Review of “Counter Clockwise,” by Jason Cockcroft

“Counter Clockwise,” by Jason Cockcroft is a slightly psychedelic, mind-bending time travel fantasy about a boy who must travel back in time to the fateful day when his mother was killed.

One year ago Nathan Cobbe and his father Henry suffered the tragic loss of Nathan’s mother.  She accidentally stepped out in front of a bus and was hit before anyone could stop her.  Ever since then Nathan’s father has been acting rather strange, and seems a little bit out of it.  Nathan is greatly affected as well but he puts on a facade for his father, because he knows that Henry has enough to worry about.

Henry and Nathan try their best to keep on with their lives, but everything seems to go amiss.  Even the building in which they live is slated for demolition, and it seems as if all the clocks in London have stopped a two-thirty.  Nathan can’t help but feel that something strange is happening, for reality seems to be skewed.  Everyone seems to have gone mad.  Either that or Nathan is losing his mind himself.

Then Nathan stays late at his college one day and meets an eccentric, larger than life Beefeater who calls himself Bartleby.  Bartleby seems to like untying shoes, and mixing up files and photographs.  He performs each of these tasks with the greatest of care and informs Nathan that each could change history forever.  “Have you ever thought what would happen if no mistakes ever occurred?  Children would never smile.  People might never meet and fall in love.  Why, you might not even be here, Nathan, you might not have been born,” Bartleby assures him.  Bartleby seems to have been looking for Nathan.  But he is looking for a Nathan who is an orphan.  Nathan is mystified, and even begins to think that he may have finally lost his mind from stress over the upcoming exams.

But, later that night a strange things happens.  His father goes into the bathroom and never comes out.  When Nathan finally opens the door he finds a man shaped hole in the wall, and no sign of his father.  Before long Nathan begins wondering if the Beefeater knew something about this.

When Nathan meets up with Bartleby again the old Beefeater begins to shed some light on this mysterious event.  Henry Cobbe has inadvertently traveled back in time to save his wife from being hit by the bus.  Bartleby informs Nathan that his father’s actions have thrown time out of kilter and are endangering the stability of the world.  Now Nathan must travel back in time to stop his father from saving his mother, in effect killing his mother to save the world.

So begins a strange, otherworldly adventure of time travel and alternate realities.  Before it is over Nathan will end up witnessing his mothers tragic death numerous times, as well as alternate realities in which both his mother and his father are killed, and others in which almost the entire fabric of reality has been warped.

In the end Nathan will have to come to the tragic realization that ultimately the past can not be changed without destroying the future.  And that means that it is impossible to save his mother’s life.

“Counter Clockwise” by Jason Cockcroft is one of the strangest books I have ever read.  The entire plot is twisted like a strange dream, with some parts repeated over and over as Nathan travels forward and backward in time.  Jason Cockcroft has done a phenomenal job of creating mood and emotion in the story, and I actually enjoyed the otherworldy scenes and plot twists.

“Counter Clockwise” by Jason Cockcroft could only be described as a dazzling book, even if the plot is rather psychedelic.  For a debut novel it is very original and well crafted.  I look forward to seeing what Jason Cockcroft produces in the future.

In the meantime “Counter Clockwise” will interest all who enjoy time travel fantasy.

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