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Meet Me in Another Life: A Novel

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Santi’s heart jumps. Then he sees the phone cradled in her other hand, hears a woman’s voice on the other end. He listens, eyes fixed on the stars. A remarkable debut, haunting, genre-transcending. The human condition reflected in a shattered mirror'

There is a twist (the big reveal) that I think some readers might not be happy about. I didn’t see it coming, and for me it didn’t ruin the story. In fact, it made the ending all the more heartbreaking. I don’t want to spoil it but I will say that the tenderness and love that they show to each other at the end is just..... wow! Words fail me. So beautiful and heartbreaking.The book seems to fall in two distinct genres that don’t traditionally go hand in hand but blend wonderfully in this story. Of course, purists might not be able to put their head around this but as I am comfortable with almost all genres, I enjoyed that change in momentum and plot. I don’t want to reveal the second genre here as it will take away your fun of discovery, but the first half is much philosophical. It raises pertinent questions about determinism and free will voiced via Santi’s and Thora’s characters respectively. You too will find yourself pondering over deeper existential questions. But after the big reveal, the focus shifts to the other genre and I was so irritated with myself that I didn’t see it coming. There are enough clues and Easter eggs scattered throughout the story for the reader to be able to make the logical leap, but I was so caught up with the philosophical side of the story that I missed out on the obvious segue. It was very smart of the author. Science fiction can reach out to the stars and at the same time hold tight to the human heart. The many layers of mystery in this beautiful love story lead to a breathtaking ending. All this is not to say that it is a perfect book. The section in the second genre was a little abrupt. I would have loved more details about the who’s and the why’s behind the whole episode. But this is such a minuscule complaint in the face of the overall experience that I’m happy to let it go. I wanted the book to have an open ending, and to finish on a sense of expectation – there’s a reason the last word is ‘countdown’! So I don’t have any plans for a sequel. However, after I finished writing, I found there was one question raised by the ending that I strongly felt I knew the answer to, to the point where I was compelled to write a short story about it. An incredibly clever book that takes a thought experiment and gives it heart and depth. A brilliant premise beautifully executed'

For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Life After Life , a poignant genre-bending debut novel about a man and woman who must discover why they continue to meet in different versions of their lives—a thrilling and imaginative exploration of the infinite forms of love and how our choices can change everything. And then, once they do figure it out, they spin in circles for several chapters/lives before figuring out what to actually do about it and then suddenly it’s over in the worst possible way. It felt so obvious and manipulative for Santi to be the one to die, that either of them had to die. I’m not even that into happy endings, but it feels like the book could have been saved by them both seeing the fulfillment of their dreams. Or, actually, I could have been really into a tragic ending where they both woke up but supplies hadn’t been sent ahead, so they’d already used up their supplies for the return home, and they both descend to the new planet with what’s left of their strength to die together, finally getting what they’d both spent lifetimes striving toward. Dreams fulfilled but at the expense of everything else, bittersweet loveliness, etc. The following is an exclusive excerpt from Meet Me In Another Life , by Catriona Silvey. When Thora and Santi, two strangers in a new city, meet for the first time, something about the depth of their connection feels magical, like it could only occur once-in-a-lifetime. Days later, a tragic accident ends their time together. But they are destined for one another. They have met before. And they will meet again. For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Life After Life, a poignant genre-bending debut novel about a man and woman who must discover why they continue to meet in different versions of their lives—a thrilling and imaginative exploration of the infinite forms of love and how our choices can change everything.Besides being an established trope in science fiction, the use of simulations to entertain astronauts on long-haul missions is currently an active area of NASA research. In what ways might the simulation in Meet Me in Another Life be close to, or far from, a potential future reality?

It was a fascinating read- how much does fate play a part in uniting souls together? If we are from different lives, do we still find each other? I have often wondered things like this- would I have still met my fiance 7 years ago had we both not moved to Chester for different reasons and worked with our mutual friend? A beautiful idea, and executed with remarkable ease. If you are looking for a SUMMER BOOK, this is my rec – no-holds-barred, #1 fab beach read, or anywhere read. Smithsonian - Félicette, the First Cat in Space, Finally Gets a Memorial - referenced in chapter 3, et al

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the characters: in the first chapter, they may seem a little cliche, but even then there is a bit of depth to Thora & Santi. I loved how they changed & stayed the same, much as people do. I was fully invested in what happened to these characters.

At the surface level, this seems like a weird combination of The Midnight Library (the book) and Groundhog Day (the movie). But this book is so much more than the repetition of lives. As I usually do, I started jotting down points I wanted to discuss in my review. And many of the points I wrote seemed to be plot holes. Why do these two keep meeting in some kind of strange reincarnation? Why is the city the same every time? Why don’t their names change in every lifetime? Why don’t the other persons in their lives change their relationships, how come only these two change? Why is the timeline not changing, how come every life seems to be in the same time period? And on and on… But then comes the Big Reveal at about 70%! (I’m not sure of the exact location because I was so stunned by it, I forgot to make a note of it!) Plot holes resolved, doubts clarified, mysteries uncovered, and all this leads to the discovery of a greater, more potent problem at hand. I couldn’t rest until I reached the ending from this point onwards!Thora and Santi keep meeting each other in different lives. But romance is not the focus. In some worlds they become friends. In some they become colleagues. In the rare case they become lovers. And sometimes they are enemies.

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