
Time Is The Fire recounts a day in the existence of Leopold BloomO’Boyle, chronophobe, travel writer, would-be novelist, and husband ofthe Reverend Annabel Chance. The day is September 8, 1992, and theplace is Harvard Square and environs. Like his namesake, Leo dipsinto and out of a stream of consciousness as he considers andreconsiders the most important decision of his life. In his quest foran answer, he struggles with his fear of time, a fear inextricablymeshed with the fateful choice he and Annabel must make. Along theway, he encounters characters real and imaginary, including the shadeof his late father; his friend Alf; the temptress Silvia; and the poetStratis Haviaras. He argues with Philip Larkin and harkens to thewords of James Joyce and Seamus Heaney, words that suffuse his heartand mind. He works feverishly to finish a draft of his languishingnovel, the protagonist of which, like himself, is trapped in theriddle of time.