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A review by timeywriter
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
5.0
An astronomer is left in the Artic research center after an evacuation is called. A team of astronauts coming back from a mission around Jupiter lose radio contact with Earth. These two stories interconnect in a beautiful way in this novel.
Augustine chooses to stay behind at the research center he is stationed at when an evacuation is called. Rumors float around of a catastrophic event, a nuclear war, a cataclysmic happening, something. Yet, Augustine is too set on his work as an astronomer to leave and in the wake of the team's absence, he finds Iris, a mysterious child he is now alone with in the Artic. With the radio waves silent, Augustine and Iris figure out how to survive in the Artic together. Aboard the Aether on a return flight from Jupiter, Sullivan (Sully) realizes that they have lost radio contact with Earth. With Mission Control silent and their radio unable to pick up anyone else, Sully and the other crew members of Aether wonder what or who they are coming home to as they journey back to Earth. The layers of emotions that each character projects and hides as they come to terms and struggle with the idea of aloneness and silence from a once bustling world is illuminating. Not only is there struggle, but there is also an embrace of life in this story; of how people can survive the worst and still know that there might be something better on the other side of perseverance. Honestly, I had inklings about the ending, about how everything was connected, and yet it still surprised me in the best of ways. It was both heartbreaking and yet a full circle of the characters who focused so much on the stars that they lost sight of what was right in front of them. The dynamic between Augustine and Iris was a touching story that reflected on a relationship between a father and daughter. And the struggles the crew members of the Aether faced not only with their situation but with each other was an extraordinary struggle that showed humanity even in the deepest depths of space. Every one of these characters was unique and yet all fit together with each other, whether they were on Earth or in space.
As usual, I am glad I read the book first as I'm intrigued to see the film adaptation despite knowing the disappointment that will inevitably come. I will hold the memory of this book though and all the humanistic beauty it portrays.
Augustine chooses to stay behind at the research center he is stationed at when an evacuation is called. Rumors float around of a catastrophic event, a nuclear war, a cataclysmic happening, something. Yet, Augustine is too set on his work as an astronomer to leave and in the wake of the team's absence, he finds Iris, a mysterious child he is now alone with in the Artic. With the radio waves silent, Augustine and Iris figure out how to survive in the Artic together. Aboard the Aether on a return flight from Jupiter, Sullivan (Sully) realizes that they have lost radio contact with Earth. With Mission Control silent and their radio unable to pick up anyone else, Sully and the other crew members of Aether wonder what or who they are coming home to as they journey back to Earth. The layers of emotions that each character projects and hides as they come to terms and struggle with the idea of aloneness and silence from a once bustling world is illuminating. Not only is there struggle, but there is also an embrace of life in this story; of how people can survive the worst and still know that there might be something better on the other side of perseverance. Honestly, I had inklings about the ending, about how everything was connected, and yet it still surprised me in the best of ways. It was both heartbreaking and yet a full circle of the characters who focused so much on the stars that they lost sight of what was right in front of them. The dynamic between Augustine and Iris was a touching story that reflected on a relationship between a father and daughter. And the struggles the crew members of the Aether faced not only with their situation but with each other was an extraordinary struggle that showed humanity even in the deepest depths of space. Every one of these characters was unique and yet all fit together with each other, whether they were on Earth or in space.
As usual, I am glad I read the book first as I'm intrigued to see the film adaptation despite knowing the disappointment that will inevitably come. I will hold the memory of this book though and all the humanistic beauty it portrays.