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2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens
Choices at the End of the World On the eve of the end of the world, 20 December 2012, five friends meet in Spanish Gardens, the cafe where they had celebrated their college graduation 20 years before. Over Irish coffees, they reminisce - and reveal long-held and disturbing secrets. Each friend in turn is given a curious set of instructions by an enigmatic bartender named Ariel: "Your life is filled with crossroads and you are free to choose one road or another at any time. Stepping through this door takes away all choices except two -- the choice to live a different life, or return to this one...." Each in turn passes through the portal and are faced with new lives and challenges. Their decisions show a new life -- or something far worse. Ar the end of the world, it's a chance for redemption, or a chance to learn something about themselves. International bestselling author, Alma Alexander, mixes a world or possibilities and paths. What if you could change the past -- go right instead of left, fall in love with a different person, change careers or families, or even change your sex. 2012 Midnight at Spanish Gardens brings those choices to life.
347 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
103 people want to read
About the author
Alma Alexander
73 books204 followersAlma Alexander is a scientist by education, duchess by historical accident, and an author who has written more than a score of novels, including 'The Secrets of Jin-shei', published in dozens of editions and languages around the world.
Known as the Duchess of Fantasy, she is also a blogger sharing writing tips, and glimpses of both the mundane and magic of a fantasy author's life.
Her latest novels include 'Val Hall', a series about a retirement home for Superheroes, Third Class; 'Embers of Heaven' a Jin-shei follow-up; 'Empress', a love story; and 'Midnight at Spanish Gardens'.
Coming in July is 'The Second Star', a novel about the big eternal questions – about who, or what, God is; about our own immortal souls and their salvation; what it really means to be human; and whether it is possible to go out to where the monsters dwell and expect to come home again unchanged. It is a story of how humans meet the stars, and find themselves there.
Her YA include the four-book Worldweavers series, and 'The Were Chronicles' trilogy.
Her work has been translated into 14 languages worldwide, including Hebrew,Turkish, and Catalan.
She is currently at work on a new series of alternate history novels with roots in Eastern Europe.
She lives in Bellingham, WA, with her husband, two cats, and assorted visiting wildlife.
Visit her website/blog at www.AlmaAlexander.org or AlmaAlexanderAuthor.com , like her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alma-A...
Known as the Duchess of Fantasy, she is also a blogger sharing writing tips, and glimpses of both the mundane and magic of a fantasy author's life.
Her latest novels include 'Val Hall', a series about a retirement home for Superheroes, Third Class; 'Embers of Heaven' a Jin-shei follow-up; 'Empress', a love story; and 'Midnight at Spanish Gardens'.
Coming in July is 'The Second Star', a novel about the big eternal questions – about who, or what, God is; about our own immortal souls and their salvation; what it really means to be human; and whether it is possible to go out to where the monsters dwell and expect to come home again unchanged. It is a story of how humans meet the stars, and find themselves there.
Her YA include the four-book Worldweavers series, and 'The Were Chronicles' trilogy.
Her work has been translated into 14 languages worldwide, including Hebrew,Turkish, and Catalan.
She is currently at work on a new series of alternate history novels with roots in Eastern Europe.
She lives in Bellingham, WA, with her husband, two cats, and assorted visiting wildlife.
Visit her website/blog at www.AlmaAlexander.org or AlmaAlexanderAuthor.com , like her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alma-A...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 4, 2013
Written by Alma Alexander, Midnight at Spanish Gardens is not the kind of story that fits neatly into a pigeon hole. The writing is beautiful, almost poetic, yet it never forgets that it is meant to be prose, or that it has a story to tell. So based on the quality of the writing, and the fact the story is set in modern times, I could easily describe Spanish Gardens as contemporary literature.
Yet as I read on, I discovered that the mysterious bartender named Ariel is somehow sending the five main characters back in time to live the lives they might have lived if things had been... different.
How do I describe that? Contemporary metaphysical fantasy literature?
Yet even that convoluted category doesn't accurately describe Midnight at Spanish Gardens, because how the main characters come to relive their lives is less important than what they do with those second chances. Or the choices they make when Ariel calls them back. Will they choose the first life? Or will they choose the new life they have made? Sadly, they cannot choose both.
For some of the characters, their new lives are better than the old, happier, more fulfilled. For others, their new lives turn out to be more successful in some ways, but ultimately devoid of meaning in others. Yet the story of these lives, and the choices the characters make is no morality play. Rather it is the tender exploration of what makes all of us human, without judgment, and without condemnation.
Whether the character is male or female, each one feels real and intensely believable. Some I liked more than others, but each one touched me deeply, and in my opinion, that is a psychological tour de force.
So what is Midnight at Spanish Gardens? Psychological metaphysical contemporary fantasy literature?
Nope. :D The book is much simpler than that - it is nothing more nor less than a work of art.
If Midnight at Spanish Gardens contained even a smidgeon of science fiction I'd give it 11/10. As it is I can only give it a 10.
Joking aside, I truly loved this book, and I promise, hand on heart, that if you read it you will not be disappointed.
