Good morning, midnight is a beautifully written novel following two characters. Augustine, an elderly astronomer who resides in the Artic alone, since his team evacuated a year ago due to war rumors, but he chose to stay. And Sully, an astronaut who is returning to Earth after she and her crew visited Jupiter. They meet briefly from a distance but are more connected than they believe.
Sully’s chapters were my favorites. One of the aspects that got me hooked was the romance — or rather the possibility of it happening later on, although it’s not the focus of the novel. The story is about what it means to be human, loneliness, and dealing with the past and emotions.
Augustine’s chapters felt a bit bland in my opinion. And in both storylines, the descriptions became somewhat repetitive.
Also, it’s not your typical sci-fi novel full of action. It’s character-driven and filled with introspection. Things start to get interesting towards the end which was a bummer to not be able to find out what happened afterward.
Either way, I enjoyed the book. I’ve always loved astronomy and as a kid, I used to have a microscope. Seeing stars during summer nights is one of my fondest memories. With this book, I got to learn new things about space which was pretty cool.
I also watched the movie based on it, starring George Clooney. It’s called The Midnight Sky and it’s one of those rare occasions where the movie isn’t so far off from the book.
Overall rating: 3 / 5
P.S. As an avid reader, I love it when I come across books whose characters also enjoy reading. This particular quote stood out and I simply had to share it:
“Psychologically necessary equipment. The human mind had never been tested quite like this. Could they have been better prepared? Trained more extensively? What tools would help them now? It seemed ridiculous, but perhaps these books, sheaves of paper made from trees that had once grown on their home planet, full of made-up stories, were what kept Thebes so much more grounded than the rest of them.”
Lily Brooks-Dalton, Good Morning Midnight
Olivine Books 