Meg Howrey

"In an age of space exploration, we search to find ourselves. In four years Prime Space will put the first humans on Mars. Helen Kane, Yoshi Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov must prove they're the crew for the job by spending seventeen months in the most realistic simulation ever created. Retired from NASA, Helen had not trained for irrelevance. It is nobody's fault that the best of her exists in space, but her daughter can't help placing blame. The MarsNOW mission is Helen's last chance to return to the only place she's ever truly felt at home. For Yoshi, it's an opportunity to prove himself worthy of the wife he has loved absolutely, if not quite rightly. Sergei is willing to spend seventeen months in a tin can if it means travelling to Mars. He will at least be tested past the point of exhaustion, and this is the example he will set for his sons. As the days turn into months the line between what is real and unreal becomes blurred, and the astronauts learn that the complications of inner space are no less fraught than those of outer space."--

The Wanderers

Katheryn

Death, pain, loss, grief. These were as fundamental to life as the elements on the periodic table

 You didn't ask "why god, why?" about the periodic table. Sometimes a new element got discovered. You added it. You got on with it.

Wynter

When approaching The Wanderers by Meg Howrey, remember to check your expectations. What are you hoping to get out of this book? Because let me tell you, this is a kind of novel that might not appeal to everyone. It's a very well-written character study, similar to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but with a realistic setting, so if you are looking for an action-driven space adventure, this is not the book to satisfy that itch. 

The story follows three astronauts and a small number of their family members, as they go through a highly realistic simulation of the very first voyage to Mars. During this test they get to learn more about themselves, their relationships with their loved ones, their fears about Mars, and the psychological challenges of co-existing with each other in close quarters under stressful situations. There are lengthy philosophical monologues about life, love, and space travel. So basically there is no plot. It's a thoughtful, smart read, but not an easy one. There is also very little payoff in the end, as the final pages are very much open ended. 

I loved the meticulousness with which the author described the life of astronauts and the beautiful language that swept me off my feet. To read this book is to float in infinite space and to reflect. If you prefer your novels slow and character-driven, I guarantee you'll be right at home.

Korey

An amazing story, but the ending leaves you on a cliff and wishing for a resolution.

A brilliantly inventive novel about three astronauts training for the first-ever mission to Mars, an experience that will push the boundary between real and unreal, test their relationships, and leave each of them—and their families—changed forever. “A transcendent, cross-cultural, and cross planetary journey into the mysteries of space and self....Howrey’s expansive vision left me awestruck.”—Ruth Ozeki “Howrey's exquisite novel demonstrates that the final frontier may not be space after all.”—J. Ryan Stradal In an age of space exploration, we search to find ourselves. In four years, aerospace giant Prime Space will put the first humans on Mars. Helen Kane, Yoshihiro Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov must prove they’re the crew for the historic voyage by spending seventeen months in the most realistic simulation ever created. Constantly observed by Prime Space’s team of "Obbers," Helen, Yoshi, and Sergei must appear ever in control. But as their surreal pantomime progresses, each soon realizes that the complications of inner space are no less fraught than those of outer space. The borders between what is real and unreal begin to blur, and each astronaut is forced to confront demons past and present, even as they struggle to navigate their increasingly claustrophobic quarters—and each other. Astonishingly imaginative, tenderly comedic, and unerringly wise, The Wanderers explores the differences between those who go and those who stay, telling a story about the desire behind all exploration: the longing for discovery and the great search to understand the human heart.

Sarah Jackson

*2.5

Unfortunately, this book wasn't that enjoyable for me. I felt Howrey spent too much time on the family relationships when what oi really wanted to read about was what was happening in space. She also set up this really great plot idea to not really follow it through and left everything kinda ambiguous. All in all, it felt like white suburban mum science fiction to me :(

Christina Hufford

Solid 3.5 stars. I liked all the characters, but there just wasn't a plot. It was all introspection and ennui and an enormous amount of horniness. Everyone spent the whole book *thinking*. We got a few glimpses at potential conflict or twists, but they never came to fruition. The Martian as written by an MFA grad, I think I put it. Ennui in Space.

Michael Hessling

Hmm. Fairly uneven, and I couldn't grok the ending. But beautiful story and writing, what I could understand.

Kyle Curry

"Station Eleven meets The Martian in this brilliantly inventive novel about three astronauts training for the first-ever mission to Mars, an experience that will push the boundary between real and unreal, test their relationships, and leave each of them--and their families--changed forever In an age of space exploration, we search to find ourselves. In four years Prime Space will put the first humans on Mars. Helen Kane, Yoshi Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov must prove they're the crew for the job by spending seventeen months in the most realistic simulation ever created. Retired from NASA, Helen had not trained for irrelevance. It is nobody's fault that the best of her exists in space, but her daughter can't help placing blame. The MarsNOW mission is Helen's last chance to return to the only place she's ever truly felt at home. For Yoshi, it's an opportunity to prove himself worthy of the wife he has loved absolutely, if not quite rightly. Sergei is willing to spend seventeen months in a tin can if it means travelling to Mars. He will at least be tested past the point of exhaustion, and this is the example he will set for his sons. As the days turn into months the line between what is real and unreal becomes blurred, and the astronauts learn that the complications of inner space are no less fraught than those of outer space. The Wanderers gets at the desire behind all exploration: the longing for discovery and the great search to understand the human heart"--

The Wanderers

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