Love on the Way to Area 51

I started reading Love on the Way to Area 51 and realized that it was several short stories. The book itself was not very long and as I was reading, I was wondering how the author would tie all of the stories together. It did not take long for me to figure out how the stories were linked and the author clarifies any questions the reader may have by the end of the book.

The first story is about a man named Samuel who is a psychiatrist. He has a patient named Masha who has very bad dreams. Through hypnosis, he is able to help her by interpreting her dreams. Another woman appears and he becomes obsessed with her. Her name is Zlata and she is beautiful with long black hair and big eyes. Samuel then gets invited to Area 51 which is notorious for its paranormal activity. He meets a rather odd policeman on the way who seems to be giving Samuel some sort of cryptic message about the oddities of Area 51. These characters set the tone of the story as we move on to different countries and into different decades.

Even though the book was short, it was able to convey an important life message. I appreciated the fact that the stories were straight and to the point. One story takes place in 1960 with a man named Jack and his wife named Sylvia. Another takes place in 1941 in Kiev to Yakov and Hannah. And yet another story takes place all the way back in 1634 to a man named Ugo and his wife Paula who live in Madrid. I was really glad that the story then circled back to Samuel and Zlata in Area 51.

Leonid Alt does a wonderful job of explaining reincarnation in the simplest way possible. His vivid scenes with the characters allow the reader to picture the story easily. One thing that I would say would be nice would be to have an editor go over the book a little more carefully. The book reads a bit like a translation, especially where the dialog is concerned. For example, in one part, Yakov’s mother is speaking to him. His mother says, “And my daughter, she has one more year of school left.” instead of “Your sister has one more year of school left.”. There are also several awkwardly worded sentences in the book. Overall, the story and characters in Love on the Way to Area 51 tell a wonderful life lesson that many will enjoy.