Oh my god what a compelling book about a scenario that I myself have imagined many times. This was a powerful book.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Published pre-COVID, but it hit the nail on the head with how society would begin to fall due to a pandemic. Right/left wing politics, economic downfall, death, etc. With the rate the current economy is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if we slip slowly to this fictional account.

Though I got lost in some of the story and begin to skim read. Didn’t hold my attention for long in some of the narrating perspectives.

Set in the near future, government and society has effectively crumbled in the aftermath of a pandemic and technological collapse. Before the collapse school principal Carson and fair trade activist Beatrix had recently met and were taking the first steps in finding out what they could be to one another. After, the long distances between their respective homes, New York and California, seem impossible to overcome. Somewhat daunted but nevertheless determined, Carson decides to undertake the long and dangerous journey west, to Beatrix, and maybe to love. Beatrix, meanwhile, can't stop herself from wondering what happened to Carson, and misses what she glimpsed in him, grieving the lost opportunity to continue their relationship and find out. It is a quiet, reflective book that puts the characters front and center. For the most part, people try their best to do the right thing, although not always. There is certainly some trauma, but it doesn't take they story over or eclipse the larger themes of compassion and community building explored by Eisele. The main message remains one that we can all relate to: when things get tough, be kind, be compassionate, and help each other. This was such a good book!

I'm not the biggest fan of post apocalyptic books.

I just find them frustrating and man this was too close to home at the moment lol

an enjoyable and quick read. it definitely hit a bit close to home with the current state of everything, but really enjoyed this story and all the characters

3 stars. I didn't dislike this one, but I was not a big fan of the story or the characters. I just felt very detached from it. Review to come.

Due to being a high school teacher, I have been falling behind on reviews. Here are my initial thoughts.

I love a good dystopian post-apocalyptic tale. Here is one with a decidedly different philosophical bent.

I have to admit that the idea of being separated from loved ones during a catastrophe is something I’ve thought about a lot. I live in Southern California and I work about 23 miles from home. The idea of a large earthquake decimating our roadways makes me wonder. How on earth would I make it home, how long would it take, how terrifying would it be not to know if my family is ok. I think about it … probably more than I should.

This book follows the usual post-apocalyptic format. Something bad happens, people are separated. But this book differs in that where most books focus on the fear, the horror, and the bad bad people who will come crawling out the cracks of society intending to hurt us all, this story also focuses on people who are good. Dwelling on the people who look out for one another, and the idea that love is the thing that will help us to continue on after catastrophe. I have to admit it was a relief. Not that I won’t still seek out terrible plague and disaster books in the future, but this was an interesting way to look at the genre.

I felt like this book undelivered more than anything. The premise sounded great, but there were aspects of this story that I couldn't get behind.

The Lightest object In the Universe is an awesome read! What I really loved was that the focus is on the positive aspects of community, relationships and how human beings can come together and lift each other up in times of greatest hardship. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

2.8 stars

DNF at 50%

I AM SO DISAPPOINTED RIGHT NOW

I had such high expectations for this book! This was one of those books you want so badly to be written BUT it was written totally in the opposite way I would have like it to be written.

This book wasn’t for me AT ALL.

Even though I’m a plot reader and I knew this was going to be a character driven book I was so excited by the premise I VOWED to give it a try.

And that I REALLY did! Normally I would have DNF a book like this much earlier.

At 50% I knew NOTHING about the characters and NOTHING had happened to them (or to anyone else for that matter). There was no story or character arc, no antagonist, no conflict, no tension.

The story was all about the characters strolling along this post-apocalyptic world (which wasn’t developed much either) meeting people and talking to them as if it was a political interview. There is very little character development, all you get to know is the political views of people. All I got to know about the MC was that she was VERY liberal. Everything that happened around her or to her was filtered through this VERY liberal lens.

I am very liberal as well and I found it which I found it very preachy and irritating.

