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The Man Who Turned Into Himself

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 390 ratings · 88 reviews

In the middle of an important meeting, businessman Rick Hamilton has a terrible premonition: His wife is about to die. Racing to save her, he finds her lifeless body in the road, her car crushed by a truck. The light dwindles from his eyes... and then she is alive again, begging for help, and Rick Hamilton no longer is himself, but another man with another life, and a diff...more

Paperback, 208 pages

Published July 15th 1995 by Picador (first published 1993)

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Jul 09, 2008 Picklevictory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Picklevictory by: Tortla

wow.
that was cool.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2013 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: recently-read

"Imagination is everything", David Ambrose writes in The Man Who Turned Into Himself, and it requires some imagination to tell a story about a man traveling between two realities: one where he is happily married with a son, and one where the same man is in an unfaithful marriage with no children. And in one horrifying moment, the wall between those two worlds cracks.

Such is the posit of the Many World theory, that pivotal events in one world create a new universe, identical to the original world...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Kiri rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a fictional exploration of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics in which the narrator discovers the ability to jump between different parallel (orthogonal?) worlds when under extreme duress. The book doesn't hit you over the head with this at the outset, but instead gradually works its way around to this explanation of some very strange events that happen -- and these keep you turning the pages. Interesting idea, but I couldn't bring myself to love the book because the wri...more

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Apr 24, 2011 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

The cover quotes for my edition of this book are from mainstream reviewers amazed, as is the blurb writer, that any novelist could be so fiendishly ingenious as to co-opt the many-worlds aspect of quantum theory to his theme. Nuff said about the abysmal mental horizons of those reviewers. Ambrose himself must, I guess, have squirmed.

Rick Hamilton is in a business meeting when he suddenly realizes his wife Anne is about to die in a horrific car accident. Fleeing to the spot, he is just not quite...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Jason Pym rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 15, 2010 El rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: late20th-centurylit

The Man Who Turned Into Himself turns quantum physics into an accessible medium (ie, fiction) like Sophie's World does for philosophy.

In other words... GAG.

I learned about the same amount of quantum physics by reading this book as I did by watching Quantum Leap, except with this book I didn't even get the delightful banter between Sam Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Instead I had Rick Hamilton who is confronted by a horrible experience and essentially "leaps" into another body. But... but... the leap...more

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Dec 21, 2008 Tori rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I have learned something about my taste in books. I really enjoy books that have memorable quotes, that I need to write down and refer to again. And - I really enjoy books about the possibility of time travel/parallel universes. I happened upon David Ambrose by mistake, when last summer I had planned on reading books from the library by authors of each letter of the alphabet. Naturally I started with "A" (and actually, that's as far as I got....). but - I discovered David Ambrose, and loved his...more

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Jul 01, 2007 Lisa Rau added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in a world where fiction, science, philosophy and even spirituality come together. Not only is the frame of a high-energy adventure thriller a great entertainment backdrop, but this is the layperson's guide to quantum physics, other dimensions and the endlessly fascinating "Many Worlds Theory" without the write-off "sci fi" label. Read this book! The ending(s) is (are) well worth your time.

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Oct 13, 2012 lucas711 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 7th-grade-shelf

The Man Who Turned Into Himself: A Novel By David Ambrose was very thrilling, so I suppose it accomplished everything a suspense psychodrama is meant to, but in the beginning it was too confusing, it was even bewildering at some points. Then, at the end, it became very explain-y-ish. What I mean by explain-y-ish, is that most of the end felt like it was just explaining how all the time travel and parallel universe stuff. So the beginning was too confusing and the end was written badly because i...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Blue Willow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A metà tra il thriller psicologico e il vero e proprio libro di fantascienza, “L'uomo che credeva di essere se stesso” ribalta più volte la prospettiva del protagonista insieme a quella del lettore, tenendo sempre alta la tensione lungo il corso del libro, giocando soprattutto su quelle che sono delle insicurezze molto diffuse sul filo sottile che può separare l'amore dall'inganno, la percezione di sé da una realtà assai differente.
Una lettura velocissima e molto originale che forse ha come picc...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Fede rated it 5 of 5 stars