Yet as I read on, I discovered that the mysterious bartender named Ariel is somehow sending the five main characters back in time to live the lives they might have lived if things had been... different.
How do I describe that? Contemporary metaphysical fantasy literature?
Yet even that convoluted category doesn't accurately describe Midnight at Spanish Gardens, because how the main characters come to relive their lives is less important than what they do with those second chances. Or the choices they make when Ariel calls them back. Will they choose the first life? Or will they choose the new life they have made? Sadly, they cannot choose both.
For some of the characters, their new lives are better than the old, happier, more fulfilled. For others, their new lives turn out to be more successful in some ways, but ultimately devoid of meaning in others. Yet the story of these lives, and the choices the characters make is no morality play. Rather it is the tender exploration of what makes all of us human, without judgment, and without condemnation.
Whether the character is male or female, each one feels real and intensely believable. Some I liked more than others, but each one touched me deeply, and in my opinion, that is a psychological tour de force.
So what is Midnight at Spanish Gardens? Psychological metaphysical contemporary fantasy literature?
Nope. :D The book is much simpler than that - it is nothing more nor less than a work of art.
If Midnight at Spanish Gardens contained even a smidgeon of science fiction I'd give it 11/10. As it is I can only give it a 10.
Joking aside, I truly loved this book, and I promise, hand on heart, that if you read it you will not be disappointed.
January 25, 2012
The characters in Midnight at Spanish Gardens are exquisitely drawn in this fascinating speculative tale of the end of the world, and the day after.
On the eve of the Mayan end of the world, Dec. 20, 2012, five college friends meet in Spanish Gardens, the restaurant where they had celebrated their graduation 20 years before. Over Irish coffees, they reveal disturbing secrets.
Each friend in turn is given an extraordinary choice by an enigmatic bartender named Ariel -- stick with the life you have, or leave it all behind and become someone else entirely.
Deeply dissatisfied with their lives, each passes through a door into a different world. They change occupations and families; one changes gender; a woman falls in love with another woman. At some point in their new lives, the mysterious Ariel appears to give them a second choice -- stay in the new life or return to your old one. In the end, four choose to return to their original lives. One doesn’t.
Alexander is a veteran fantasy novelist who made an international splash with The Secrets of Jin-shei, a book set in an alternate Imperial China. Like Jin-shei, Midnight at Spanish Gardens, deals in multiple overlapping lives, but in the here and now.
The author based the restaurant in Midnight at Spanish Gardens on a real one in South Africa that is now out of business. She describes it in lyrical prose:
-------------
You walk down a shuttered street; turn into a narrow alley you should never have known was there. At the end of the alley, there’s a courtyard. And at the far end of the courtyard… there’s Spanish Gardens.
This place serves up your past like one of its fabled Irish Coffees – all froth and innocence on top and the dark, bittersweet mystery below – and watches you drain it, and then try to scry for your future in the patterns left behind on the walls of your glass.
You come here to laugh, to cry, to mourn, to celebrate – the place where only truth can be spoken, where you are forced to look all your most cherished illusions in the eye and watch them look down first and slink away like ghosts into the shadows leaving only the shining core of your own true self behind.
This is where you come to learn who and what you were, and are, and may become. You leave the ivied and hallowed walls of the edifices of higher education, and your textbooks, and your professors, and your exams; you come here for the love and the laughter and the understanding. You abandon education, and come seeking wisdom.
----------------
In addition to finely drawn characters and a setting that will stick in your mind long after you close the book or turn off your e-reader, this is a novel about issues and ideas which are sharp, pointed and contemporary, ideas such as failing to live up to other people’s expectations, human trafficking, the demands of life choices which can shatter a human soul, same-sex relationships, and the true meaning of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is a book likely to remain with you long after it is put down because it gives no easy answers, just a vision that every life lived well is responsible only to itself and to nothing and nobody else in the end. The novel shines an uncompromising light onto our reality through a prism of the ever-so-slightly fantastic – and the shadows cast are startling, and easy to lose oneself in.
It's Alexander's best book to date.
On the eve of the Mayan end of the world, Dec. 20, 2012, five college friends meet in Spanish Gardens, the restaurant where they had celebrated their graduation 20 years before. Over Irish coffees, they reveal disturbing secrets.
Each friend in turn is given an extraordinary choice by an enigmatic bartender named Ariel -- stick with the life you have, or leave it all behind and become someone else entirely.
Deeply dissatisfied with their lives, each passes through a door into a different world. They change occupations and families; one changes gender; a woman falls in love with another woman. At some point in their new lives, the mysterious Ariel appears to give them a second choice -- stay in the new life or return to your old one. In the end, four choose to return to their original lives. One doesn’t.
Alexander is a veteran fantasy novelist who made an international splash with The Secrets of Jin-shei, a book set in an alternate Imperial China. Like Jin-shei, Midnight at Spanish Gardens, deals in multiple overlapping lives, but in the here and now.
