The Other Valley

A Novel

De: Scott Alexander Howard

Narrado por: Cindy Kay

*Soon to be a TV series*
Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club Top Four Pick and a PBS Book Club Pick

For fans of Kazuo Ishiguro and Emily St. John Mandel, this “mind-bending take on time travel” (The New York Times) is about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves.

Sixteen-year-old Odile vies for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. To the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The towns repeat in an endless sequence across the wilderness.

When Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, she realizes that the parents of her friend Edme have been escorted across the border from the future, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present.

Edme—who is brilliant, funny, and the only person to truly know Odile—is going to die. Sworn to secrecy to preserve the timeline, Odile now becomes the Conseil’s top candidate. Yet she finds herself drawing closer to the doomed boy, jeopardizing her entire future.

The Other Valley is “thought-provoking exploration of ethics, power, love, and time travel” (Kirkus Reviews).

©2024 Scott Alexander Howard (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Interesting and thought provoking!

A thought provoking story about physical time travel. This was an interesting and ultimately a satisfying read.

time traveler loop of the year

awesome read, considering the first book by a philosophy professor, I loved the plot, ending and all the characters a lot. enjoyed every bit of it.
the narrator's voice is too raspy and at some point I feel like clearing my own throat 😕 strange, I know!

Great story

Narration was a bit on the sadder side but I still enjoyed it! Gives it a nostalgic feel.

Not my cup of tea.

Creative premise but by halfway through it just wasn’t getting my attention. The narrator was a whisperer which annoys me. I had to turn the volume on high and could barely hear in the car. I wish she would use a stage voice over acting like she was trying not to be overheard.

Loved this book! Immediately read it again!

Suspenseful. Thought provoking. Relatable characters.
Imagine the possibilities and consequences of a world where you could just take a peek forward or backward in time with a good enough reason.
This book had me asking myself all kinds of hypothetical questions and dissecting the details of infinite scenarios of how things might change.
Is it worth the risk?

A lovely complex story

I enjoyed the story and the characters. It was worth the read. The time travel was interesting.

Narrator Whispers

Story is fantastic! Don't waste your time on the audio. The narrator whispers the whole story and accents words to the point that you can't understand some of what she's saying.

Good story, narrator not so good

I found the story compelling and had to keep listening but the narrator was not right for the content- too quiet and timid especially when the story or dialogue required emotion. In hindsight I would have read it rather than listen to it.

Solid

It was a solid debut and a fun listen, looking forward to what they do next

Unique storyline

While I enjoyed the unique storyline, I felt the ending was a little too rushed without a clearer explanation of the repercussions of crossing the border