Parallel Lives

Martin Gwent Lewis
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432772093
Reviewed by Amanda Wesley for Reader Views (11/11)

 

Richard is a man who is depressed and looking for a way to end his life.  Just as he is about to pull the trigger he is stopped by, what can only seem like, another version of himself.  Richard is now talking to another Richard, had Richard made a different choice in his past.  Confused yet?  Richard #1 (or Historian) explains that he lives in a Parallel Universe that was created when he chose to go to a different school.  There are times in our life that we must make choices that are life altering.  These choices have different outcomes.  This is where time splits and a different “you” is created. 

Historian then tells Richard of a time in their past that only they could have known.  Richard is now convinced that there may be truth behind all of this.  Before there is too much time to sit and think about all of this, Historian and Richard go and search out yet another self.  This is the start of a journey of globe jumping and meeting other “Richards.” 

Together, as a band of strange doppleganger-like brothers, this group unites to solve problems that are bigger than any of them could have imagined.  Along the way, Richard finds hope, love, and some answers he has been searching for.

I love that all of the Richards seemed real.  There wasn’t such a drastic leap between characters that it wasn’t believable.  I also enjoyed that there were pieces of each one that you could connect to the next.  There were little things that the author added to make it interesting.  I had fun exploring their world and sitting back thinking of when in my life it could have split off into another and what they would carry from the past with them.

“Parallel Lives” takes you to impossible heights and makes you explore the idea of “what if.”  The idea is not a new one, but this book put a spin on it that was exciting.  Lewis told a story that needs to be read.  It brought to question age-old philosophy and mystery that will have you guessing to the very end. 

I was worried that it was going to get confusing with all the geographical jumps and the main characters all being the same man, but it was effortless and smooth.  I loved that this book had just the right amount of everything. Thrill, mystery, angst, love, and a perfect ending.  “Parallel Lives” had it all and I would recommend it to everyone.

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