What if you could travel back in time to prove that the past was actually better?
Navi is twenty, a virgin, insecure, and convinced that the world has somehow cheated him out of the life he deserves. He has built his idea of masculinity from internet opinions, borrowed confidence, and the belief that men in the “good old days” somehow had it all figured out.
Then comes Mira; with an ancient amulet and the ability to send Navi through time.
And honestly, that is where things get interesting.
Navi travels through four very different historical worlds: medieval India, 1983 New York, 1970s Goa, and 1960s Kenya, expecting to find the simpler, more “masculine” world he has been told about.
Instead, he finds reality.
He meets women whose lives challenge everything he thought he knew about the past. He encounters inequality, restrictions, violence, loneliness, and complicated human relationships. Slowly, the romanticised version of history begins to fall apart.
But what I enjoyed most about The Time Traveller Who Could Not Get Laid is that beneath the humour and absurdity, this is really a story about growing up.
It questions the kind of masculinity young men can absorb from the internet without ever stopping to ask whether it actually makes them happier, kinder, or more confident. Navi's journey isn't simply about finding love or losing his virginity. It is about unlearning the stories he has been telling himself about women, relationships, masculinity, and ultimately, himself.
The time-travel element gives the story a fun and unusual framework, while Navi's personal journey gives it emotional depth. There are moments that are ridiculous, moments that are uncomfortable, and moments that genuinely make you pause and rethink the assumptions we carry about the past.
And perhaps that is the biggest takeaway from the book:
Sometimes, the world hasn't failed us. Sometimes, we are simply holding on to the wrong idea of what we deserve.
Funny, thought-provoking, and surprisingly introspective, The Time Traveller Who Could Not Get Laid is much more than what its cheeky title suggests.
It is a coming-of-age story about a young man travelling through history—only to realise that the person he really needed to confront was himself.
📖 Would I recommend it?
Yes, especially if you enjoy stories that use humour to explore uncomfortable questions about identity, relationships, masculinity, and growing up.
- Publisher : Complex Plane
- Publication date : 6 June 2026
- Language : English
- Print length : 282 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1067691006
- ISBN-13 : 978-1067691004
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