The Other Valley

In a valley bordered by identical valleys, populated by the same people but at 20-year intervals, there are few more influential positions than that of Conseil, The Conseil get to decide who can travel between valleys to their past or future.

Sixteen-year-old Odile Ozanne, shy and dutiful to her mother's ambition. applies for this coveted position. But when she witnesses a mourning tour from the future come to view her friend Edme, a boy for whom she is developing stronger feelings, she is devastated to realise he will soon die.

This striking philosophical debut explores regret, memory, love and ethics.

While often bleak, it is beautifully written and well worth seeing through to the end.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this novel, particularly the first part which tells the story of Odile's bid to be a member of the conseil. The conseil have the power to grant petitioners permission to cross the border into a parallel valley with a different timezone, (future is west, past is east, in 10 year leaps). They want to become a time tourist, to visit a family member in the past who has died, or to see how someone has fared in the future. although they can only view and not interact with them. There are many ethical considerations the conseil have to consider before granting these passes. There are also people who try to cross illegally, so there are border guards to prevent this. The guards also escort the tourists. I admit to being a little confused by the details of this interesting world, and would have liked more explanation about how it came about, how the rules work, etc. The second part concerns Odile's fate after a tragedy happens. This is a truly original concept and one which could spark a number of spin-off stories. I was engrossed by it and felt that the characters were well-rounded and the story well-written. This was a truly unique experience to read.

This book has an incredible concept, and thankfully it’s very well executed too.
I was really impressed by how Howard’s writing feels so delicate and quietly profound, but he manages to balance that softness with a gripping and well paced plot. A really great speculative novel.

'The Other Valley' is a brilliant and original idea that is well executed - so rarely do the two things come together it's always a joy to find. It's set in a world where a series of identical towns exist across a mountain range. Each town is the same, but 20 years ahead of its neighbour to the west. So it is possible to travel 20 years into your past or future just by taking a hike across a mountain pass.

Given the chaos that unrestricted time travelling would cause, the towns are all bounded by high fences guarded by brutal gendarmes and various anti-escape/incursion measures. A small number of visits to either the past or future are permitted in very specific circumstances, usually to view a deceased loved one or sometimes an ancestor the viewer won't live to meet. These visits are assessed and approved (or declined) by the town's ruling conseil (the town appears to be French speaking, with the names and naming conventions French although the novel is in English throughout).

The narrator is Odile, aged sixteen at the start of the book and at a turning point in her life. Shortly she will leave school, along with all her classmates, and enter into an apprenticeship. Her ambitious mother wants her to try for the highly competitive process to become a conseil member. At the same time, she has found a small group of friends for the first time since early childhood, including a boy who seems to like her. But things take a turn for the worse when she witnesses some visitors from the future who seem to be watching her friend - which can only mean one thing. He will die in the near future. Years later, the adult Odile has a chance to go against every social creed and attempt to change the past - but changing the past wipes out the present, including the person who makes the change.

Odile is a likeable character it's a very readable book that immediately draws you in. It's one of those stories where you aren't sure what is going to happen (even with the time travelling element!) so keeps you guessing - and reading late into the night. It doesn't pay to think too much about the concept, as even without the time-travel element (something that is always mind boggling), there are plenty of things that don't add up if you think too hard about it. Like where were they getting the petrol for their cars from? But most readers hopefully don't have a mind like mine that insists on throwing up these annoying things and let's them get on with enjoying the book.

The story is moving and has a clever ending - one of those books I wished could have gone on longer, but was probably better for stopping when it did all the same. It would make a good book group choice as there's lots of scope for conversations about whether you would choose to go back or forwards if such a thing existed, and the wisdom of doing so. For anyone who enjoys fantasy or science fiction, or original and unconventional stories in general, this is a must-read. It's one of the most original and well crafted time stories I've read this year and I'll certainly be keen to read any further novels by the author.