Visionario,onirico e toccante.
La stoira di Richard (Rick) il quale improvvisamente si ritrova a cavallo tra due mondi paralleli,convivendo con un altro sé stesso la cui presenza nella sua perfetta vita é quantomai ingombrante e porta alla luce verità scomodissime.
Commuovente il cammino che intraprende con l'analista attraverso l'ipnosi,nell'intenso tentativo di ricomporre i frammenti della sua doppia identità,della sua doppia vita e ,se possibile,dare una spiegazione ai due universi paralleli ne...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Gardy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantascienza, urania

Non è che sia scarso il libro o la sua idea di base, ovvero il saltellare qua e là tra fantascienza e psichiatria, giocando con l'ambigua sanità mentale di un uomo che condivide due personalità e due memorie in un solo corpo.

Il problema è la scrittura di David Ambrose (o forse un effetto collaterale della traduzione, chissà). L'ho trovata monocorde, prolissa e assolutamente incapace di tenere celati i colpi di scena del romanzo fino a quando vengono davvero rivelati, creando un effetto "auto-sp...more

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May 13, 2009 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

It's surprising sometimes just what the popularization of certain scientific ideas can do. Certain concepts work their way into popular culture, despite the difficulty of math or science truly behind them. David Ambrose's The Man Who Turned Into Himself indicates that even theoretical physics can actually prolong the life of and perhaps even resurrect a book.[return][return]Originally published in London in 1993, The Man Who Turned Into Himself made its U.S. appearance in 1994. In fact, I still...more It's surprising sometimes just what the popularization of certain scientific ideas can do. Certain concepts work their way into popular culture, despite the difficulty of math or science truly behind them. David Ambrose's The Man Who Turned Into Himself indicates that even theoretical physics can actually prolong the life of and perhaps even resurrect a book.[return][return]Originally published in London in 1993, The Man Who Turned Into Himself made its U.S. appearance in 1994. In fact, I still have the first hardbound U.S. edition on my bookshelves. The book made it through a couple U.S. printings with different covers and imprints, occasionally ending up in the remainder stacks. The book reappeared in print in London about five years ago and now has returned to the U.S. in a trade paper edition with another new cover.[return][return]How does its reappearance have any thing to do with theoretical physics? Well, the plot is predicated on the "many worlds" or "parallel universes" theory that flows from quantum mechanics. When the book first appeared, the theory was receiving increasing attention in the scientific community. Over the last several years, the idea has found more mention in mainstream culture. Thus, not only are publishers dealing with an interesting novel, they're finding new audiences for it.[return][return]It's tough to go into too much detail about The Man Who Turned Into Himself without giving away core parts of the story. Rick Hamilton is a publisher of small trade magazines who barely avoids serious injury or death one morning in a spill from the roof of his house and a near-collision with a large truck driving to work. Then, he runs from a business meeting several hours later, overwhelmed by a premonition of the death of his wife. He arrives at the scene of a car accident and while his young son is alive, his wife dies before his eyes. A moment later he is Richard Hamilton, a real estate developer, who was just involved in an accident with a truck and whose wife is alive and well and insistent they never had a son.[return][return]This is the launching point and framework by which the reader -- and the main character -- examines which of these two lives is the "real" one. Has Hamilton somehow landed in a parallel universe, has he gone mad or are was he in shock and just hallucinating? Yet that is really only one of the thought experiments at work here. The more significant ones explore larger questions of selfhood and meaning. What makes us who we are? Is the meaning we search for merely a self-construct? How would our relationships with others change if a few elements of our life or theirs changed? It is, in essence, perhaps the most core philosophical questions: who am I and why am I here?[return][return]Ambrose doesn't rely solely on the many worlds theory as the vehicle for this exploration. There are plot twists and stylistic approaches aplenty. And perhaps an indication of his success of his story telling rests on one simple fact. Unlike most popular novels published 15 years ago, even in republication today The Man Who Turned Into Himself has a scientific framework that remains topical and, more important, still contemporary writing and ideas.(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Gary Gauthier rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a psychological thriller with a little science fiction. I enjoyed Ambrose's writing style and he's an excellent writer. He's very good at creating convincing scenes and the dialog is very natural. The plot moves along at an excellent pace. I don't recall a dull moment.

