Book Review: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ‘Atmosphere’ plays out amid the 1980s politics of NASA

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Is there a popular fiction writer alive who conveys falling in love better than Taylor Jenkins Reid?

Consider these lines between the two central characters of her new love story, “Atmosphere,” set in the 1980s as two NASA astronauts in the space shuttle program fall for each other: “I feel like I could know you forever and still be curious about what you’re going to say next” and “I want to show you every good thing I’ve ever found” and “You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who I feel like understands things about me before I even say them.”

Of course, Houston, we have a problem. The characters — Joan and Vanessa — are gay. Forced to hide their love for one another in public for fear of losing a ride on the shuttle, the pair meet up away from NASA for trysts and are careful at the frequent astronaut get togethers that make for perfect set pieces in the novel.

It would all feel a little passé if it wasn’t so well told. Taylor Jenkins Reid is great at creating characters that while they fit a stereotype, exist on the page as comfortably (or awkwardly) as readers imagine they would in real life.

There’s mission specialist Lydia, who Joan clocks as “terrifyingly invincible,” navigating the NASA campus “as if enjoying the walk would threaten to waste her time,” and Hank, the Top Gun pilot, “tall and broad-shouldered,” who “wore dark-tinted aviators that made him look like a movie star.” Outside of the astronaut corps, we meet Barbara and Frances, the sister and niece of Joan, who complicate her life but also help her sort out what truly matters.

Some of the best moments in the book are musings between Joan and Vanessa about the stars, God and their shared love of space exploration. “It seemed so clear to Joan, as crazy as it might be, that the meaning of life had to be up there, somewhere,” writes Reid.

If there’s any nit to pick, it’s the pacing toward the end, as major life events seem to happen quickly before the ultimate do-or-die sequence between Mission Control and the astronauts aboard STS-LR9.

Beyond that, the plot of the novel doesn’t really need much sketching. These are astronauts, after all, willing to risk an awful lot to join the exclusive club of humanity that has ventured into orbit. But are they willing to risk true love? That’s the elevator pitch, and it’s one Laika Studios has already swung at, hiring “Captain Marvel” directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to adapt the novel into a film.

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