A sweeping and heartbreaking novel based on a true story, following the ordinary women who worked on the Manhattan Project.
A sweeping and heartbreaking novel based on a true story, following the ordinary women who worked on the Manhattan Project.
1944, New Mexico: Alice Katz is a young Jewish physicist, one of the only female doctoral students at her university, studying with the famous Dr Oppenheimer. Her well-to-do family wants her to marry and settle down. Instead, Alice answers her country's call to go deep into the desert and lend her skills to a secret project at the heart of the fight against Germany.
At Los Alamos, Alice meets Caleb, who has been assigned to the explosives division. Around them are other young scientists and engineers who have left their ordinary lives behind, telling no one where they are going and what they will be doing. Details of the project are shrouded in secrecy, but everyone knows it is a race against time to beat the Nazis before they create an unspeakable weapon of their own.In this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, and despite their many differences, Alice and Caleb find themselves drawn to one another. But as they become more and more desperate to complete their mission before the war is lost, they will face a heartbreaking choice between love for their country and love for each other... This epic tale of love in the face of war is a poignant reminder of the consequences of our decisions, and the roles we play in history. Perfect for fans of Oppenheimer, Hidden Figures and The Diamond Eye.'A riveting story that shows love and destiny are forces just as powerful as faith or science' Kathleen Rooney
'Not only is The Sound of a Thousand Stars a great achievement of historical depth, it proves how selfless and vital love becomes when we find ourselves at the end of the world. Robbins has given us an elegy that rings clear, strong, and true' Amy Jo Burns
'Asking questions of complicity and sacrifice that reverberate today, this beautifully written novel considers the costs of scientific advancement, the value of an individual life, and the thrilling knife's edge of being in love' Julia Fine
'This book is a soaring testament to all those unseen souls who answered history's call and selflessly sacrificed in order to shape the world in which we live' Giano Cromley
'Meticulously researched and beautifully rendered, The Sound of a Thousand Stars reminds us that the greatest mysteries are those of the human heart. This book will leave you breathless' Soon Wiley
'Historically astute . . . Terrific scene-setting, linking the brilliant stars of her title to the majesty of rural New Mexico . . . An intelligent consideration of a great moral dilemma' San Francisco Chronicle
Rachel Robbins received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. She is a tenured assistant professor at Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Most recently, her work has appeared in Rattle and The Kenyon Review. Rachel won Rhino Poetry's Founder's Prize and was nominated by Rhino Poetry for the Pushcart Prize in 2015.She was nominated by Make Literary Magazine for the Pushcart Prize in 2018. Rachel won the Illinois Arts Council Agency Literary Award in 2018.
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