“A Novel by Cynthia Swanson”
The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

This book, which I have just read and enjoyed, has certain similarities to my own novel, “Switched”. Whereas “The Bookseller” is a touchy feely story more appreciated by a female readership, I suspect, “Switched” is more action-packed and would, I believe, be more appreciated by a male readership.
While the theme of “The Bookseller” has one person moving between two different dream states where she lives out two different lives as the same person separated in time only by a month or so, the main protagonist in “Switched”, in his two different  though very similar realities, is transposed permanently into each of those other realities following a freak accident.
In “The Bookseller”, Katharyn/Kitty is the mother of three small children in one of her dream states and a spinster bookseller in the other dream state. The story explores the lives, frustrations and feelings of each woman in their own realities before the issue is finally resolved.
In “Switched,” Zachary/Zak live very dissimilar lives in their home dimensions. Zachary is a successful businessman with a wife and thriving family of two while Zak is a shiftless character on the run from the police, who want to interrogate him about a murder, and from his bookmaker to whom he owes a large gambling debt. The only redeeming feature in Zak’s chaotic life is Jeannie, his wonderful wife. After swapping lives, Zachary and Zak have to make the best of what they have inherited. The result is a humorous, fast paced, exciting read.
Compared with “Switched”, “The Bookseller” is a slow thoughtful read. “The Bookseller” owes much to a psychological disturbance and a desire to be somewhere else, whereas the idea behind “Switched” might well be occurring on a daily basis although we are usually unaware of what is happening to us and to everyone else. It is only when an extremely rare transposition occurs into a dimension that is many months or even years separated from our current one that rather startling changes become apparent. This is the theme behind “Switched”.

I recommend both to any readers of this site.

Bernard Gallivan

September 2020