The Other Valley

　　喜愛《雲圖》大衛‧米契爾、《時光的彼岸》尾關露絲、《別讓我走》石黑一雄作品的讀者，不可錯過的推想小說
 
　　有個與世隔絕的小鎮坐落在一個時間軸上，左右兩側相鄰的分別是20年前、和20年後的同一個小鎮。想要來趟時光之旅，只要踏入隔壁小鎮便能如願，但是鎮與鎮之間的邊界受到嚴密防護，居民必須有重大理由才能獲准拜訪。通常，思念已逝親人的哀痛家屬會申請跨越邊界，回到過去一睹親人在世時的模樣。
 
　　16歲的亞黛爾努力爭取著進入理事會的席次，因為這代表她將能決定哪些人有機會穿越在小鎮之間。然而這天，亞黛爾意外看見她本不該目睹的訪客：好友艾德米的父母。原來他們從未來被護送到現代來探視兒子，這也就意味著20年後，艾德米已不在人世。
 
　　才華洋溢又風趣的艾德米是亞黛爾的唯一好友，為了維護時空的平衡，她必須死守這個秘密，同時她也因此成為最有機會獲選加入理事會的人選。但是，亞黛爾發現自己愛上了艾德米，這個來日無多的男孩是否會讓她的未來徹底翻盤？命運和自由意志之間的碰撞，帶來的究竟是希望還是心碎？(文／博客來外文館)

　　For fans of David Mitchell, Ruth Ozeki, and Kazuo Ishiguro, an elegant and exhilarating literary speculative novel about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves.

　　Sixteen-year-old Odile is an awkward, quiet girl vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. On the other side, it’s the same valley, the same town. Except to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The towns repeat in an endless sequence across the wilderness.

　　When Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, she realizes that the parents of her friend Edme have been escorted across the border from the future, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present.
Edme--who is brilliant, funny, and the only person to truly see Odile--is about to die. Sworn to secrecy in order to preserve the timeline, Odile now becomes the Conseil’s top candidate. Yet she finds herself drawing closer to the doomed boy, imperiling her entire future.

　　A breathlessly moving ＂unique take on the intersection of fate and free will＂ (Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure), The Other Valley is ＂a stellar debut, full of heartbreak and hope wrapped up in gorgeous prose＂ (Christina Dalcher, author of Vox).