Bingo Square: Work (because astronauts and NASA)
I really enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid and her novels – as books, Malibu Rising and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo are my favorite of hers but the audio version of Daisy Jones and the Six elevates that novel beyond what is on the page (I do consider audiobooks reading and they count as read book but sometimes I want to distinguish how I read succinctly because for things like Daisy Jones, it actually is kind of a difference experience). I was very much looking forward to see this one while also being nervous – because how often can a novelist keep hitting it out of the park without the occasional miss?
And Atmosphere is kind of a weird one for me – it’s still a good novel but something about it just keeps it at the bottom of TJR novels for me. The framing and premise the novel is built around – intriguing, hooks you right away. The ending – just damn! But somewhere in the first half/middle, there is just something that isn’t as gripping as some of her other novels.
The novel starts in December 1984 – Joan, the main character, is in Mission Control in Houston when things start going wrong with the latest crew/mission in orbit – astronauts she trained with and considers some of her closest friends. There is also something specific about Joan’s relationship with Vanessa but it takes quite a while to get to the details of exactly what is between them vs what is past baggage etc. In the 1984 timeline, the novel switches between Joan’s perspective on the ground and Vanessa’s in the shuttle as she deals with the equipment failures around her and its impact on her crew members.
The novel also flashes back 7 years, and alternates between bringing the reader up to speed with how Joan got to where she is and the developing situation.
To be honest, I think there are a few factors coming into play here for why I didn’t get quite as into this one – I kept wondering if I would have enjoyed this novel more if I hadn’t watched the first 2 seasons of For All Mankind. Atmosphere is set in our world and timeline while For All Mankind was an alternate history where the US went all in on space travel but it means a lot of this world felt familiar, including the story of women in the program and a closeted woman specifically. And as a show, it really did have time to explore those themes. I have also read The Martian, and the first of the Lady Astronaut novels so some of the novelty of exploring and learning about something new weren’t there.
The other piece is Joan, the main character. She is perfectly nice. She is accomplished, she’s not that into dating or men, she is an amazing sister and aunt, she is athletic, she is very smart and highly capable. It kind of makes her a bland character, even if everything she is doing is amazing and intriguing- being a woman in a male dominated field etc. Reid even has another character call Joan out on exactly this early in the book:
“Otherwise, you’re a little too perfect … smart, well-rounded, always five minutes early, nice to everyone. A little edge to you is good.”
The “little edge” here is Joan being grumpy because she doesn’t want to be at a party – I don’t think that actually even counts. And while it is kind of nice to have the author acknowledge the character might be a bit too perfect, does that actually solve the problem?
Of course there is more to Joan because this novel also explores her journey of self-discovery and becomes a perfect example of why representation matters. Joan just assumed she wasn’t into dating because none of the men interested her, it’s only at NASA when she meets other people that she realizes it’s not dating that’s the issue, it’s the dating pool. But since it takes until close to the halfway mark for Joan to make this discovery/realization, there are things that I wish the novel had focused on more that simply don’t have the time to get fully explored because there isn’t as much book left. Once we hit that 40/50% mark in the novel, it really did start working much more for me, and pulling me in the way Reid’s novels usually do.
Joan’s sister and niece also take up a lot of space, with Joan’s sister being quite a piece of work – self-centered, unsupportive etc. – in ways, it was an interesting dynamic but it’s also entirely predictable and I feel like Reid usually subverts or plays with those kinds of stereotypical plot-lines in ways that she doesn’t pull off here.
I know my book club all quite enjoyed it (they had not seen For All Mankind) so it absolutely is worth the read but mileage will likely vary on where everyone places this on their own ranking of TJR novels. Also, Mick Rivas does not make an appearance (you know how on Goodreads, people can make comments that shows up reviews long before a book is published – there was one that made the joke describing this novel as “where we discover how Mick Rivas destroyed the space program” – unfortunately I can’t find it anymore to give proper credit).