Olivie Blake, the author of the New York time bestselling “Atlas six “ came back with an astonishing love story called“ Alone with you in the Ether“. The book is an intriguing love story between two different characters of completely separate habits and routines but still very similar in needs. Two worlds collide when life does not provide you enough “supplies” to keep your drive life journey stable. It combines nature and math terms in a very smooth way and brings into discussion situations in life people are afraid to talk about or too scared to think of. “Alone with you in the Ether” is a mind blowing love story that will make you overthink the entire book.
About Aldo
“Alone with you in Ether” is about Aldo, a doctoral student that makes presumptions and hypotenuses about time travel, a subject that keeps him away from negative and dark thoughts. The kind of thoughts cross your mind when you are alone but aware of the loneliness of life being unable to change something. This is the type of character who knows the parameters of living analyzing everything as a math problem. Everything should have a solution either bad or good. Who decides what is it? Nobody knows. All he knew is that he once crossed the line overdosing and ended up promising to his dad he will never do that again. If you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, you keep your mind busy with something you are interested in and will consume your time. If you are lost in the middle of wondering why, it does not mean someone will find you in a room full of reasons. “Alone with you in the ether ” is the type of book that makes you wonder a lot.
Favorite line:
“ Sometimes I feel like I’m just waiting for something that will never happen. “ he said. “Like I’m just existing from day to day but will never really matter. I get up in the morning because I have to, because I have to do something or I’m just wasting space , or because If I don’t answer the phone my dad will be alone. But it’s an effort, it takes work. I have to tell myself, every day, get up. Get up, do this, move like this, talk to people, be normal, try to be social, be nice, be patient. On the inside I just feel like I don’t know, nothing. Like I am just an algorithm that someone put in place”.
About Regan
Regan is an impulsive overthinking woman that sees alternatives to her main decisions and reality and starts analyzing the outcomes of each. But reality strikes as always and she needs to resume herself to what it is not what would have, could have, or should have happened. She is confident but she is wondering consistently. At the same time she has her own preconceived opinion about things judging and analyzing especially with her family. She is considered to be the least loved child not being what her parents wanted to become. She was born and raised in a family with financial stability. Yet this is why her behavior can be too much sometimes but her sarcasm and humor are delicious to watch. We can see her from two perspectives IF not three. From here being herself talking to herself and confessing to herself; her talking to her psychologist and her in the relationship with people, especially romantically implied (both her actual boyfriend Marc and Aldo the unknown future something).
Favorite line:
If you could open only one part of me for your consumption, for your delectation, for the whims of your carnivorous mind, which part would you wish to see?
She is complicated but she is fun and eager to learn, to see and be seen. Eager to find out but to transform everything she knows into her own thoughts. She might be reckless but not stupid. She is aware of the parameters of what surrounds her but she wants more not knowing exactly what. Adventure is too dangerous but common is too boring. Comfortable is already outdated. She wants things for her, made for her and said only to her like she translates this into having attention. She loves attention. She’s an artist. She should love it.
Main plot following the main characters
They both met into a common space and time where they felt comfortable, in the museum. The place where she works and the place where he concentrates best for his time travel research and analysis. They bump into each other having a very weird and out of context situation but very intriguing. Triggering one another’s attention they got somewhere to talk to after Regan’s shifts. Their conversion leads to an agreement of having 6 more. At each conversation their main rule was to underline and reveal to one another what they have learned from each other. It is an impressive exchange of opinions and feelings. Their conversations can be long or short but challenging. It stimulates your imagination. It simulates your senses and triggers you into the depth of their experiences.
“Alone with you in the Ether” shows their relationship as it started from strangers and then became friends and then became lovers. Their fall was not fast but linear was very constant and it followed the course of 6 conversations. They started talking about themselves around the end of the 6 conversations when she asked Aldo to go to their parents’ anniversary. Until then everything was left to find but not them.
Recommendation
I would recommend “Alone with you in the Ether” for a vacation short reading or a therapy reading at home in weekend. This is the perfect book for relaxing but learning something at the same time. If you are interested in understanding and comparing different attitudes and behaviours while enjoying the journey of two different people here is the perfect book.
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