The Lightest Object in the Universe: A Novel

by Kimi Eisele

A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection * An Indie Next Pick * An Indies Introduce Selection * One of Reader's Digest's Best Summer Books of 2019 * One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2019 * One of Real Simple's Best Books of 2019 "[This] might be the most optimistic post-apocalyptic story ever written. It's Sleepless in Seattle meets Station Eleven." --The A.V. Club

Carson is on the East Coast when the electrical grid goes down. Desperate to find Beatrix, a woman on the West Coast who holds his heart, he sets off along a cross-country railroad line, where he encounters lost souls, clever opportunists, and those seeking salvation. Meanwhile, Beatrix and her neighbors begin to construct a cooperative community, working to turn the end of the world into the possibility of a bright beginning.

Without modern means of communication, will Beatrix and Carson be able to find their way to each other? The answer may lie with one fifteen-year-old girl, whose actions could ultimately decide the fate of the lovers.

The Lightest Object in the Universe is a moving story about adaptation and the power of community, imagining a world where our best traits, born of necessity, can begin to emerge.

• ISBN13: 9781643750484
• Publish Date: 15 June 2020 (first published 9 July 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 23 November 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

4.5*

I fully admit, I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic fare. Even know as they often hit way too close to home, I still gravitate to them. So it makes sense that I was eager to read this one. And it delivered! So let's talk about why!

• ►It was, at its core, hopeful. Yes, that may seem an odd way to describe an end-of-days book, but it was! Even when I wasn't sure how things would turn out, or whether our characters would make it, there were still rays of hope. I feel like if hope can be found in the bleakest of times, it's a commentary on the strength of mankind, and that is just plain inspiring.



• ►I was really invested in the characters' journeys, both internally and externally. Beatrix is an awesome character from the start, having done all sorts of great work pre-apocalypse. But now she's trying to figure out where she belongs in this new world. Carson is, quite simply, looking for Beatrix. He had been widowed several years prior, and that makes him more aware of what matters most to him. And at the end of the world, it's Beatrix. So he sets out to travel coast-to-coast to find her. Meanwhile, we get to meet a lot of people at Beatrix's neighborhood-turned-family, and I grew very invested in them too.



• ►The actual travels are great too. I am a sucker for a road trip, even if it happens to be on foot (or bike, in some cases). I feel like they give you such an insight into the characters' motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. How do they handle these challenges? Do they grow? I loved how the author absolutely used the travels in this novel to give the reader a look at what makes the characters tick.



• ►It all felt eerily plausible. I mean, maybe that is because of our current global crises, but I think it's probably a combination of that, and the fact that the author just does a good job at making the world feel believable. The way characters, good and bad, act in the wake of such dire straights is all too easy to understand. The way the world collapses, the way some people try to lift it back up while others take advantage. It's all just so honest.

Bottom Line: I adored this tale of survival and finding out what the important things are in life. While it's certainly a dire world, it's filled with pockets of hope and characters I cared about.