Beyond Reality discussion

Are you planning on reading The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard? Let us know here! No spoilers please.

I listened to the free 5-minute sample on Audible and found the narrator’s raspy voice a bit sleep-inducing. Since I have the hardcover edition, I think I'll stick with that for now.

Hopefully my library hold will be in by mid-month!

Forrest wrote: "I listened to the free 5-minute sample on Audible and found the narrator’s raspy voice a bit sleep-inducing. Since I have the hardcover edition, I think I'll stick with that for now."

I had to check to see who it was, and yeah, Cindy Kay's not to everyone's taste. I don't mind her voice if she talks a normal register, but she drives me batty with her tendency to drop into a whisper-voice for no apparent reason.

I read this last week when my loan came in early. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of it.

It's on my nightstand!

Shel wrote: "I read this last week when my loan came in early. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of it."

I have this one so I’ll try to fit it in if you have it 5 stars, Shel!

I’ve started; I like the writing very much.

Just a question, not a criticism, but why the use of French names and the scattering of French words? I don’t know where that is coming from since the author is from Vancouver, Canada (not at all a French area per se) and I don’t think the Valley is anywhere specifically? Soooo…is there a reason or is it just a stylistic writing choice?

I found an interview that answers your question.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapt...

Reading about the world of The Other Valley, I was reminded of the Okanagan region in B.C. You have a little sprinkling of Italian and Spanish, but I connected with all the French, from Odile's name to the Conseil to her friends and family. Why did you decide on that mix of names and identifiers?

Well, first of all, you nailed it with the Okanagan. I'm from the southern interior and there's a few whimsical reasons why the French first started to sort of pop up in the drafts. And then there's sort of the more functional reasons why it stuck around.

When you're just starting to write something, you kind of throw things in and see if they stick. And so there were a couple of reasons for that. One, as part of my day job, I was editing a book about the cartography of Paris and there were a lot of French place names.

I got Edme's name from that book, for example. I was reading some novels by Patrick Modiano at the time, too. So there's a lot of French names floating around in my brain. Two, they felt appropriate because the southern Okanagan is a weird landscape in Canada, like barren mountains above a lush ecosystem going on. I thought these names fit this landscape too.

It suited the world building I was doing in the book, because I didn't want to go so far as to have sci-fi fantasy names that are based on fictional languages. I wanted the world to feel a little bit more familiar than that.

But I also didn't want to just have characters named Scott, for example. I wanted to hover between the familiar and the unfamiliar. And so for most of the readers of this book, Anglo readers anyway, I felt like the foreign language, the foreign names, suited that, that they achieved that same familiar, unfamiliar balance.

Ok fair enough; I get that. I would be more generally convinced of the uniformity of influence if he had used metric instead of imperial measurements as well. I know that sound like such a small thing but as a Canadian reader it’s something that always stands out for me. You sometimes see the same lack of uniformity of influence by American writers setting a story in England, or I recently experienced the reverse problem with an English writer who set her story in the US (The Gathering by C.J. Tudor).It’s probably not something that everyone would notice.

Actually the choice to use the French names to give an otherwise Anglo setting an unfamiliar feel was also used by another Canadian writer in a book called The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett. This one actually reminds of that in the feel it is trying to create, although the stories are different.

As far as what he’s saying about names I’m also remembering George R.R. Martin saying something similar about wanting different yet familiar names in ASOIAF. He said for example Eddard came from just changing one letter in Edward, and that was one of his techniques. He also said he relies on baby name books 😂

I can totally appreciate the challenge of coming up with names though…

Justine wrote: "Ok fair enough; I get that. I would be more generally convinced of the uniformity of influence if he had used metric instead of imperial measurements as well. I know that sound like such a small th..."

That reminds me of the new TV show Murder in a Small Town, it is based on a Canadian book and filmed in a Canadian town but in the show they made it a fictional US town with a Chief of Police, instead of the RCMP, and it is really jarring.

Ugh, yes, that kind of thing is super jarring if you are familiar with the place or the source material…made even more so by extras with Canadian accents extras lol 😂

I’m sorry this book didn’t make the Canada Reads shortlist because that would have been interesting…

I wasn't going to read this, but now I'm thinking maybe I should give it a try. See what I think of the French and the measurements, and if it really understands grief. Now that I've read his interview and know where his ideas came from.
Also, I do love CanLit. :)

I really like it. It’s deceptively simple but complex and relatable with respect to emotions and the weight of circumstances. I’m with you on CanLit; there’s a lot of good SFF by Canadians (I have a Canadian Content shelf for that 😂🇨🇦).

There is a lot of good CanLit in general. I have quite a large shelf myself. I don't have a lot of SFF on it though, more classic literary reads.

Two favourites off the top of my head are Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson and Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. There are lots of others I like too though…

Read both of those, I love Eden Robinson. The second book was actually my favourite in that series. I really like stuff that is set in Vancouver.

Didn't personally love Waubgeshig Rice, liked the idea, but wasn't a favourite.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, & Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots are some of my favourites.

Sea of Tranquillity and Hench are favourites of mine! I don’t think I knew Evan Winter is Canadian? That one wasn’t my favourite but still very good…

Oh both Rice’s moon books weee 5 star reads for me. I listened to them and I think hearing the different cadences and good pronunciation really put the book in another realm of good. Highly recommend listening

That was Billy Merasty narrating of I recall correctly? I agree he did an excellent job on that and especially so if you are familiar with accents from that area (which probably a lot of readers aren’t if you don’t live in Canada!)

Absolutely agree on the narration, it was fantastic.

Justine wrote: "Sea of Tranquillity and Hench are favourites of mine! I don’t think I knew Evan Winter is Canadian? That one wasn’t my favourite but still very good…"

It doesn't seem to be obvious on any of his bio's but CBC thinks he's Canadian........ah, he currently lives in Ontario.

Okay, I picked up the ebook from the library and started today. This discussion made me think I should try it out. I'm only at Chapter 5 but I like it so far.

Oh good to hear :)