On the Blue Comet

On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 2010, 329 pages.

I looked out the diner car window. We were just careening past a station called East Libby. A farmer stood on the platform, hands in overall pockets, eyes dreaming down the track from a sun-wrinkled face. Next to him on the platform was a dusty old saddle. Then he was gone, spilled into the past. Time and place, I thought. One and the same…

Are past times really “gone”? Suppose you could skip forward and back in your own lifetime, encountering relatives and friends at different times in their lives—do you think that would be fun? Would there be any physical effects of time traveling? Would it be worth knowing what’s going to happen in your future, or would you rather not?

One thing I like about On the Blue Comet is that it takes time seriously as a real physical phenomenon. In most time-traveler stories and series, a character can slip back or forward by entering a room or touching a magical object or (in one classic case) thinking really hard about being in a particular era. Characters arrive in another time with no change in their age or appearance–perhaps even dressed in appropriate clothing–and when it’s time to return, they are always concerned that somebody will be frantic with worry over their disappearance. But what do you know? Time stood still, and nobody even knew they were gone!

It’s fun to think about, but if we really could travel in time, wouldn’t it have more effect on us? Our own time is part of who we are—not just because of the events we participate in, the music we hear, the people we know, etc. Our place in the space-time continuum is our place, assigned to us by God: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16). “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…” (Acts 17:26). Oscar Ogilvie can’t travel outside his own life span, and when he goes go forward to 1941, he’s ten years older in appearance (though not in thought). When he goes back, he’s six years younger. That alone would be pretty discombobulating, but the effect of passing through the “time pocket” is physically traumatic.

Einstein (mentioned several times in this book) speculated that time and space were linked, and neither was absolute. That is, both time and space can compress or stretch out, depending on the position of the observer. Oscar can’t travel in time unless he’s occupying a particular space—in this case, the Blue Comet Special, which is sort of a neutral holding tank while he’s on it, but as soon as he gets off, he must experience the effects of a real time in a real place. None of this is fully explained, but it kind of makes sense.

Another strong point of this book is its use of detail, especially in creating a picture of the Great Depression. Note the author’s use of food—how Oscar and his dad ate before the Crash, how Aunt Carmen economized at the dinner table, what culinary delights were available on the great passenger trains. Notice also the way people talk and the slang words they used—if this isn’t 100% accurate, it sounds accurate and creates a sense of being there. And while we’re on the subject of language…

I see three separate language issues: mild swearing (the d- word and the h- word), vulgarity (words describing private body parts and functions, on an ascending scale of offensiveness), and profanity (taking the Lord’s name in vain). There’s much more of the latter than I remembered from my first reading of On the Blue Comet, and that’s a shame because it’s worthwhile reading otherwise.  I don’t think it’s necessary to black them out if you own a copy of the book—God’s name is not an obscene word. I would, however, suggest you circle these misuses and see the discussion questions below for ways to talk about them.

All of us are “on the Blue Comet” of our earthly timeline, and “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart…” (Eccl 3:11). Christians are concurrently traveling a road that will take us all the way to heaven, and never end! Our job is to make good use of the time we’re given while God uses it to prepare us for eternity.

As a P.S., I think the view of Franklin Roosevelt as the President who saved us from the Great Depression (as Oscar’s dad believes) is naïve and misinformed, but there’s probably no time to get into that. If you decide to hop on board the Blue Comet, here are some questions to think and talk about:

Discussion Questions

1. If you circled the occurrences of God’s name (and Jesus’ name, once) how many times is it used? Is it used “in vain” in every case? Why is it wrong to take God’s name in vain? (See Ex. 20:7 and Matt. 5:9.) When characters say his name in times of strong emotion or stress, might it be seen as a kind of prayer? Why or why not?

2. Which characters appear to believe in God? How can you tell?

3. The author takes several chapters to lay out Oscar’s everyday life in Cairo, Illinois (pronounced KAY-row, by the way) before weird things start happening to him. In fact, you may have gotten a little bored. What reasons might she have to take her time before getting to the bank break-in?

4. “My times are in your hands” (Ps. 31:15). Suppose you hitched a ride on the Blue Comet and made friends with Oscar, who was confused and afraid. How could you reassure him from Scripture? (See also Job 14:5 and Eccl. 3:1).

5. Dutch and Mr. H were famous people in history, as were Joe Kennedy and his freckle-faced son. Who are they, and why were they famous? Do you feel that you know them a little from encountering them in the novel?

6. What do you think will happen (or should happen) to Oscar after he and his dad are together again in “real” time? Will moving to California improve their fortunes? Will Oscar be called up for service in World War II? Will he and Claire meet up in their “real” time?