Within an hour of sunset. Routine has set
in. Kim, Paul and the boys went out to the beach shortly after breakfast. You
met them at the pool later. In the meantime you did your forty minutes of
exercises. Carol spent her time reading a novel. Once at the pool you did a
half hour or so of leg exercises (kicking) for arthritic relief. After lunch at
Sea Breeze and an ice cream at the Candy Store everyone settled down to a nap.
Nap over; Kim, Paul and the boys out to the beach then to the pool. You and
Carol drove to buy some groceries (Paul is making burgers tonight). Carol spent
time on her novel and you decided to read The October List by Jeffery
Deaver.
** **
The October List: A Novel in
Reverse
Jeffery Deaver, Author
Thriller
Award–winner Deaver (Edge) delivers a clever, demanding stand-alone that moves
backward in time over the span of a three-day weekend, from Sunday evening to
early Friday morning. In the first chapter, office manager Gabriela McKenzie,
whose six-year-old daughter, Sarah, has been kidnapped, waits in her Manhattan
apartment for news from fund manager Daniel Reardon, who’s attempting to deal
with kidnapper Joseph Astor. Gabriela must not only pay a $500,000 ransom but
also fork over the mysterious “October List,” which belongs to her former boss
Charles Prescott, the head of Prescott Investments, who has fled from a police
investigation. As the ingenious plot folds back on itself, the reader has to
reevaluate and reinterpret the constantly shifting “facts” in the case. The
finished picture finally emerges with a shock of recognition. This is brilliant
craftsmanship in a vastly entertaining package. Agent: Deborah Schneider,
Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. (Oct.)
Selected from
http://www.publishersweeklyDOTcom/978-1-4555-7664-7
** **
1841
hours. The book was about a 35 minutes read. Once I had the main characters in my
mind from the last chapter those are the only ones I really had to focus on in
reverse. I completed the chapters through the first one then checked to see if
I had understood that last chapter. I had. I can understand how readers of
mysteries might like such a novel. More power to the author, but reading
detective mysteries aren’t really my cup of tea – too much like so many cop and
detective movies. What it reminds me most off, for reasons beyond my
understanding, is the film Sliding Doors. I’m glad Linda suggested it
because I was ready for a diversion from the usual, i.e. I needed to read a
fiction.
** **
Sliding Doors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sliding Doors is a 1998
British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter
Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, while also featuring John
Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The film alternates between two
parallel universes, based on the two paths the central character's life could
take depending on whether or not she catches a train and causing different
outcomes in her life.
Plot
Helen
Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) gets fired from her public relations job. She rushes
for her train on the London Underground and misses it. The plot then splits
into two parallel universes, the other detailing the separate path her life
would have taken had she caught that train.
In the
timeline in which she boards the train, she meets James (John Hannah) on the
underground and they strike up a conversation. She gets home in time to catch
her boyfriend, Gerry (John Lynch), in bed with his American ex-girlfriend,
Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn); she dumps him and moves in with her friend Anna (Zara
Turner), and changes her appearance for a fresh start. James continues to
serendipitously pop into Helen's life, cheering her up and encouraging her to
start her own public relations firm. She and James fall in love despite Helen's
reservations about beginning another relationship so soon after her ugly
breakup with Gerry. Eventually, Helen discovers that she is pregnant, believing
it is James' child, and goes to see him at his office. She is stunned to learn
from James' secretary that he is married. Upset, she disappears. James finds
her on a bridge and explains that he was married but is now separated
and planning a divorce. He and his soon-to-be-ex-wife maintain the appearance
of a happy marriage for the sake of his sick mother. After she and James
declare their love, Helen walks out into the road and is hit by a car.
In the
timeline in which she misses the train, she hails a taxi instead but a man
tries to snatch her handbag. Helen is injured in the scuffle and goes to
hospital. She arrives home after Lydia has left and carries on, oblivious of
Gerry's infidelity, and takes two part-time jobs to pay the bills. Gerry
conceals his infidelity and juggles the two women in his life; Lydia even
interacts with Helen on several occasions. Helen has a number of conflicts with
Gerry but discovers that she is pregnant. She never manages to tell him, but
does tell him that she has a job interview with an international PR firm.
Gerry, thinking Helen is at her interview, goes to see Lydia, who is also
pregnant with his child, at her apartment. While at Lydia's, Gerry answers the
doorbell and sees Helen standing at the door; she is stunned to see Gerry,
while Lydia tells her she can't do the interview because she's "deciding
whether or not to keep your boyfriend's baby." Distraught, Helen runs off
and falls down Lydia's staircase while trying to flee Gerry.
In both
timelines, Helen goes to the hospital and loses her baby. In the timeline in
which she boards the train, she dies in the arms of her new-found love, James;
in the timeline in which she misses the train, she recovers and tells Gerry to
leave for good. Before waking, she sees brief visions of the alternate Helen's
life in a dream.
In the final scene (now taking place in the original
"missed train" universe), James is leaving the hospital after
visiting his mother, and Helen is leaving after ending her relationship with
Gerry. Helen drops an earring in the lift and it is picked up by James. This
mirrors the start of the film, where James picks up Helen's earring on the lift
after Helen is fired from her job. Before the doors close, James tells Helen to
cheer up, and repeats his line, "You know what the Monty Python boys
say..." Helen (who, in the beginning of the film, assumed the rejoinder to
be “always on the bright side of life.” says, “Nobody expects the Spanish
Inquisition”. She and James stare at one another, each surprised by her
response. The lift doors close, leaving the audience to speculate whether it
was fate or coincidence that brought Helen and James together under these
circumstances.
Selected and edited from Wikipedia – Sliding Doors
** **
2007
hours. After reading the above I have no idea why The October List: A Novel
in Reverse reminded me of Sliding Doors almost immediately after
completed the book. Well, I’m sure it has to do with confused memories.
No, orndorff. The connection has to do with
the element and use of time. In one you were reading in reverse, in the other
parallel universes, but the conclusions of both leave some question marks for
the reader to figure out. – Amorella
1015
hours. That did not come to mind. Still, your paragraph leaves ample room for
confusion. I agree with the use of time but I am not sure about the conclusions
having any similarity. I’m glad there was some connection though.
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