Paula Martinac

Books about antiquing, old photos and researching the history of the antiques and photos are strong favorites. I was very pleased to find that Out of Time added to my enjoyment of these topics.

Susan Van Dine's life is changed when stopping at a NYC antique shop she happens upon an old photo album of 4 women living and working in the New York of the 1920's. She is as enthralled by "the gang" as they are with her; she develops a special connection with Harriet.

A phenomenally well-crafted, well-paced book that understands the details that make a life rich and real. Full of womanly passion in the past and present, the timing is just right for Susan who seeks direction in her life. The gang help her determine her life's priorities.… (more)

Martinac's Out of Time is cute-ish. What exactly is "cute-ish"? It is both compliment and criticism.

In Out of Time, lost soul Susan stumbles upon an old scrapbook chock full of lesbian goodness. She becomes obsessed by the four women who populate the album to the point that she becomes haunted by them. And we're not talking haunted in a freaky Exorcist sort of way (though I did worry for a second when a Ouija board made its appearance toward the end of the book); we're talking haunted in a lesbian-ghost-gets-frisky-with-the-lesbian-protagonist sort of way. Who these women were of themselves and to each other is a mystery to be sure, and Susan is determined to get to the bottom of it.

This book speaks to anyone who has ever connected with something from the past and was intent upon discovering its [implicitly felt] influence on the present. It is also the sort of book that takes an appealing general concept, in this case nostalgia and happy ghost hauntings, and adds lesbianism to the mixture in order to give the whole thing some panache. (Ellen Galford's The Dyke and the Dybbuk is another such example, and probably a more successful one at that.) It's a gimmick, and like I said, it's kind of cute. If you've ever connected to an object from the past and filled in its unknown history with the contrived workings of your imagination, you will be able to see the appeal of Out of Time. Therein also lies the problem--the story is very contrived. Its shift in perspective between the present protagonist and writings from the ghosts of the past are also predictably clumsy. Still in all, Out of Time is an entertaining idea even if it is somewhat silly in its execution.… (more)