There is something magical in the concept of time. The time to love; to learn; to grow; to change. To feel unabashed, unfiltered joy and excitement, to experience something so irrevocably grand and communal. To know loss and hurt in its undefinable way. To wish for more, to wish to change it, to wish to go back.

The Tortoise's Tale reminds us that time, our time, is simultaneously infinite and limited. That there can be magic in knowing all things end, and yet who we are and the choices we make live on.

I'm quite astounded with what Kendra Coulter is able to give us in such a story. There is a lot of heart in this fictional tortoise, in such a way, you can't help but love and adore and wish to meet her. Experiencing her journey, her many lifetimes wrapped in one, is something that sits with you. Makes you reflect on how connected we all are; that time can change so much or so little, but it's hard to see in the moment. That so much of our time is spent one eye on the future, another in the past, we forget how important living in our present connects both.

Magic, the tortoise, is such a delightful narrator, and Coulter's writing immediately encaptures her mind, her personality, her humor. There's not a single moment I didn't believe Magic wouldn't think that, or say that—no, of course, the tortoise likes jazz music, this is common sense—which helps the immersion into the story. Character development is so essential and Coulter brings Magic to life, in a way that the reader is experiencing everything through her, with her, it becomes so real and tangible that moments don't feel fictional. A reminder that there is truth in fiction. Even from a tortoise.

This is a century-told story, and in the many lives Magic journeys through, our expansive, generational cast of characters feel at home. They are as developed as we see through Magic, and that's part of the heart of the story—we don't always get to see the full story, yet the time we spend with them as Magic is heartfelt and intentional. Joyful and painful. Real.

The life of a tortoise is a long one. Something I deeply respect, am grateful to experience, and slightly glad not to have. All the more appreciative of the time I do.

many thanks to my friend @karigan for this recommendation 💖