Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Author : Lily Brooks-Dalton
Title : Good Morning, Midnight
Published : 11/08/2016
Pages : 272
Genre : Science Fiction 
Publisher : W&N

     There is a particular beauty in silence, in being cut off from the world. Augustine is a brilliant, aging scientist, consumed by the stars. Isolated in the cold but electrifying beauty of an Arctic Circle research base, he scans the universe, trying to find the origins of time itself. Mission Specialist Sullivan, a divorced astronaut, and mother, is aboard the Aether, on its return flight from Jupiter. When all communication goes silent, she is left wondering what she will be returning to. As the silence expands, these two characters begin to understand their place in the world, and what gives their life meaning. For only in the silence can we find out who we truly are?

     This is another in a long list of books I came to by way of a recommendation, I always find it interesting to see the books people suggest to me. In reading the blurb for this one I wasn't quite sure how the two half's of the story would come together, they seemed to be people who live in separate place but I was curious to find out what would ultimately connect them.

     For both our leads we come across people who are separated from the people and place they love. They have both chosen to cut themselves off in search of knowledge of the universe and in the pursuit of finding our place in the world. It is only when the ability to go home is taken away from them that they really start to ask what is important to them. While they both come to be looking for the same goal it is approached from two very different ends of the spectrum. For Augustine to cut himself off seemed like the logical choice, If I where to meet him in the real world I get the feeling he probably wouldn't have had the time of day for me. He is stubborn and driven and only see's his work as the ultimate goal. For Sully Making this sacrifice was not such an easy step, she has a tether that holds her to our planet no matter how far she reaches out into the universe. Out of the two, she was the easiest for me to connect to. She cares not only for her crew but for the daughter she left behind. 

     In a book that is not so long the author manages to create some wonderfully complicated characters. The drives and passion come to life in a book that at times seems very bleak, and questions how far someone has to travel to find there way back. Sully's side of the story carry's with it a bit more action than that of the professor's, this owing to its location rather than anything else. But overall what the author gives us is a gentle fair well to the end of the earth rather than a big bang. It reminds me of the tagline from the film Children Of Men, Will the last one to die please turn off the lights. It is within these moments that the connections between people become all the more apparent. That we need to find others we can be with to give our lives meaning no matter what this connection is. Because without these we a left adrift in our own worlds of isolation no matter how many people surround us. The author gave me a very moving story to contended with, she has shown me the ability to convey a very deep and meaning full message within a book I didn't want to put down. 

     What you get with Good Morning, Midnight is a story that is beautifully written but left me a lasting feeling of sadness. These are people who realize all too late what is important to truly being alive.