I loved GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT by Lily Brooks-Dalton – which surprised me, since this novel was billed as a post-apocalyptic story. I have read only a handful of such stories and warmed only slightly to them (The Age of Miracles, The Dog Stars, and Station Eleven).
Why did I fall for this one, then? Because, at its heart, GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT is a gorgeously written, literary, character-driven novel about family relationships and the choices we make. And about what’s really important in these lives of ours that we build. The passages and descriptions of the Arctic and of space, and of inner emotions, are fabulous. There is not a ton of future-world-building, frankly, which is – perhaps – why I liked this one and not others.
“We study the universe in order to know, yet in the end the only thing we truly know is that all things end -— all but death and time. It’s difficult to be reminded of that”—he patted her hand where it lay on the table—“but it’s harder to forget.”
I confess I also was interested in the amateur radio scenes, as my husband is a ham radio operator. We looked up the call signs used in the book and found that the author, Lily Brooks-Dalton, actually took the necessary tests to obtain her amateur radio license (technician level). The call sign she uses in the book is actually her own. Talk about doing hands-on research for a book; that is bad ass. And she writes of science with authenticity and believability.
It wasn’t success he craved, or even fame, it was history: he wanted to crack the universe open like a ripe watermelon, to arrange the mess of pulpy seeds before his dumbfounded colleagues.
I bought into GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT and its flawed-but-real characters from the start and was engaged. At only 270 pages, it’s worth a read for those who enjoy literary fiction, space travel, and radio communication. Recommended!
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