The Other Valley | Book Review

If there is one book you read this year, I think this should be it. I haven’t read a book in a long time that made me think this much about life and the choices we make. I’m not going to give away any spoilers in this review, but I will describe the book, and talk about how it made me feel. Seriously- go read this book.

PLOT

Sixteen-year-old Odile Ozanne is a quiet, introverted girl who is following her mother’s wishes and vying for a spot for a coveted internship on her town’s Conseil. The town she lives in is actually a valley surrounded by mountains and barbed wire borders. Past the eastern border is a town identical to hers, but twenty years in the future. To the west, is another town identical to hers, but twenty years in the past. The towns repeat on and on an infinate amount of times, with the future to the east and the past to the west.

The Conseil are the ones who decide who is allowed to cross either border. Crossings are only permitted in extenuating circumstances, such as mourning tours where visitors from the future will cross their western border to view loved ones in the past before they die. Visitors must remain anonymous and wear masks to prevent people in the past from seeing them, and potentially trying to change the future.

One day after school, Odile is swinging on the swings when she spots three masked visitors in the woods. She immediately recognizes them based on body language and stature, as her classmate Edme’s parents. This means they have come from the future to view Edme before he dies, and he will be dying soon.

Odile is sworn to secrecy by the Conseil, that she must keep this news to herself, as to not impact the future. Edme is one of the only people who are nice to her, and her own curiosity makes it hard to stay away from him. With her own future at stake in more ways than she knows, Odile’s journey takes us from the present, to the future, and back again. It’s a story of love, loss, and the invisible strings that tie us all together.

Discussion

I read an interview that CBC did with the author that gave me really great insight into this novel. I wish I would have read it before reading the book, so I encourage you all to take a look at this before reading. You can read the interview HERE.

After reading the interview, I was able to picture Odile’s valley a lot more clearly. Scott Alexander Howard models the valley in this book after the Okanagan Valley, where he grew up.

He says,

The idea of rendering time travel as just as simple as geographical travel is the original conceit of the book. What if there was no time machine? What if there was no wormhole or portal or anything like that? What if it was as simple as walking to the past or future? 

Throughout the book, the characters reference the other valleys a lot, and pay homage to their past selves. For example, on their birthdays, they recognize where their past selves in the next valley over would be in that moment (ex: just being born, or having their sweet 16 party.) It really made me think about my own life, and where past versions of myself would be at this moment in time. Me ten years ago right now would be a week and a half away from giving birth. She would be probably sitting in the same office I’m sitting in now, googling horror stories about labour and delivery. I wish I could tell her what the next ten years hold, but if I did, she would likely change a few things, and the me sitting here right now would have a very different life. Aside from wishing I would have started investing in the stock market sooner, I love my life right now and wouldn’t change how things ended up. Even the smallest of changes could have a huge impact.

This book also made me think about what days I would choose to live again if I had the chance. What loved ones that have passed on would I want to visit and observe if I had the chance? What day would I choose to observe them on?

Also, knowing that the present is the future me’s past (now that’s a sentence you really need to think about)- what positive changes can I make in my life right now that will have an impact on me in the future. If future me had to communicate advice on what to change or do- what would she say?

I told Kris that he NEEDS to read this book so we can have more in depth discussions on it. I know he’s reading this blog post right now, which is one reason I didn’t include any spoilers, but honey- start reading this PLEASE.

If you like books that include time travel, butterfly effect topics, and the concepts described above, you need to read this book!

rating 5/5

If you’ve already read it, please let me know, so we can discuss it!

D