This summer's Meet Me In Another Life asks one of the great existential questions you could have about any of the people in your life, no matter how important or insignificant - what would we be like if we met under different circumstances? That's what Thora and Santi get to experience again and again and again as they die and are reborn ready to meet each other in different ways - as university students, as mentor and mentee, adopted parent and child or siblings, romantic partners and various other variations. The main consistency is that they will always meet again and live their lives differently than before. And Catriona Silvey's bittersweet writing has masterfully made these two characters captivating, endearing and heartbreaking.
The format of the book divides up the progress of their various meetings and a steady journey towards the realisation that they are meeting again in every life quite neatly. Every chapter is a different one of their multiple lives so when you start a new one, you know that some things are going to be different. It also switches to and from the two perspectives with each chapter which gives it a nice balance of getting equal opportunity to see how Santi and Thora each see their current situation. At first, it feels like some sort of philosophical experiment, having a look at how the relationship between two people can change and adapt with just a few alterations to their lives each time. Silvey writes these two characters' various lives with such care that for the most part, I didn't want to know why they kept meeting, I just wanted to continue reading all the versions of them together in whatever way that was. By the time she makes them realise just how many times they've met before, I feel quite content with the different versions I was presented with and so when they spent a lifetime trying to figure out why this was happening, it was great to see there were still so many other ways for them to meet but now with their prior knowledge.
The pairing of Thora and Santi is quite interesting in that they are polar opposites but also so alike in every life. Every life gives them a new way to be part of each other's life but every single one keeps the core of their personalities the same - Thora is the pessimist with her feet on the ground and Santi is the optimist with his head in the clouds. Even the important people in their lives stay the same, their parents, any immediate family, romantic partners and close friends with little adjustments in each life. They are two characters who see the world and their lives in such opposition that they are a wonderous pair to see in each other's lives again and again. Their love for the stars is what unites them and it is what sees them consider and adopt elements of one another's beliefs that their outlook on the world begins to merge. I found myself beginning to wonder if they lived their lives together over and over again because there was one version that had to come out right before they could move on outside of this loop. Of course, that was only one of many theories and possibilities but the book is written in such a way that I didn't mind if I didn't find out. The journey these two characters lived through meeting each other again and again was enough.
Reason to Recommend:
- If you like a book that makes you ask existential questions
- Heartwarming with a hint of being bittersweet
- A promising new voice in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre
- Characters who contradict and complement each other's personalities
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