The Other Side of Midnight (ISBN 1597770108)

Wow!:
Excellent, excellent book. This came out when I still a kid, but I remember mom and aunts discussing it. Nearly thirty years later, I finally had a chance to read it, and it really stands the test of time. Right from the get-go it sucks you in with an interesting cast of characters flying into Greece for a trial of a famous actress. Turns out she's the "whore," and the otherside of midnight for her is, Catherine, the "virgin." How these two end up in each other's lives and what they do to each other...well that's to read and find out. The ending is a zinger as well. Truly there is nothing bad about this about this book. It's a bit "larger-than-life", but that's just what makes it so fun.

Totally Captivating:
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.

Reads like a tv soap opera:
What can one say about authors like Sidney Sheldon, Harold Robbins and the like? Their novels, while difficult to classify in a specific genre, would make fantastic made-for-tv movies. The Other Side of Midnight is no exception. The story of Noelle Page, a humble fisherman's daughter who became one of the most famous, powerful women in the world. A short affair with Larry Douglas leaves her pregnant and desperately in love, waiting for him to return to marry her. Larry, however, has completely forgotten his promise and moved on. Noelle vows then and there to spend the rest of her life seeking revenge against Larry. This long, sometimes confusing story entwines the lives of Noelle, Larry, and his wife Catherine. The opening scene reveals that Noelle and Larry are on trial for Catherine's murder.... the rest of the book deals with how they got there, starting with Noelle's childhood. It's a gripping read, definitely difficult to put down for more than a few minutes. The worst part, I think, is never being entirely sure who to feel sorry for. None of the characters are entirely evil or without some redeeming qualities, except maybe Larry. Ironically, this was made into a movie by 20th Century Fox. They expected it to be a hit, while Star Wars (made and released at the same time) was expected to be a dud, so they marketed the films as a package deal (theatres that wanted to book The Other Side of Midnight had to contract to book Star Wars first). Well.... it sort of backfired. Star Wars, as everyone knows, took off like a shot, and The Other Side of Midnight floundered and has long been lost to obscurity. The book was definitely much more poignant than the film. I'd recommend it highly as a distraction-read, but literature it ain't.

Again and again and again!:
I don't why they bother giving the Nobel Prize for literature to the bleak plays of Harold Pinter (2005) or the dreary novels of Kanzaburo Oe (1994), when we've had such a great writer as Sidney Sheldon around for the past four or five decades. This is one writer who deserved the ultimate prize, although now it is - alas - too late. "The Other Side of Midnight" is perhaps his masterpiece. It is the story of Noelle, a naive young French girl who falls for a handsome American aviator during World War II. But when the war ends, Noelle waits in vain for her handsome flyer to return. Alone and abandoned, the young lady finds that she has to make her way by selling her body. She quickly discovers that she can make her sex appeal pay off and sleeps her way into movie stardom. All this time she keeps tabs on her aviator, who has returned to the US and started a family. Several years later, when he loses his job, Noelle, now wife of a Greek millionaire, arranges to hire her former lover as her private pilot. Not recognizing his wealthy boss as the fragile young mistress he knew during the war, he is bewildered by Noelle's cruel treatment of him. This game of deception leads them both into very deadly territory. A great book makes you want to read it. At the end of the day, that's the only prize worth struggling for: the prize of being read again and again and, in Sydney Sheldon's case, again and again and again and again...

Great book!:
This is my first Sidney Sheldon book. It was great! I want to read the sequel. Great plot, twists and turns.