This is a hefty read, but absolutely worth it. The text is small, and the story is long, but I was so consumed with it that I read it in about three days. This is a science fiction classic, and any fan of the genre must have this on their list.
The book focuses around a woman named Ellie. We are with her for the entire span of her life, from birth until she is in her late fifties, early sixties I believe. I loved her curiosity, how she basically devoted her life to her curiosity through her education and career with her love of math, radio, and astrology. She is intelligent, determined, quite stubborn, devoted to her work, and a dreamer. The story is inspirational while also making you feel insignificant. There is a lot of science and math that goes into telling this tale, so if that is your thing you will find a great deal of enjoyment in this. Math has never been my favorite subject, or a topic that I understand very well, but I liked the story anyway. Even when I barely understood something, the story was well told and interesting and I had a great time reading regardless. If you’re worried about making the commitment to reading this, the book isn’t entirely numbers and theories, it is rich in philosophy, with questions about the universe being posed constantly. It is a real thinking book, I found myself pondering over many of the questions that were posed. Also, there is great interaction between our main character Ellie and the people in her life. Ellie has complicated relationships with most people, from the lack of respect and love she has for her stepfather, frustration over her mothers inability to understand what she does, and failing to find a satisfactory romantic partner. You get a sense of the loneliness of Ellie’s life, her work is rich and fulfilling but she lacks connection with people.
I also loved how obvious the author makes it that he respects women and considers them equals. This book was written in 1985. The fact that Sagan decided to make his main character a woman was the first thing that impressed me. When the main character is growing up and going to school it was during a time when women were not encouraged to go to college, forget about studying anything in the STEM fields. This book really made a statement in those regards. When the story starts getting political, he also chooses to make the president of the United States a woman.
I loved the entire book until the very end. I feel like the big secret that her mother dropped on her came out of nowhere. By that I mean there wasn’t really any hint of it, no foreshadowing, unless it was very subtle and I just didn’t pick up on it. I guess maybe there is supposed to be a lesson in it or something. I don’t really know what that lesson might be, I am struggling to see it. I can’t say much more without giving the secret away, but I feel like the way she felt about the person in question was justified and the way she felt about the person she had the strongest feelings for were rightly placed. Her father believed in her more than anyone else, he encouraged her and never told her that she couldn’t do something. Although Ellie is very strong willed, I don’t think she would have accomplished all that she did in her life if she didn’t have at least one valiant supporter in her youth. I also couldn’t make sense of the last two pages of the book. Those two pages confused me more than the book in its entirety. I feel myself wanting to go back and reread those two pages over and over until it makes sense. If you can tell me what you think it means, I’d be delighted to hear it!
Nonfiction and Nonsense 