One should not expect that this married openly bisexual writer of several novels would write a conventional romance and in this book nothing is conventional. She has been widely praised for her liberal and controversial views on religion, philosophy and sexuality, which also feature in this book.
A diverse group of potential astronauts at the Johnson Space Center, in the 1980s compete for various positions in the space shuttle program. Inevitably bitter rivalry but also romance develops, including an intense clandestine lesbian relationship greatly complicated by interfering relatives and a child.
There is pedantic endless self-analysis of ambitious insecure women as they compete for roles. One minute they are affectionate and the next they are consumed by biting sarcasm.
In the second half, sure enough, a deep philosophical outlook on religion through the words of one participant develops. This seems to be a way of discussing her own vaguely humanist philosophy of life. I cannot fault humanism generally, but here it is couched in contrived and unrealistic deep emotionality that seems artificial.
There is a valiant attempt to develop mystery as the shuttle develops life-threatening problems, but this seems highly unrealistic to me.
The overused literary device of time shifting does not benefit this story and I do not understand why it is used extensively. That and artificial unrealistic emotionality limited my enjoyment of this book.
3.5/5
Thanks, Goodreads
The Passionate Reader 