On the recommendation of a Petronella Book Club member, I picked up this book for my first new year read. A fictional reimagining of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969, it is a mix of fact and fiction cleverly woven together to create a real page turner.
What if the Apollo mission had failed to return from the moon? What if this epic moment in history had a completely different outcome? Using parallel versions of the true characters involved, this novel covers both the mechanical and humanistic workings of orchestrating such a momentous event and the strength of the individuals heading into space and those left behind. I loved Aquarius, the flawed novelist, asked to write about the machines that get the men to the moon and back but he’s more interested in the people - the wives whose public persona is as important to the mission as their husbands skill and knowledge, the support crew who will never get the recognition that the astronauts thrive for and the technicians left behind that hold the lives of others in their hands.
It is a very creative and imaginative retelling and I don’t think anyone who reads this would ever look at the moon in the same way again!
An excellent read and a great start to the new year!
