The Other Side of Night is an amazing story; part love story, part fairy tale, part police procedural. The story evolves around the idea of what you would be willing to sacrifice to save the life of someone you loved. To appreciate the story the reader accepts the theory that time is an illusion our minds create to give us a sense of direction. Very creative and thoughtful.
"Think of Elliot when your life is hard" ( )

I didn't plan on reading two time travel books back to back, yet found myself in this position when reading The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy straight after The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Given to me by a friend, The Other Side of Night is David Asha's story told from multiple viewpoints and a series of excerpts and extracts.

Harriet Kealty is a disgraced police officer trying to clear her name when she stumbles across a plea for help and a potential kidnapping. Deciding to investigate, she soon recognises a familiar name, Ben Elmys.

At times reminding me of the TV show Fringe, the layers build to create a story-within-a-story covering big life themes, like this character insight about our very existence:

"In a hundred years our suffering and tears and laughter and happiness will all be forgotten, replaced by another generation whose existences are equally transient and meaningless, and yet deeply meaningful and significant to them and those they love. Our ability to know we are nothing while perceiving we are everything has driven some mad, and it almost broke me during those dark days." Page 275

The story-within-a-story structure began to grow thin for me as I struggled a little with the time travel aspects of the novel. In fact, I chuckled in recognition when I read the following line:

"I'm not sure she ever fully understood how to think in four dimensions, the idea that what happens had to have happened, but she smiled sympathetically..." Page 323

In hindsight, I should have taken some time (pun intended) before punching my time travel ticket again, yet I enjoyed untangling the mystery to reveal the clever twist at the end. Hamdy makes the reader question what we think we know about the past, the present and of course the future:

"Time is an illusion our minds create to give us a sense of direction." Page 331

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy is a stand alone science fiction novel about love, loss, sacrifice, fate, the passage of time and memories and is recommended for fans of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. ( )

4.5 ( )

Happy Publication Day! (October 11, 2022)

4.5⭐

“If you had the power to save the life of someone you loved, how far would you go?”

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy is the story of a father, David Asha, an author who shares the story of how he came to be separated from his son Elliot, in his new book. It is also a story of his son, a boy who loses his father soon after his mother dies from cancer. It is also the story of Ben Elmys, a family friend and colleague of the Ashas, who is responsible for Elliot's care after his parents are gone.

This is also the story of Harriet “Harri” Kealty a disgraced police officer who loses her job after being unable to prove her innocence when she is wrongfully accused in a case-related incident . Harri finds a cryptic message in a book she finds in a library sale – a message that leads her to Elliot and his guardian Ben Elmys, a man with whom she once dreamed of a future. Her subsequent investigation into the Asha family and Ben results in her fate becoming inextricably linked to the lives of those she is investigating.

The story is told from the perspectives of Harri and Elliot as well as through chapters from David’s book that also includes court transcripts, police reports, passages from a book and journal entries from some of the characters. At times the narrative might feel disjointed but rest assured, it all comes together (and how!) in the end. If you decide to read this book it is best to go in blind! The pace is on the slower side, but the beautifully penned passages make this worth the read and be prepared to be confused, surprised, unsettled, heartbroken and then finally, filled with a sense of wonder at this thought-provoking and genre-defying novel. This is an unusual story –one that combines elements of family drama, a love story, mystery and speculative fiction. Though this is not a fast-paced thriller, I could not put this book down until I reached the very end.

Many thanks to Adam Hamdy, Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital copy of this incredible novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )

I really enjoyed this! It's a little bit love story, a little bit police procedural, and suddenly scifi or speculative fiction. Still trying to wrap my head around who is when. ( )