so promising, the real disappointment was that it had next to nothing to do with Science Fiction or time travel. Even the idea of using a time machine to explore memories could be interesting, but it seems to be spend almost entirely wallowing in self-pity.

What could Charles Yu have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I wish this book had lived up to the concept and title and blurbs, or those had been more accurate to the actual content and feel of the book. There was a lot that could have been done with the premise, if only it hadn't been so fixated on family issues.

Which character – as performed by James Yaegashi – was your favorite?

The boss / spreadsheet program was actually pretty fun. So much of the book was inner monologue that the other characters got a bit washed out.

What character would you cut from How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe?

The main character's father and mother. Yes, they're the primary motivation of the book, but maybe without them there could actually be some time travel and science fiction going on.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this one going in, but I was profoundly disappointed. Every time there's a hint of something interesting about the world going on, there's another ten minutes of inner monologue whining about his father and time and memory and regret and a zillion other things.I'm less tolerant than most of characters that dwell on their feelings, but I still couldn't see myself recommending this book under any circumstances.

Flat character, no plot

Feels amateurish, like a 'first book', and the narrator does little to inject humor or interest to his reading.

How to Read This Review and Safely Skip the Book

I didn’t expect anything from this book and it delivered exactly that: nothing. They say not to judge a book by its cover but I should’ve ignored that adage for this one because the cover is just as dull as the book. The author was so concerned with creating a fun writing style and putting in witty things to say about time travel that he forgot to put an interesting story, main character, or universe in his novel. I couldn’t tell you what the main character’s name was and there’s absolutely no reason as to why he designed the universe he did for this story. It plays no special role really and he could’ve kept the sci-fi element to just the time machine rather than putting it in an unidentifiable and not explained “sci-fi” world as well.

I couldn’t wait for this book to be over and unfortunately I’m never able to abandon a book no matter how much I dislike it. So this was the first book I listened to on 2x speed. The narrator became slightly more interesting at a higher rate.

I really don’t think I have much good to say about this book. I like that he tried to be fun with his style I guess but it ultimately didn’t do anything to make it good.