The author based the restaurant in Midnight at Spanish Gardens on a real one in South Africa that is now out of business. She describes it in lyrical prose:
-------------
You walk down a shuttered street; turn into a narrow alley you should never have known was there. At the end of the alley, there’s a courtyard. And at the far end of the courtyard… there’s Spanish Gardens.
This place serves up your past like one of its fabled Irish Coffees – all froth and innocence on top and the dark, bittersweet mystery below – and watches you drain it, and then try to scry for your future in the patterns left behind on the walls of your glass.
You come here to laugh, to cry, to mourn, to celebrate – the place where only truth can be spoken, where you are forced to look all your most cherished illusions in the eye and watch them look down first and slink away like ghosts into the shadows leaving only the shining core of your own true self behind.
This is where you come to learn who and what you were, and are, and may become. You leave the ivied and hallowed walls of the edifices of higher education, and your textbooks, and your professors, and your exams; you come here for the love and the laughter and the understanding. You abandon education, and come seeking wisdom.
----------------
In addition to finely drawn characters and a setting that will stick in your mind long after you close the book or turn off your e-reader, this is a novel about issues and ideas which are sharp, pointed and contemporary, ideas such as failing to live up to other people’s expectations, human trafficking, the demands of life choices which can shatter a human soul, same-sex relationships, and the true meaning of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is a book likely to remain with you long after it is put down because it gives no easy answers, just a vision that every life lived well is responsible only to itself and to nothing and nobody else in the end. The novel shines an uncompromising light onto our reality through a prism of the ever-so-slightly fantastic – and the shadows cast are startling, and easy to lose oneself in.
It's Alexander's best book to date.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2016
One of the pleasures of reviewing books on a blog is that from time to time an author will suggest you read their book, and as a result a little gem drops into your lap completely out of the blue, something that you would never, ever have found by yourself. This is one such book. It’s rather a shame, actually, that the paranormal aspect will cause it to fall into a genre black hole, because it truly deserves a wider audience. Yes, it’s paranormal fantasy, and perhaps it’s technically urban, too, but it’s not a romance, and there are no vampires or werewolves. It’s about people, and the choices they make, and it’s much closer to literary fiction than fantasy.
The premise is a simple one. Five friends from university days hold a reunion twenty years later on the eve of the predicted Mayan calendar apocalypse. During the evening, all five of them are mysteriously shown an alternate life and get to choose which one to stay in: the current life or the alternate. The five alternate histories are, in certain ways, like short stories, but they are all compelling and they fit perfectly into the overall story arc without feeling forced. There are some odd pacing choices - the earlier episodes are noticeably longer than the later ones, which puts them right on the edge of starting to drag. Quincey’s alternate history in particular was both slow and overly schmaltzy, and I really wanted to hurry things along to find out how she would choose. Fortunately, the author’s elegant writing style stops things from tipping over into overt sentimentality.
As the five step into their alternate existences, and decide which of the two lives they will choose, we learn a great deal about each of them, their personalities, the influences for good or bad on them, and their relationships. The choices are never easy, and in at least one case heart-wrenchingly difficult, but there are no right or wrong answers here, and this is not about correcting past mistakes. Rather, it’s about who you want to be, who you are and about being true to yourself, even if that means giving up something else along the way. These are profound questions, and I’m sure everyone who reads this will find themselves in contemplative mood afterwards.
The ending is deeply poignant, and yet perfectly fitting. This is a beautiful book, elegantly written, with wonderful and memorable characters, and a thought-provoking subtext. It is barely-there fantasy, and would fit comfortably into mainstream literature. If the author hadn’t suggested I try it, I would probably have passed over it as being ‘not my thing’, and I would have missed a treat. The only minor criticism is that some of the alternate lives are slightly idealised, but I enjoyed it so much I can overlook that. Five stars.
The premise is a simple one. Five friends from university days hold a reunion twenty years later on the eve of the predicted Mayan calendar apocalypse. During the evening, all five of them are mysteriously shown an alternate life and get to choose which one to stay in: the current life or the alternate. The five alternate histories are, in certain ways, like short stories, but they are all compelling and they fit perfectly into the overall story arc without feeling forced. There are some odd pacing choices - the earlier episodes are noticeably longer than the later ones, which puts them right on the edge of starting to drag. Quincey’s alternate history in particular was both slow and overly schmaltzy, and I really wanted to hurry things along to find out how she would choose. Fortunately, the author’s elegant writing style stops things from tipping over into overt sentimentality.
As the five step into their alternate existences, and decide which of the two lives they will choose, we learn a great deal about each of them, their personalities, the influences for good or bad on them, and their relationships. The choices are never easy, and in at least one case heart-wrenchingly difficult, but there are no right or wrong answers here, and this is not about correcting past mistakes. Rather, it’s about who you want to be, who you are and about being true to yourself, even if that means giving up something else along the way. These are profound questions, and I’m sure everyone who reads this will find themselves in contemplative mood afterwards.
