CHICAGO, SOMETIME―
Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not a story about endings.
For Regan, people are predictable and tedious, including and perhaps especially herself. She copes with the dreariness of existence by living impulsively, imagining a new, alternate timeline being created in the wake of every rash decision.
To Aldo, the world feels disturbingly chaotic. He gets through his days by erecting a wall of routine: a backbeat of rules and formulas that keep him going. Without them, the entire framework of his existence would collapse.
For Regan and Aldo, life has been a matter of resigning themselves to the blueprints of inevitability―until the two meet. Could six conversations with a stranger be the variable that shakes up the entire simulation?
Thoughts …
My understanding of love and hexagons are forever changed.
Olivie Blake’s “Alone with You in the Ether” was an emotional roller coaster that had my heart breaking but breaking in a good way. I mean, would I put myself through it again? Yes.
Charlotte Regan is one of the most beautiful characters you’ll read about (she would hate to be called “beautiful”). She is an artist (though she wouldn’t call herself that) with a diagnosed bipolar disorder. My heart breaks for the way she thinks during her lows but yet she manages to see the world in a way no one else does, except Aldo. I would argue that she’s a strong-willed character and is truly representative of those struggling with compulsiveness. Regan has her flaws but the more you get to know the true depth of her character, your understanding of mental health and love becomes more infinite.
Rinaldo “Aldo” Damiani is a theoretical mathematician with horrible ratings on ratemyproffesor. I honestly loved his character from the beginning even if I didn’t understand half the things he was saying. I now know more about bees and time travel than I did last week. I felt that his way of thinking was surreal to read about. I have met people like Aldo and never really thought of them as “weird” but I did know they think about things differently. Even in his most logical monologues, I loved the way he thinks. Like Regan, he has his flaws tied to his past. He has more emotion than you might believe if you give his character the chance.
eNJOYABILITY:
The two of them colliding starts a timeline in which neither of them expects. I was hooked the minute they met. At first, I didn’t see how they could possibly find something in common let alone fall in love. An unlikely pair for sure but they were giving me butterflies and tension in every conversation.
Their ways of thinking were so opposite of each other yet also the same? Each of them made me rethink and see things in a new light. Leaning to love while being bipolar won’t be easy but it also won’t be impossible. Love can be uncontrollable and that’s okay.
Ease of reading:
You HAVE to get through the first 30 pages.
Confession (one i regret): I have had this book for almost three years and just now finished it. I picked it up twice, read a few pages, then put it back on my shelf because I just couldn’t get into it.
My latest attempt was two days ago and suddenly, I was staying up all night to finish (i fell asleep around 1 a.m.)
Honestly, it was hard at the beginning because what the fuck? I thought this book was a love story not a textbook on the parameters of time travel. But if you struggled like I did, get to the part where they meet and you will be flying through the pages.
It is worth it, I promise. (there is an alternate universe where i picked up the book and finished it on the first try)
In Short …
“Alone with You in the Ether” is a beautifully devastating account of two broken people falling in love. Regan will give you a glimpse of life as a diagnosed bipolar. In doing so, she’ll break your heart and you’ll probably thank her for it. Aldo’s attempts to understand that the complexities of love might just be more complex than time travel.
My appreciation for love and patience has grown thanks to these two. I would recommend this book to those wanting an emotional but enlightening read about two lovers in the ether.