T.J. Klune has a way of pulling at my heartstrings, and this story is no exception. It’s intense and thought-provoking with a sense of urgency that permeates the tone. My word. Even now, just thinking about the story, I’m feeling all kinds of feelings. Incredibly moving, it’s a fast but heavy read, and by the end, I definitely needed tissues more than once. It follows an older couple as they travel across the country to resolve some family issues before the world ends. Like literally. There’s a black hole that threatens to suck up the entire planet. While traveling, Roland and Don meet a bunch of different people, each of whom is dealing with the end of life in their own way.
For a shorter book at under 200 pages, this sure packs a punch. On top of the imminent end of the world via a black hole that will obliterate our galaxy, the story also delves into mental health issues, addiction, broken relationships, grief, and more. It also explores the beauty of life and love, and what makes life meaningful. I loved it all – the characters, the messages, the plot, the symbolism, the writing. I ended the book feeling devastated and uplifted and inspired all at once.
Don and Rodney have such a beautiful and relatable love. There are several times in the book where they talk about their relationship and feelings for each other, and it was like they put into words all the feelings I have for my husband that I could never express effectively. Their deep love and devotion to each other, the tenderness, affection, frustrations and unequivocal understanding they share, feel genuine and real and perfectly imperfect.
As Rodney and Don travel to their final destination, you learn more about their lives and what compelled them to go to Washington before their time is over. Theirs is a full life filled with love and heartbreak, happiness and loss, and all of the good and bad in between. And at the core is a beautiful foundation for their partnership, which only gets stronger as the years go by.
I really loved this story, and it definitely ranks among my top favorites by Klune. Overall, it’s an incredibly compelling and heartbreaking read that really makes you think about who and what are important, how fragile life is, and how we’re all connected by universal feelings and relationships.
Special thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
It’s strange, really. How different we all are. And yet, it’s universal. Things like anger. Grief. Happiness. Maybe the causes aren’t quite the same, but we all know what it feels like to laugh. To cry. To rage.
“Do we live to be remembered?” Don asked. “Or do we live to live?”
“Suffering is life,” Rodney said. “It’s part and parcel of living. It never really goes away, but you can become bigger around it. Stronger. The things you thought you weren’t capable of are easier than you think.”
It’s like it took the end of the world for people to look up and see each other.”
“How lucky are we?” Don asked. Rodney snorted as he stood upright, turning to face his husband. “How do you figure?” “You said that that’s what the universe is. Luck and happenstance. There’s no fate, no destiny. Sometimes it is horrible, devastating. But sometimes, it could lead to a life we couldn’t have predicted. A good life, even if it hurt. Out of everything in the universe, what were the chances that we’d find each other the way we did?” “One in a trillion.” “Probably not quite that high, but it might as well have been. If it was luck that brought us together, then I think we’re the luckiest people in the world.” “Even now?” Rodney asked, eyebrows rising up his forehead. “Even now.”
TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.