The ending is deeply poignant, and yet perfectly fitting. This is a beautiful book, elegantly written, with wonderful and memorable characters, and a thought-provoking subtext. It is barely-there fantasy, and would fit comfortably into mainstream literature. If the author hadn’t suggested I try it, I would probably have passed over it as being ‘not my thing’, and I would have missed a treat. The only minor criticism is that some of the alternate lives are slightly idealised, but I enjoyed it so much I can overlook that. Five stars.
September 14, 2011
I couldn't stay editor for even a chapter!
People, I have no coherence or polish right now (chemo brain), but when Alma sent me the first four chapters to comment on as more of an expert on one community than she, I downed them in one glorious gulp, then guiltily realized I'd stopped taking notes in the first chapter. I also completely missed the nightlife and social life of the conference I was at. I shook myself, and firmly grasped my pencil, going back to reread. I gulped that (immediate!) second read nearly as thoroughly as I did the first, and sent her an embarrassed email that she wasn't really getting first impressions out of me for anything but the start because I'd been bad and gotten sucked in.
When she sent the whole text I again read it eagerly, at one go. This is an engaging, heartbreaking, challenging, inspiring read!
I wish I could do it justice - read this, let it speak to you and move you. You'll be glad you did. Your life might even change!
People, I have no coherence or polish right now (chemo brain), but when Alma sent me the first four chapters to comment on as more of an expert on one community than she, I downed them in one glorious gulp, then guiltily realized I'd stopped taking notes in the first chapter. I also completely missed the nightlife and social life of the conference I was at. I shook myself, and firmly grasped my pencil, going back to reread. I gulped that (immediate!) second read nearly as thoroughly as I did the first, and sent her an embarrassed email that she wasn't really getting first impressions out of me for anything but the start because I'd been bad and gotten sucked in.
When she sent the whole text I again read it eagerly, at one go. This is an engaging, heartbreaking, challenging, inspiring read!
I wish I could do it justice - read this, let it speak to you and move you. You'll be glad you did. Your life might even change!
September 12, 2012
[Synopsis: Five friends from college gather together for the first time in 20 years on the eve of the supposed "end of the world." Each is given a look at an alternate life that they might have had if they had made different choices 20 years prior, and given the choice to take that life or return to what they already had.]
Very good, well written. Interesting premiss, the characters were fleshed out enough to understand them without becoming unduly bogged down with minutia. Makes you think about whether you would really choose an alternate life if given a chance or not. For a couple of the characters, I would have chosen the alternate I think. Still their reasons were understandable and enough was left them that each resolution was satisfying.
Very good, well written. Interesting premiss, the characters were fleshed out enough to understand them without becoming unduly bogged down with minutia. Makes you think about whether you would really choose an alternate life if given a chance or not. For a couple of the characters, I would have chosen the alternate I think. Still their reasons were understandable and enough was left them that each resolution was satisfying.
September 4, 2011
Masterfully written with a unique and inventive approach, the only thing I did not enjoy about this book was that the characters somehow did not become real to me at their introduction, until they had their moment in the spotlight of the plot. Some I formed no mental image of at all physically, and others I formed a mental image that later conflicted with the one described by the author when those characters came into more focus.
More to come once I have had time to digest and consolidate my thoughts.
More to come once I have had time to digest and consolidate my thoughts.
December 8, 2011
Imagine you can go back and live an alternate life. You make different choices and have different experiences with potentially different people. Perhaps it means no kids, a different career choice, a different spouse or perhaps no spouse at all. Are you willing to make that choice? You only have a few seconds to decide, so what do you do? This is the dilemma that faces five friends on the eve of 12/21/2012 in 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens by Alma Alexander.
Olivia, John, Quincey, Ellen and Simon have no idea what's in store for them on this wintry December evening. They haven't really been in contact with one another since college and that's been over twenty years ago. It seems quite fortuitous that they agree to meet at an old college hangout, Spanish Gardens, on the evening that the world is supposed to come to an end. They are all greeted by an enigmatic gentleman, ostensibly the bartender, Ariel. Ariel doesn't really intrude in their evening but he does seem to provide them all with interesting yet profoundly insightful statements. And it the mysterious Ariel that provides all five with the ultimate decisions of go back in time, live an alternate life and stay in that alternate history or return and continue with the present history.
Simon is the last to enter the restaurant and the first to experience an alternate past. In this life he suffers through the premature death of both parents due to a car accident and is raised by his maternal grandmother. He becomes a respected university professor and restarts a world-renowned, university-founded literary magazine. He also becomes instrumental in the success of several students turned authors. His choice is to stay in this life without children or spouse or return to his life with a wife, children and fame as an author. Is his fame more important than his students? What choice will he make?
John was the proverbial wild child. Once he learned about his inauspicious origins and his father's behavior he no longer wants to be the good child that follows in his father's footsteps or so he thinks. In his alternate life he does become a doctor and eventually gives his life over to philanthropy by working with Doctors Without Borders. It is rather ironic because with the exception of working as a physician in one life, John's lives mirror one another. In one he is alone and travels the world as an organizer for aid and relief with UNESCO and in the other he is also alone and travels the world to give aid and relief as a doctor. Which life is preferred since they are so closely aligned?
