Book about parallel universes where only children could travel through
July 29, 2013 9:44 AM   Subscribe

I read, maybe in the late 90s, a science fiction book about parallel universes where at first it wasn't quite clear what was going on -- children used some kind of slang for them that the adults didn't understand. Some disaster had happened, I think, so only the children could travel through the multiple worlds. There was a plotline about the protagonist's brother (I think?) -- his wife had died in that world, so in the end he went from world to world trying to find one where she was alive. I believe the protagonist was female and also the author. There might have been something about a house or doors or rooms moving around, or I might be confusing it with another book. Any ideas?
posted by jeather to Media & Arts (13 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Parts of this sound like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
posted by coppermoss at 10:05 AM on July 29, 2013


Response by poster: Absolutely not His Dark Materials. It was more science fiction, less fantasy.
posted by jeather at 10:06 AM on July 29, 2013


Crosstime Traffic by Harry Turtledove?
posted by Etrigan at 10:09 AM on July 29, 2013


Could it be "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle?
posted by DaddyNewt at 11:05 AM on July 29, 2013


Sounds like "A Wrinkle in Time". I was big on the fantasy genre.
posted by squirbel at 11:08 AM on July 29, 2013


I, too, came here to suggest "A Wrinkle in Time".
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 11:10 AM on July 29, 2013


Response by poster: Not A Wrinkle in Time either. It was in the adult section. Also not Turtledove.
posted by jeather at 11:17 AM on July 29, 2013


Best answer: Vanishing Point by Michaela Roessner? 90% of the population has vanished. A generation has passed. There is an extremely large house/building with fluctuating rooms, and children that can pass between the (collapsing) universes.
posted by instead of three wishes at 11:30 AM on July 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: That's it! Thank you.
posted by jeather at 11:39 AM on July 29, 2013


You've got your answer, but you might be interested in Mimsy were the Borogoves.
posted by adamrice at 11:47 AM on July 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oooh. I want to read this now. Thanks for the preview!
posted by Cardinal Fang! at 12:14 PM on July 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


You might also enjoy Wildside by Steven Gould.
posted by kindall at 12:22 PM on July 29, 2013


Or perhaps Momo, by Michael Ende, who also wrote The Neverending Story.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 3:01 PM on July 29, 2013


« Older Collecting a very late payment from an unhappy...   |   How should people deal with screw-ups? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.