Illusion of Time by Omar Hamoud; Strange Beautiful Philosophical Literary Fiction Novel

 Illusion of Time by Omar Hamoud; Strange Beautiful Philosophical Literary Fiction Novel 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Illusion of Time by Omar Hamoud is a beautiful transformative philosophical novel that touches on various subjects like time, memory, death, fatalism, destiny, spirituality, and whether we are truly in charge of our lives or a part of someone else's design.

The book covers two lives who are connected on the same day in 1967. As restaurateur William Van Dyck dies of natural causes in Charlotte, North Carolina, Andrian Davis is born in New York City. Throughout the book, we are treated to the lives of both men and they seem to be linked. It's never stated why specifically but they seem to share minds, souls, memories, and experiences.

My copy of the book has no transition between William and Andrian's stories. No long white space, no separation of paragraphs, no subheads. Nothing that separates one story from another. Just jumps from Andrian to William and back again.

Now that could be a mistake in formatting or just found in the Advanced Review Copy but it could be intentional. It might be a way of forcing the reader to pay attention to the transitions through time and William and Andrian’s individual accounts. It tells us that even though they have different experiences and separate beliefs and perspectives, they are essentially the same soul living the same story. Each man is just taking half of it.

This is a book that captures both the real and the abstract. Ordinary lives intersect with esoteric discussions about what connections might mean in the deuteragonist’s lives, what their lives mean, or what anyone's life means for that matter.

Mostly these facets are found in William and Andrian who represent the split between the physical and the metaphysical, the material and the spirit, the body and the mind, what we can see and experience with our five senses, and what we think and believe with our extra senses. William represents one side and Andrian represents the other.

William’s life from his birth in 1893 Belgium to his death is one of poverty, abandonment, and desperate financial need.His mother abandoned him and his father lost himself to alcohol and self pity. 

William was raised with a brother who resorted to theft to earn a living and a sister who was the closest thing to a mother figure that he ever had. This exposure to loss and poverty propelled him to pursue financial earthly gain at any cost.

Andrian was also shaped by his upbringing but to follow a different path. His parents were baffled by his genius intellect, vivid dreams, and questions about Biblical characters and teachings that challenged their Christian faith. He isn't isolated by circumstances around him but more by people who don't know what to do with this brilliant but baffling child. 

His primary source of encouragement is from his uncle who follows the boy's education and career development for his own personal avaricious interests. This exposure to intellectual curiosity and human weakness propels him to pursue scientific knowledge and clear answers at any cost.

Their chosen professional lives are also indicative of their life paths. William's work in farming, meat preparation, and the restaurant business are about keeping people fed, providing sustenance, and attending to people's basic needs. It's the type of professional life for someone whose focus is on the things of the physical world that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted.

 His work in physics and psychology are about studying the deep philosophical questions, providing knowledge and wisdom through learning and research, finding out why people live the lives that they did, what dreams and the higher consciousness are telling us. It's the type of professional life for someone whose focus is on the mental and spiritual worlds that can be learned, studied, thought, and believed.

Both men have circles of friends, lovers, siblings, and others who are drawn by their character. William’s wife and friends are drawn to his strength, determination, and earthiness. Andrian's friends and wife are drawn by his acceptance and intuitive intelligence. 

If they ever met, William would probably see a stuffy egghead that he wouldn't understand half the things that he was saying but would appreciate his understanding and the long interesting talks they would have. Andrian would probably see a blunt instrument who operates on emotion but would be touched by his devotion to those around him.

They don't meet in life or death nor do they know about each other but their lives connect in various ways. They share similar problems like conflicts with an older sibling and betrayal from an older mentor or parental figure. They marry similar women who are supportive but aren't afraid to disagree with or call them out. Deaths of loved ones cause them to spiral into Depression for a time. 

They also share much deeper connections that aren't shared in the mortal world but through the metaphysical. Andrian has dreams of various moments in William's life that could be past life regression or evidence of reincarnation. However, what muddies this interpretation is that William has flash forward dreams and thoughts of Andrian! 

Even though William was mostly a practical man of the physical world, higher curious thoughts entered his head. As Andrian experienced many similar earthly experiences of family, friends, and work William experienced some of Andrian's intellectual curiosity and academic research. His dreams of Andrian confuse him and he questions his life path and higher consciousness. 

Since William lacks the education and scholastic research, they are mostly stagnant thoughts pushed aside for reality. Towards the end of his life, William wonders if someone will have the answers. Little did he know but might have imagined that someone would be born on his death day.

There is an interesting theory that Andrian poses towards the end about what this connection means. In the book's universe anyway, it seems to be the right one but up to a point which sends the book spiraling to another direction. It pushes the book’s themes of interconnectivity and the split between mind and body to a higher level. 

Most of the book suggests that we are made by memories, dreams, time, social circles, choices, education, and experiences. This theory suggests that our paths are not made by us but by a greater design and higher power. It is disconcerting for this theme to be thrown in the last couple of chapters without time to dwell on it further into the novel. Though it is suggested that's why William and Andrian's lives are so parallel in some ways and so divided in others.

However, it is left open ended whether this theory is correct even within the narrative. Like many great philosophical novels, Illusion of Time invites the readers to inquire, discover their own views, provide their own answers, and ask questions about their own lives. We ask who made us the people that we are, some outside force or ourselves?