Quincey and Ellen are both faced with truly life altering alternate pasts. Quincey must decide if marriage (even the one that didn't work out), children and being a single mom are more important that an unexpected but deeply rewarding love. Ellen is also faced with the choice of children vs. no children, but her choice is even more difficult as her alternate past is as a completely different person altogether. Olivia is the first person that we meet in this tale and her alternate life is the last presented. Her choices are just as difficult, but she seems to have a better grasp on what mistakes not to make in this lifeline. I won't mention the details of her alternate life or the choices that she has to make, but it is Olivia's story that ultimately ties the others together and provides clarity. All five friends are faced with impossible choices. Fortunately once they make a final choice their alternate life becomes nothing more than a blur of possibilities.
Everyone likes the idea of going back and changing things, possibly righting the wrong decisions or simply making a different decision. Ms. Alexander shows that this is not always as easy as we think. I have to say that I rather enjoyed this story. There were moments when I wasn't sure about the story simply because of long and rambling sentences, use of terms such as susurrus and serried (yes I had to look them up, see below), or seemingly disjointed conversations. But even with these issues I continued on and was pleasantly surprised by the intriguing stories. I became invested in learning more about the characters and wanted to see what choices they would make. In the end I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked 2012: Midnight In Spanish Gardens.
Susurrus: a soft murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.
Serried: pressed together or compacted, as soldiers in rows: serried troops.
Olivia, John, Quincey, Ellen and Simon have no idea what's in store for them on this wintry December evening. They haven't really been in contact with one another since college and that's been over twenty years ago. It seems quite fortuitous that they agree to meet at an old college hangout, Spanish Gardens, on the evening that the world is supposed to come to an end. They are all greeted by an enigmatic gentleman, ostensibly the bartender, Ariel. Ariel doesn't really intrude in their evening but he does seem to provide them all with interesting yet profoundly insightful statements. And it the mysterious Ariel that provides all five with the ultimate decisions of go back in time, live an alternate life and stay in that alternate history or return and continue with the present history.
Simon is the last to enter the restaurant and the first to experience an alternate past. In this life he suffers through the premature death of both parents due to a car accident and is raised by his maternal grandmother. He becomes a respected university professor and restarts a world-renowned, university-founded literary magazine. He also becomes instrumental in the success of several students turned authors. His choice is to stay in this life without children or spouse or return to his life with a wife, children and fame as an author. Is his fame more important than his students? What choice will he make?
John was the proverbial wild child. Once he learned about his inauspicious origins and his father's behavior he no longer wants to be the good child that follows in his father's footsteps or so he thinks. In his alternate life he does become a doctor and eventually gives his life over to philanthropy by working with Doctors Without Borders. It is rather ironic because with the exception of working as a physician in one life, John's lives mirror one another. In one he is alone and travels the world as an organizer for aid and relief with UNESCO and in the other he is also alone and travels the world to give aid and relief as a doctor. Which life is preferred since they are so closely aligned?
Quincey and Ellen are both faced with truly life altering alternate pasts. Quincey must decide if marriage (even the one that didn't work out), children and being a single mom are more important that an unexpected but deeply rewarding love. Ellen is also faced with the choice of children vs. no children, but her choice is even more difficult as her alternate past is as a completely different person altogether. Olivia is the first person that we meet in this tale and her alternate life is the last presented. Her choices are just as difficult, but she seems to have a better grasp on what mistakes not to make in this lifeline. I won't mention the details of her alternate life or the choices that she has to make, but it is Olivia's story that ultimately ties the others together and provides clarity. All five friends are faced with impossible choices. Fortunately once they make a final choice their alternate life becomes nothing more than a blur of possibilities.
Everyone likes the idea of going back and changing things, possibly righting the wrong decisions or simply making a different decision. Ms. Alexander shows that this is not always as easy as we think. I have to say that I rather enjoyed this story. There were moments when I wasn't sure about the story simply because of long and rambling sentences, use of terms such as susurrus and serried (yes I had to look them up, see below), or seemingly disjointed conversations. But even with these issues I continued on and was pleasantly surprised by the intriguing stories. I became invested in learning more about the characters and wanted to see what choices they would make. In the end I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked 2012: Midnight In Spanish Gardens.
Susurrus: a soft murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.
Serried: pressed together or compacted, as soldiers in rows: serried troops.
February 22, 2012
Article first published as Book Review: 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens by Alma Alexander on Blogcritics.
December 20, 2012 is another day like many others, but there is fear and belief that this could be the day before the end of days. As with all doomsday predictions there is much controversy, both pro and con. To some it is another day, to others a possible ending.
In 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens Alma Alexander has taken the time as a way to change lives. Spanish Gardens is a meeting place for many groups of students over the years and this time is no different. However the students meeting there this night have all grown up and lived full lives. Meeting again to celebrate a birthday, Olivia and four other friends find themselves following the flow of history. There is anger and heartache and some of these very friends have lost touch due to hurt feelings and anger. Now is the time to put that all behind them and recoup some of the camaraderie of youth. 20 years have passed and time has changed them all. Meeting again and rehashing their old lives and loves, each of them wonders about what the next day will bring.