I really enjoyed the story up to the denouement. I thought the author could have done a better job with the ending.

The science fiction part has to with parallel universes and quantum theory. The question posed is whether t...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Teel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Before about halfway through, I was trying to decide whether it was a 2 or 3 star book; the writing is mostly bad, almost unreadably in some places, but I was hooked on the ideas. The characters are generally not likable, and at times I was bothered by what seems to be an unreliable narrator. The second half showed marked improvement, and I was surprised by how satisfied I was with Parts 2&3; the POV shift, at first confusing/distracting, becomes clearly required after the protagonist's (app...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Rachel added it

Uuuuuuuuuuuuughh.

Prose this bad should be a punishable offense. Corporeally punishable. No stars.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 12, 2008 Jason Wardell rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Science? In my fiction? It's more likely than you think.

After about fifty pages, I completely forgot that I'd been reading this book. Dude has a unique dilemma, he may or may not be insane, blah blah blah blah blah. After a few weeks, I picked it back up; I figured it's pretty short and unemployment lends itself quite well to reading books. Let me say, I'm very glad I saw it through. What worried me on the outset was that the entirety of the book would be attempting to get the character to realize his dilemma (the specifics of which I will not reveal...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Jedidiah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very good, very short novel about a man who is transported into a different version of himself in a parallel universe. I've read a lot of Many Worlds-inspired SF, and two things really stood out about this book. First, it was written in 1993, well before parallel universes were a popular topic, yet it doesn't feel out of date. Second, where most stories of this type end up being some sort of grand cosmic adventure story, The Man Who Turned Into Himself is instead a quiet, reflective meditation o...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Elisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Elisa by: Lucy.skrypnek

Shelves: contemporary, fiction, international, mental-health, other-world, philosophical, sci-fi, borrowed

The Man Who Turned Into Himself turned out to be a good, if unimaginable, read. The premise was fine, but it was extremely predictable. If you imagined that other universes paralleled our own and that someone had managed to bridge them, this story details exactly what you would expect to happen. On that note, I suppose it stayed true to Quantum Physics Many Worlds Theory it was demonstrating, but physics isn’t all that exciting for your average person and I’m afraid I fall into the average categ...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Sergio Donato rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: regali

Questo di David Ambrose è un libro-amico.
Un libro-amico è quello che quando lo lasci sul comodino dopo una lunga sessione di lettura vorresti riprenderlo subito, e che ti frulla in testa anche se ti stai tagliando le unghie dei piedi.
Non si può raccontare molto senza togliere tante sorprese, un po' come è successo a me leggendo le prime parole di un lettore anglofono su goodreads. Mi ha rovinato la lettura fino a circa pagina 70. Umpf!

Procurati questo libro anche se non ti piace la fantascienza,...more

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May 17, 2010 Patrick Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars

DON"T READ THE SECOND AND THIRD PART OF THE BOOK. They end up being a medical and psychological explanation of what was happening to the main character throughout he first part. Ruined it. Some things are better left unexplained.

The first part however is ridiculously incredible. Please read that. It really is one of the better story concepts I have come across in years. The writing is beautiful, the feelings are tragic true. It was a wonderful mind bending experience. Then the explanations came....more

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Jun 30, 2009 Jenny rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book could have been so much better...with hundreds more pages and more parallel universes and a more interesting writing style.

Unfortunately, the first half was boring and the second half was EXTREMELY rushed. The author had some good ideas but there was a major lack of suspense during what should have been exciting reveals. The characters were pretty flat and not established enough for the reader to care when something happens to them.

Wouldn't recommend it...but if you're into quantam the...more

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Jun 15, 2007 Tortla rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of donnie darko

Shelves: religiony, must-own, everybody-should-own, wishlist

Faultless.

