Time Clocks - by Yoav Avni (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The present is theirs--if they can reach it. And stay. A story of mystery, suspense, and an unexpected love--both timeless and new.

When Boaz is summoned to a furious dismissal meeting at the company where he has spent years developing FocalAI, better known as the nation's AI, everything in his familiar, comfortable office feels like a personal possession -even the door, the window, the air, the time that had passed. By nightfall, he is cast out into the desolate industrial zone outside his office, stripped of his phone, his car, and perhaps soon his relationship. The future looms, threatening and uncertain. Then, three strangers appear, raising questions not about the future but about the past: a police officer who lost her memory in the '80s (and maybe it is just as well); a flamboyant French dandy from the nineteenth century; and a wounded shepherd from biblical times, clad in armor and tassels. As his own life unravels, Boaz feels compelled to discover why these three have arrived at his side. Why now and why him? What role do they play? And what role might he have? As their stories unfold, Boaz realizes he holds three fragile threads, with only one chance to weave them together - through a single loop in time. By their side, the present grows more surprising by the moment.

Review Quotes

As always, with clever humor, wild imagination, and creativity, Yoav guides us through the 'flowchart' he's constructed - a sprawling 'decision tree, ' a self-evolving matrix in motion. We experience a fantastic and multi-sensory journey, disturbingly realistic despite its overt fictional nature. With wisdom and sensitivity, Yoav leads the reader through an entire spectrum of emotions: laughter, tears, anger, joy, schadenfreude, excitement, and, above all, profound admiration for this daring work. The characters are described with such clarity that they come vividly to life, offering numerous comedic and heartwarming moments. I greatly enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it. --Gal Leiber, best selling Author of The Right Thing

About the Author

Yoav Avni is an Israeli author and translator, winner of two Geffen Awards and a national bestseller. He has published eight novels with Kinneret-Zmora-Bitan and Keter, blending speculative fiction with sharp prose. His latest novel, Time Clocks, was published in December 2024, with the English-language edition set to be published by Roundfire Books in September 2026.