As each of the friends receives a strange set of instructions from one of the bartenders, time seems at a crossroad of possibilities. The instruction takes them to a portal, to a new life and a chance of redemption, or an opportunity to return to the life they have always known. Each is given a choice of changes on this night of discovery, a life that may have been––if different decisions had been made.
Choosing what you know and what you have always felt is difficult and there is only a small window of time to make the right decision. Will they each choose an alternate path on this pivotal night, or will they continue on with the life they chose from the beginning. The decision is difficult, to change what is real now, will change everything leading up to this time. People you know, families, and the lives you have touched and for those to whom you have made a difference will no long have that part of you should you chose a different path. Once the decision is made all memory will fade other than the life you have chosen. The other existence fades away in memory.
Alexander takes a time of possible transition or even renewal and puts a strange and surreal twist on it. The characters are brought to life as they each take a seeming crossroads as they enter a portal of time. As they make choices different from those before, you gain a deeper understanding of who they are and their strengths as well as their potential failures. As they pass the crossroads they do not remember the life behind them, until it is time to choose. For a short period of time both lives intersect, but once the choice is made memory fades.
Watching the interaction and choices that each character reestablishes invokes a strange feeling of inevitability. You wait with bated breath as the final decision is made. Which direction do they turn? It is very dreamlike and sequential, strangely vivid and yet like watching the interaction through water. The flow is interesting and yet each decision will affect someone differently and change lives in a way that is uncomfortable.
The descriptions and visuals add a depth to the story. The interactions of the characters in the here and now, offer a glimpse of lives that could have been different. The chance to remake their choices is one we often wonder about, would we make the same decisions if given a chance to do it all over again? How will this group of friends react to the chance of a do over?
I would recommend this book for those who enjoy though provoking dialogue. It would make a great read for a reading group of book club. There is insight and reflection with a dose of inspiration in this work that keeps you thinking.
This book was received as a free copy from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.
December 20, 2012 is another day like many others, but there is fear and belief that this could be the day before the end of days. As with all doomsday predictions there is much controversy, both pro and con. To some it is another day, to others a possible ending.
In 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens Alma Alexander has taken the time as a way to change lives. Spanish Gardens is a meeting place for many groups of students over the years and this time is no different. However the students meeting there this night have all grown up and lived full lives. Meeting again to celebrate a birthday, Olivia and four other friends find themselves following the flow of history. There is anger and heartache and some of these very friends have lost touch due to hurt feelings and anger. Now is the time to put that all behind them and recoup some of the camaraderie of youth. 20 years have passed and time has changed them all. Meeting again and rehashing their old lives and loves, each of them wonders about what the next day will bring.
As each of the friends receives a strange set of instructions from one of the bartenders, time seems at a crossroad of possibilities. The instruction takes them to a portal, to a new life and a chance of redemption, or an opportunity to return to the life they have always known. Each is given a choice of changes on this night of discovery, a life that may have been––if different decisions had been made.
Choosing what you know and what you have always felt is difficult and there is only a small window of time to make the right decision. Will they each choose an alternate path on this pivotal night, or will they continue on with the life they chose from the beginning. The decision is difficult, to change what is real now, will change everything leading up to this time. People you know, families, and the lives you have touched and for those to whom you have made a difference will no long have that part of you should you chose a different path. Once the decision is made all memory will fade other than the life you have chosen. The other existence fades away in memory.
Alexander takes a time of possible transition or even renewal and puts a strange and surreal twist on it. The characters are brought to life as they each take a seeming crossroads as they enter a portal of time. As they make choices different from those before, you gain a deeper understanding of who they are and their strengths as well as their potential failures. As they pass the crossroads they do not remember the life behind them, until it is time to choose. For a short period of time both lives intersect, but once the choice is made memory fades.
Watching the interaction and choices that each character reestablishes invokes a strange feeling of inevitability. You wait with bated breath as the final decision is made. Which direction do they turn? It is very dreamlike and sequential, strangely vivid and yet like watching the interaction through water. The flow is interesting and yet each decision will affect someone differently and change lives in a way that is uncomfortable.
The descriptions and visuals add a depth to the story. The interactions of the characters in the here and now, offer a glimpse of lives that could have been different. The chance to remake their choices is one we often wonder about, would we make the same decisions if given a chance to do it all over again? How will this group of friends react to the chance of a do over?
I would recommend this book for those who enjoy though provoking dialogue. It would make a great read for a reading group of book club. There is insight and reflection with a dose of inspiration in this work that keeps you thinking.
This book was received as a free copy from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.
December 26, 2011
The premise seems simple and even a bit predictable. It's the 21st of December 2012: the world may be ending. And, at that alleged end of the world, five friends from university meet at the Spanish Gardens, a cafe famed for their Irish coffees and general congeniality. Some of them haven't seen each other in years, but, here are they are, obstensibly to celebrate the 21st birthday of one couple's daughter -- and to wait out the end of the world.