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Jul 20, 2009 Simon Cleveland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ever since 'Superstition' I've been hooked on David, so to speak. Reason? Because "Superstition" defied even the conventional expectations for what some may call a `mind-boggling' novel. But this review is not about "Superstition". It's about David Ambrose's first novel 'The Man Who Turned Into Himself'. What can I say? For a first novel, the book is good (not exceptional). Having read some of his other works, I can almost see the progression of his writing and creative skills from good, to bett...more Ever since 'Superstition' I've been hooked on David, so to speak. Reason? Because "Superstition" defied even the conventional expectations for what some may call a `mind-boggling' novel. But this review is not about "Superstition". It's about David Ambrose's first novel 'The Man Who Turned Into Himself'. What can I say? For a first novel, the book is good (not exceptional). Having read some of his other works, I can almost see the progression of his writing and creative skills from good, to better. ("Coincidence" and "The Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk" deserve special mentioning).

Like his other novels, "The Man Who Turned Into Himself" incorporates scientific theories, employs extraordinary twists, and leaves the reader in admiration of the author's bizarre imagination. `Rick', `Richard' and one other nameless character own the center stage of the book. Yes, they are three separate individuals, and yes, they are one and the same man, except all three converge into the mind of each and even physically manifest themselves within the reality of each. Confused? Not to worry, David Ambrose has taken good care of describing how that's possible by attributing these intricate supernatural occurrences to the world of the quanta (the still little know and much less understood universe of the building block of everything around us). The story is remarkable; I congratulate David Ambrose on his labor. I must say, parallel universes and the resulting human behavior (as a byproduct of mastering the capacity to travel between them) deserved a story of their own and I believe this book is that story. However, despite the exceptional tale and the author's superhuman attempt to ease the readers into it, something lacked. What lacked was the eeriness with which his latter novels petrify the observers. Who could resist the shivering sensation when Professor Sam Towne and Joanna Cross find themselves in a reality slowly erasing their existence, which they themselves created in the first place (See "Superstition'). Well, this same sensation never quite materialized in `The Man Who Turned Into Himself' and I really really missed it. Regardless, for the lovers of the odd, this book may be engaging enough. (less)

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Nov 19, 2010 Erik rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hate when I read a story or book and realize the plot is essentially something I've written myself. It's always nice thinking you've come up with something original, but let's face it: originality is practically an endangered species. Of course, a good story isn't just marked by what it is about, but how it's written.

The first few pages into this novel I realized it is very similar to the next novel I hope to write. Some key elements to the plot were the same. It was not a good feeling. Fortun...more

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May 13, 2008 Claudiu rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll start by saying that I liked this book a lot. It is my first encounter with David Ambrose but I am sure I'll pick up more books of his.[return][return]I love books that have a Science Fiction background to them but this is not all they are: Science Fiction. The Many Worlds theory and the bit of time travel ideas in this book are only a backdrop to explore ideas about mind, about unconscious versus conscious which can become (and behave) like independent entities. For me, this book is a disc...more

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May 12, 2008 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pleasure-reading

This is a fascinating tale based on the quantum physics idea of multiple universes. Strange things are happening to Rick Hamilton, the strangest of which was his sudden premonition, in the middle of a very important business meeting, that his wife was in danger and needed him. He rushes out, climbs into his car and drives to the scene of an accident he could not have known about just in time to hold his dying wife's hand.....and then, a split second later, he's Richard
Hamilton who is himself in...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Salvatore Pulvirenti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Questa è una delle vene della SF che mi piace di più, quella introspettiva.
Mediante il gioco di mondi paralleli e di "io" che emergono da una specie di nostro inconscio, l'autore costruisce una storia verosimile, piena di colpi di scena a catena e dai risvolti filosofico-psicologici notevoli.
Grande merito per una prosa schietta, asciutta e chiara. Mai banale e mai stancante.
Da leggere tutto d'un fiato

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Jan 16, 2010 Sarah added it · review of another edition

Do NOT read this book. It is terrible. Here is a short list of why this book blows goats: Dumb storyline, clumsy plot devices, ill-developed and unsympathetic characters, zero research of scientific premise of story, unpleasant/slovenly writing style, failure to create believable fictional world. I could go on, but if you're still reading this now, you've already spent too much time on this book.

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Feb 06, 2010 Merrill rated it 4 of 5 stars

A mind-bending tale of parallel universes. Richard/Rick finds himself removed from his body after an accident and inhabiting his parallel self's mind in another universe. He struggles with issues of sanity/reality/identity as he tries to learn how to control his movement between worlds. Very unique and doesn't have a tied-with-a-bow ending, which made it more realistic.

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