Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov

 

A man named Gustine has opened a 'time shelter' as part of a clinic.  It is used to treat patients with Alzheimer's by returning them to a time and place in which they feel comfortable and in which they have memories.  The first attempts are successful and soon Gustine has his own place with different decades represented on different floors.  The narrator of the novel is a friend of Gustine's and helps him research the various years and find the artifacts and literature that makes it all work.  

Soon others attempt to duplicate Gustine.  More clinics are opened and soon entire towns.  The craze takes over entire countries and soon they are having referendums on what time the countries will choose to be.  The 1980's are the most popular for large swatches of Europe with the 1970's close behind.  Everyone votes for the time in which they were young and the elderly turn out and decide what time the young will be trapped in.  

Georgi Gospodinov is a Bulgarian author.  This book won the 2023 International Booker Prize.  It explores the meaning of time and memory, what we are comfortable remembering and what we choose to forget.  The narrator is never named and by the end of the book seems to be experiencing a mental breakdown.  It is unclear if Gustine exists or if the entire thing is a projection of the narrator's mind.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.