The fantasy element enters when each one leaves the table to for the toilets -- only to find that whilst one is signposted 'out of order', Ariel, the cafe's host, assures them that it actually is fine -- but gives them clear instructions before entering. You see, it's not just any loo they're walking into; they're actually entering alternative lives, the lives they might/could have had. Each one will have to decide to remain in that life or to return to their table at the Spanish Gardens and continue their lives as they knew them.
Now, the above is what might seem predictable, perhaps a wee bit Charles deLintian (yes, CdL, I've coined an adjective in your honour). However, what makes the novel original and entirely non-derivative is Alexander's prose: her description and characterisation. I found myself at home at the Spanish Gardens immediately, and I found myself at home with the five friends as well. It was easy to identify with them, thinking back to groups of friends I've managed to maintain over the years, people with whom I shared my soul years ago and still think of, but I've not seen them in person for years due to various circumstances. And the Spanish Gardens itself seemed a composite of so many places, some of which are long closed, where we would meet and linger for hours. And, like Olivia, who starts the book, I often find myself composing description in type as I walk, thinking about what I might write as I witness my world.
As for the characters, well, I feared they might be fairly stock and not at all well rounded, but Alexander surprised me. I found myself so intrigued by them that I had a difficult time putting down the book late at night, and I wanted to return to it the next day. Alexander has one twist, in particular, that surprised even cynical me, which makes me rate her writing highly.
Four or five stars? Initially, I was going to go with four; however, the more I think about it, the more I really did enjoy this book and how it allowed me to escape my mundane life for a bit. Five stars it is.
The fantasy element enters when each one leaves the table to for the toilets -- only to find that whilst one is signposted 'out of order', Ariel, the cafe's host, assures them that it actually is fine -- but gives them clear instructions before entering. You see, it's not just any loo they're walking into; they're actually entering alternative lives, the lives they might/could have had. Each one will have to decide to remain in that life or to return to their table at the Spanish Gardens and continue their lives as they knew them.
Now, the above is what might seem predictable, perhaps a wee bit Charles deLintian (yes, CdL, I've coined an adjective in your honour). However, what makes the novel original and entirely non-derivative is Alexander's prose: her description and characterisation. I found myself at home at the Spanish Gardens immediately, and I found myself at home with the five friends as well. It was easy to identify with them, thinking back to groups of friends I've managed to maintain over the years, people with whom I shared my soul years ago and still think of, but I've not seen them in person for years due to various circumstances. And the Spanish Gardens itself seemed a composite of so many places, some of which are long closed, where we would meet and linger for hours. And, like Olivia, who starts the book, I often find myself composing description in type as I walk, thinking about what I might write as I witness my world.
As for the characters, well, I feared they might be fairly stock and not at all well rounded, but Alexander surprised me. I found myself so intrigued by them that I had a difficult time putting down the book late at night, and I wanted to return to it the next day. Alexander has one twist, in particular, that surprised even cynical me, which makes me rate her writing highly.
Four or five stars? Initially, I was going to go with four; however, the more I think about it, the more I really did enjoy this book and how it allowed me to escape my mundane life for a bit. Five stars it is.
Read
April 24, 2013This book has a great premise and the writing (as is all of Alma Alexander's writing) was superb, however, I often had trouble telling what was different about each character's life in the alternate timeline/life - I have no idea what was different for Simon, I only had a vague sense of what was different for John, and I only knew what was different for Olivia because the narrative flat out told me. Ellen's difference was obvious (gender change) but her story felt completely glossed over, as did Olivia's (these two characters didn't really live their alternate lives, but simply remembered them and discussed the memories with Ariel/The Messenger). Quincey's story was the most in-depth and the change the most obvious to me; perhaps that is why I was completely sucked into Quincey's story - the whole book could have just been about Quincey and her two lives and her choice and that would have been a five star story for me. Unfortunately, I don't know why Quincey chose the way she did; I really thought she was going to go the other way and was baffled by her choice. Overall, an intriguing book and an interesting study in the choices we make, but I didn't feel that it went as deep into the material as it could have - I wish the four other character's stories could have had the same depth as Quincey's.
November 24, 2012
Five friends meet at their favorite college hangout 21 years later to compare notes and catch up. Although the Spanish Gardens hasn't changed, their lives certainly have and whether they are happy with their place in the world becomes the subject of the evening, not only in their conversation but also in their choices.
“Choose wisely.” Those are the words that send each person in this group of friends through the door to another life. At some point, they will remember everything and must choose which life they want to continue to live, leaving the other life behind forever. Will they choose to return to their current life or remain with their new life? Which is the wise choice?
These characters are richly drawn. I became totally enchanted with their individual stories. Possibilities for a second life, a different life, abound. Which one would they pick? I had to keep reading to find out.
All throughout their lives, their stories, their choices stood the mysterious Ariel, unobtrusively pushing them through the door.
In addition there lies the mystery of the night. Did the Mayans know something? Was this the end of the world? Would there be a tomorrow?
This is a wonderful reading experience, one that I highly recommend.
