The Other Side of Midnight

I love Sidney Sheldon (RIP). His books are good for anyone. It's not overly graphic in violence or sexual content. I read it in high school and was nothing to shy away from and I don't like overly graphic violent or sexual content. This kept you engaged all the way through.

Sidney Sheldon is my favorite author. I wish he's still around writing. I had to read all over again some of his books I read over twelve years ago. I'll be ready to read them again in another ten years.

This book is pretty sleazy. If you like that stuff, you may love it. It wasn't for me but what I did read is written very well. It is obvious that this author writes in an engaging manner. I guess this author is known for this type of content; I wish I would have realized that. I should have read more reviews. If racy doesn't bother you, it is probably really good.

Watching "The Night Of," I heard Omar (not really Omar, but if you watch this mini-series, you know who I'm talking about) lift a passage from this book to describe the justice system, and then recommend this book to his new jailmate. So, being impressionable, I went out and got the book and read it. It kind of makes me think of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but on a grander scale. If you're squeamish about sex scenes, don't worry - the worst is in the earlier parts, and help to flesh out (ha!) the main characters. After a while, the sex scenes become subsidiary, since we already know how they go. I can't see how they could make this into a movie (they did, but I haven't seen it), since film is so external, and this story depends largely on internal monologues. Also, I wasn't impressed with the casting, so I don't think I will see it. Anyhow, this is the kind of story that is like watching a train wreck - you can't look away until all the pieces have stopped flying. I think you will be satisfied with the ending, although the satisfaction may be more like what you feel after eating that quart of Haagen Dasz chocolate at one sitting.

The story is about Noelle and Catherine, two women in different parts of the world who happen to be in love with the same man and neither of them know it.... at least not yet! Noelle, a French girl, passionately falls in love with a soldier named Larry Douglas who is stationed in France. Noelle and Douglas passionately fall in love and decide to get married on his return from duty. They set a date and a special place to meet to get married but the soldier doesn't show up. Noelle, waits and waits and waits....feeling abandoned, and pregnant, Noelle realizes she's been jilted and plans her gruesome vengance. In the meantime, on the other side of the world, Catherine, an American girl who is somewhat naive, is engaged to marry a soldier, Larry Douglas - yes, the same man Noelle is in love with. Just when you think the story can't get any better, the story REALLY starts grabbing your attention. Every other chapter is about Noelle and Catherine and Sidney Sheldon masterfully intertwines the two characters love interests in such a way that keeps the reader wanting to know how the vengance of Noelle is going to come to fruition. It is not a surprise there was a sequel novel written ("Memories of Midnight"). I read "The Other Side of Midnight" over 30 years ago (published by Warner Books) and it is STILL my most favorite novel of all time. This was the first book I ever read by Sidney Sheldon and it was this book that convinced me to read all his other novels. "The Other Side Of Midnight" was made into a movie and I was pleased to see the producers followed the storyline to the letter with the exception of the color of Noelle's and Catherine's hair - which was more to my imagination. I also recommend reading "Master of the Game". It's another one of Sheldon's masterpieces.

This is definitely a Sidney Sheldon masterpiece. I got so totally hooked by this story that I had to go buy the DVD and can't wait to watch the movie. Sheldon takes us through the time span of 1919 to 1947 and the lives of two women, Noelle Page and Catherine Alexander. We recognize how their characters were formed as children and the subsequent actions and reactions of their life experiences resulting in the amazing tale of money, power, intelligence and revenge. The focal point of their lives is summed up in the character of Larry Douglas, American WWII pilot, honored for his heroic efforts in the war. Prior to the War, he met Noelle and she fell head over heals in love with him. He promised to marry her, encouraged her to go buy a wedding gown and then never returned, initiating in Noelle, a lifelong desire of revenge. Larry moves on to become a hero as a fighter pilot, attaining the status of Captain and loving and leaving practically every woman he makes contact with. He meets Catherine Alexander in Hollywood, posing as an actor in an Army recruiting film. So enthralled by his charm, Catherine ends up marrying him very quickly. She is lured by his man-of-the world charisma and Larry uses her naiveté as the tool of conquest to take Catherine away from Bill Fraser, the man she is seriously involved with and a true friend to her as well. Larry has always enjoyed the hunt more than the kill and Catherine, in this case, became the "hunt." Once the war is over, Larry is bored with his wife and his many routine piloting jobs which he cannot hold onto mainly because he can't deal with taking orders and following rules. Noelle has been following his every move through a private detective agency over the course of seven years, and decides this lull in Larry's career is the perfect time to seek her revenge. Sheldon is an amazing author taking the reader to France to tell Noelle's story, and then Chicago, Washington and Hollywood for Catherine's. Their lives merge in Athens, Greece where they all become connected to the Aristotle Onassis of the tale, Constantin Demiris. The climax and conclusion of this story takes so many twists and turns and of course hits the reader hard with the finale. I am on my way to order the sequel, "Memories of Midnight." My cousin read this book 30 years ago and remembered what a masterpiece it is to this day; she recommended it to me. The fact that a story can stick with a person for so long, explains the greatness of its content and the magnitude of its author.