Piercy is an incredible poet, able to capture heart-rending scenes and emotions in beautifully descriptive metaphors. Although it occasionally dips into the prosaic, a vividly poetic style snakes through every chapter and elevates a good book into a lasting treasure. There are weaknesses, but no art is perfect.

The first impression is an incredibly stark, horrific account of a life of hopelessness, someone who not only fell through the cracks but was pushed there. Pain sears every page and cuts emotionally, raw and unflinching. It seems tremendously more real and moving than the utopian future (especially during the info dump a third of the way through), but ultimately even that world becomes real, jealousy and war and death providing the bite. Every character is whole, everyone caught in their own struggles and ruts, little histories full of love and pain. With Connie's cleverness and insight, the big and little lies everyone tells are stripped away for us, even Connie's own, to bring out the complexity inherent in all. Connie herself is deeply sympathetic to nearly everyone, even those she doesn't like; seeing the good and bad in all, the picture of humanity it expresses is both hopeful and fearful at once. Her evolution near the end from empathic to hardened is almost as sad as the world she's in, and even the descriptions and thoughts become plainer and meaner.

No grand heroes of this tale, only little heroic and selfish actions each day.

The reality of the time travel is entirely ambiguous, intentionally. I doubt it matters, because it's about Connie's personal journey to strength and redemption, even if the path she chooses is quite dark.

There are a huge number of themes scattered throughout the story, ranging from early feminism and the incredible abuses heaped on women, particularly the poor, dark, and marginalized, to gay rights, mental health abuse, class wars, even the right to die movement that's still barely picking up steam. I'd argue that despite feminist advances and mental institutions being shut down, the core messages of this book, the struggles of those on the bottom of society, resonates today as much as then. It's all about accepting and celebrating all people and all aspects of life, all but violence.