I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Now that I've discovered this author, I'll be purchasing more of her books.
“Choose wisely.” Those are the words that send each person in this group of friends through the door to another life. At some point, they will remember everything and must choose which life they want to continue to live, leaving the other life behind forever. Will they choose to return to their current life or remain with their new life? Which is the wise choice?
These characters are richly drawn. I became totally enchanted with their individual stories. Possibilities for a second life, a different life, abound. Which one would they pick? I had to keep reading to find out.
All throughout their lives, their stories, their choices stood the mysterious Ariel, unobtrusively pushing them through the door.
In addition there lies the mystery of the night. Did the Mayans know something? Was this the end of the world? Would there be a tomorrow?
This is a wonderful reading experience, one that I highly recommend.
I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Now that I've discovered this author, I'll be purchasing more of her books.
February 22, 2013
When I first started this novel I thought it might not be for me. It has a literary bent which I am not used to reading, but I am glad I persisted. Thankfully the world didn't end on Dec 20th 2012 but the premise opens with that idea and takes a group of friends who haven't met for years. One by one these friends are taken through a door, and through this door they are given the opportunity to live their lives over, to some degree.
I very much like the idea of what if we could go back, what would we change? But it also shows how wrong we can be about people and the presumptions we make, even when we think we know them. Years later, sitting around a table drinking Irish coffees, you discover who these people really are and what drove them to be who they are.
That fascination with others' lives is very compelling and I was hooked by the first candidate, Simon. But the added mystery of Ariel, who is the usher-through-the-door only completes the cycle. He gives each person the opportunity to change and the fascination is with whether or not they will.
Written in seamless style, Alma Alexander is definitely an author I would read more of.
I very much like the idea of what if we could go back, what would we change? But it also shows how wrong we can be about people and the presumptions we make, even when we think we know them. Years later, sitting around a table drinking Irish coffees, you discover who these people really are and what drove them to be who they are.
That fascination with others' lives is very compelling and I was hooked by the first candidate, Simon. But the added mystery of Ariel, who is the usher-through-the-door only completes the cycle. He gives each person the opportunity to change and the fascination is with whether or not they will.
Written in seamless style, Alma Alexander is definitely an author I would read more of.
March 15, 2012
2012:Midnight at Spanish Gardens
by: Alma Alexander
I won this book from a Goodreads/First Reads giveaway
This is a fantasy type book. What if you could alter time? Go back and make different choices? What if... On the eve of 12/21/2012, 5 friends have to make these decissions within seconds. These decissions will effect weather they have different spouses, kids, careers...etc. It will effect their whole lives. Will they go back in time to some alternate life or return to their current life and times?
This book really makes you think about what you might do in this situation. What would you do, live in this world or an alternate one. It's a very intriguing question. All those things that you normally feel are unimportant are suddenly right up front to think about. Who would you hurt or who wouldn't you ever meet. I found this book hooked me from the beginning. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.
by: Alma Alexander
I won this book from a Goodreads/First Reads giveaway
This is a fantasy type book. What if you could alter time? Go back and make different choices? What if... On the eve of 12/21/2012, 5 friends have to make these decissions within seconds. These decissions will effect weather they have different spouses, kids, careers...etc. It will effect their whole lives. Will they go back in time to some alternate life or return to their current life and times?
This book really makes you think about what you might do in this situation. What would you do, live in this world or an alternate one. It's a very intriguing question. All those things that you normally feel are unimportant are suddenly right up front to think about. Who would you hurt or who wouldn't you ever meet. I found this book hooked me from the beginning. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.
August 4, 2012
I received this book free from the Uncustomary Book Giveaway for the month of July.
I enjoyed this book very much. Honestly, this is probably not something that I would have picked up had I not won the giveaway, but I'm very glad I did.
The story follows 5 friends on a night when each of them is given a choice to lead a different life or remain with the life they have. It showed them how different choices might affect the outcome with unexpected results. I felt like it challenged the reader to assess their own life and while we might not have the chance to get a complete 'do over' we can take charge and make more thoughtful choices now. Remaining stuck in the same day-to-day grind is also a choice.
Again, probably not a book I'd have chosen, but I also liked the writing style enough that I'll probably seek out something else by this author.
I enjoyed this book very much. Honestly, this is probably not something that I would have picked up had I not won the giveaway, but I'm very glad I did.
The story follows 5 friends on a night when each of them is given a choice to lead a different life or remain with the life they have. It showed them how different choices might affect the outcome with unexpected results. I felt like it challenged the reader to assess their own life and while we might not have the chance to get a complete 'do over' we can take charge and make more thoughtful choices now. Remaining stuck in the same day-to-day grind is also a choice.
Again, probably not a book I'd have chosen, but I also liked the writing style enough that I'll probably seek out something else by this author.
January 16, 2012
A very interesting and moody book. It took a while to get into the story, but once I was there I couldn't put the book down easily.
July 26, 2014
Fantastic. Alma Alexander wrote a superb book with memorable characters.
June 23, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this literary piece and had the pleasure of working on it with Crossroads Press. A must read!
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