GOOD MORNING MIDNIGHT by Lily Brooks-Dalton

  SPOILER ALERT!

This gorgeous, lyrical, delicate novel follows the lives of six crew members aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. These astronauts are the first to explore deep space and now, after two years, they are returning home. Mission Specialist, Sully has sacrificed her marriage and left her daughter behind in order to make this journey and the other crew members have made similar sacrifices.

The ship's return journey proceeds as planned until the crew loses contact with Mission Control. This silence severs their connection to earth and makes them wonder what has happened on their home planet. Is there anything or anyone to return to?

In the Antarctic, astronomer Augustine who is nearing the end of his life, stays behind when his fellow scientists evacuate the research center where they've been working, due to rumors of war on earth. Augustine has spent his life staring at the heavens, trying to understand how the universe began. He left his wife and daughter many years before, feeling ill equipped emotionally to handle such intimate relationships. But soon after the evacuation of the research center, Augustine discovers a mysterious little girl named Iris who has stayed behind.

Augustine and Iris develop a close bond, enjoying fishing and cooking and eating together. For the first time in his life, Augustine feels love and tenderness towards Iris, feelings which eluded him previously. The two leave the research center and travel to a smaller outpost where they discover enormous stores of food and a communication shed.

Augustine begins to consider what might happen to Iris once he's gone. He makes frequent trips to the communication shed and scours the airwaves for some human connection. Sully, onboard the Aether is also searching the airwaves for human contact, hoping for news that will tell her and the rest of the crew what they may find when they return to earth.

Eventually, Sully and Augustine are able to find one another on a certain frequency and they begin to speak about their experiences in space and on earth. The crew on the Aether wonder if Augustine might be the last man on earth.

This novel, with beautiful elements of magical realism, does a marvelous job exploring loneliness, the sacrifices we make to pursue our dreams and the experiences which move us towards deeper human connection. I highly recommend this novel.