The concept of this novel is intriguing enough on its own. There’s a town nestled in a valley. To the west is the same town but twenty years in the past; to the east twenty years in the future, presumably continuing into infinity. The town’s government allows rare visits to the east or west, to see a deceased relative or a future descendant. Every request goes through intense scrutiny and the few visits that are granted are carried out with utmost secrecy.
Our protagonist is Odile Ozanne, a quiet 16 year old outcast. One day she sees two visitors from the eastern valley outside her school and recognises them as the parents of her classmate. Odile is also in vetting to become a conseiller, one of the people in charge of approving or disapproving visits to other valleys. She quickly finds herself caught between her future ambitions and a budding romance with her doomed classmate.
The first half of this felt very reminiscent of Never Let Me Go, which is a compliment. Even though Howard’s novel has such a science fiction concept, the story itself is more concerned about the characters and their lives, and I found it to be a genuinely moving coming of age story with likeable characters and really believable interactions. The latter half has quite a different tone— it’s more detached and quite miserable and claustrophobic in places, but it’s worth it for the phenomenal pay-off of the ending.
If you’re looking for an action-packed science fiction time travel adventure this might not be the one for you. The reader knows as much about the valleys as Odile does, and nothing more. This was something I really loved but can imagine being divisive, as that initial concept is just so rich!
The Other Valley is a great speculative fiction story about memory, the past, and what (if any) power we have to change our own lives. Reflective and superbly written.

Description:
Odile lives in a valley surrounded by other, identical valleys: one side is twenty years in the past, the other twenty years in the future. There are strict rules on travel between the valleys to prevent changing the past and/or future, but in special, mostly tragic, circumstances, some visits are permitted. When Odile sees a school friend's parents visiting from the future, she knows something bad is going to happen.

Liked:
The plotting is superb - well-paced and intriguing throughout, with a flow that drags you along. The protagonist is a slightly strange one; I was sympathetic without necessarily liking her very much. The surrounding characters, by contrast, often shone: Alain and Edme are adorable at times, and Jo and Justine feel like very realistic teenage girls. The prose of this one isn't eye-catching, it mostly gets out of the way, which suits the story well, although there were a few phrases I thought were particularly eloquent.

Disliked:
It's hard to find things I didn't like about this one. I think the only thing I can say is that I was so worried about the ending managing to be satisfying, that even though it WAS, it lost some of the emotion it might have had.

Would absolutely recommend. One of my favourites of the year so far.

Anything Else:
It’s weird: I’ve read two books about girls growing up in secluded valleys with strange rules in past 3 weeks or so - this and Elsewhere. Both very good and both quite different!

I have just read , and loved, ‘The Ministry of Time’ and this held me in a similar way. Again set in a world where time and history play an important role in the novel the author tells the story of Odile Ozanne who has to finds a way to live which embraces both caring, respect and grief in a restricted society. It kept me awake and I finished it in one sitting; a testament to its success.

The Other Valley is a beautiful heart breaking coming of age story that feels like its slowly sliding sideways. Odiel lives in The Valley, a small town that feels both like any other…and yet like none you’ve ever known. A quaint, strict village situated in the middle of a valley that residents can never leave. To travel west over the mountain range is to find the same valley 20 years in the past. To go east, is to find yourself 20 years in the future. Travel between the valleys is only allowed under tightly controlled conditions.

In truth, I wasn’t sure how to rate or review this book. It is one of those books that feels a little wandering and listless. Where are we going? What’s really happening?

And yet…I couldn’t stop turning the pages. The writing, as clipped and taciturn as it was, was incredibly powerful. I could picture the town, the people, I felt in my bones Odiel’s experiences as my own. The weight of her mother’s expectations, that tentative anxiety when hanging out with a new group of friends for the first time, the stinging rejection of a first crush gone awry. A young person desperate to find a meaningful place in a world she can’t control. Scott Alexander Howard was playing a delicate tune and I was caught up in the notes despite myself.

The story reads like ripples in time, the narration often skipping sporadically forward and backward with deft flashbacks and premonitions (not to mention the literal time travel between the valleys). The way Howard uses time travel and writing technique to talk about the ultimate questions: if you could go back and change one thing…what would it be? If you knew what the future held…what would you do differently today? is nothing short of genius. While the Sci-Fi reader in me was fascinated by the way he balanced the tricky time lines and plot consistency, the philosopher in me was consumed by the questions he posed. I was struck by how much of who we are, right now, in this moment, the only moment we ever truly have, is the time line that matters the most.

The Other Valley is an incredible accomplishment from a debut author. Delicate, consuming, challenging…beautiful. I know this one is classified as a Sci-Fi, but it has a strong literary/philosophical bend and I don’t read a lot of fiction like this. The closest I’ve personally read might be something akin to the writing styles of Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Before the Coffee Gets Cold) or Sven Holm (Termush) but with sprinkles of something heavier like David Mitchel (Cloud Atlas) and John Lancaster (The Wall).

I am very grateful to have received a free e-arc from NetGalley and Atlantic Books in exchange for an honest review. I actually look forward to purchasing a Shelf Trophy copy of this one. Seeing it on my shelf will serve as a reminder to live in the present and embrace whatever good I am blessed with, for what ever length of time, with open arms.