I will definitely read more of this author though, because I loved the writing, the diversity and the promise of what this could have been!

The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele is yet another post-apocalyptic story. Instead of cannibalistic raiders and a dog-eat-dog world, the world in which Carson and Beatrix find themselves is the exact opposite. Reading this at the end of 2020 where it feels like we currently live in a dog-eat-dog world, this is exactly the message to read.

What is eerie about The Lightest Object in the Universe is just how the modern world ends. A debt crisis that no one can overcome. Rising fuel costs. Inflation the type usually seen in third-world countries. Natural disasters. And a global flu pandemic that "came on like a cold but burned up its victims with fever and drowned their lungs." As I said, eerie given that Ms. Eisele wrote this well before the world first heard about COVID-19.

While most cross-country journeys that occur in post-apocalyptic stories are full of danger and violence, Carson's journey is almost peaceful. He meets enough people on the road willing to share their food with him in order to keep him from starving. He finds the necessary supplies to keep him healthy, for the most part, as well as shelter and respite when needed. It is a journey where you never fear for his life.

Meanwhile, Beatrix's establishing of a new type of community in her neighborhood is similarly anticlimactic. Sure, there are gangs that pop up and threaten violence, but her small band of community leaders finds ways to overcome them with minimum issues. Sure, there are problems, but Beatrix finds a way to overcome them with help from her friends.

So, Carson's and Beatrix's post-apocalyptic experiences are a lot less traumatic than most authors would have you believe, which is a nice change. After this year in which you question whether the country will ever reunite into some semblance of cohesion, The Lightest Object in the Universe makes you believe that there is hope for humanity and that not everyone is a complete d-bag. Then again, after 2020, you do wonder if Ms. Eisele is a bit too naive in her worldview. It all depends on where your mind and heart are as you read it.

Seems like there's only so much one should expect from a dystopian sci-fi after so many have already left a good mark in the recent past. The only bit I can appreciate with enough heart is the writing since it has a hypnotic tone to actually transfer you through the timelines and into a future so worse. But there's nothing different enough from a list of 'all things you would find in a dystopian sci-fi'. There's the usual differing moralities of the main character and their love interest, in the way Beatrix is highly conscious of righteousness and always on her toes to take offence and a guy who is completely different from her but still grows a lot of feelings through emails. So much so that they come together to fight all the stereotypical problems in a dystopia—people who are brainwashed to believe in exactly what a cult expects them to and all the big guys who run behind you when you're being rebellious.

Two lovers trying to find one another in a world where a flu outbreak has wrecked havoc on society. The story follows Beatrix and Carson on opposite sides of the country and Blue's radio broadcasts trying to get people to meet in the center. Carson goes on his journey to find Beatrix on the West Coast. This story gives a positive spin on post apocalyptic and shows how people work together to rebuild society.

I could not have picked a more perfect time to read The Lightest Object In The Universe, by Kimi Eisele, especially as we are currently living through a year that has certainly been stranger than fiction.

This post-apocalyptic story takes place after a particularly virulent strain of the flu wreaks havoc across the globe. Living off the grid took on a whole new meaning, as all of the grids had collapsed and ceased to function. No more electricity, transportation, government or schools. The economy and the ability to instantly communicate came to a screeching halt.

For all of the characters, the world as they knew it had changed. It had changed so drastically that many things were unrecognizable. But, thankfully, not everyone and everything had died.

My favorite character was Rosie, a fifteen year old girl, who was being raised by her grandmother. Rosie just wanted to belong and sought out genuine connections with others. I thought the strongest and most interesting part of the book was the ending, as the storyline was brought to a satisfying conclusion.

Many things grew out of the ashes of post-apocalyptic America...teamwork, problem solving, ingenuity, plenty of hard work, persistence and maybe even some hope.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Algonquin Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A love story beats at the heart of this dystopian tale of rebuilding and moving forward.

The world has collapsed thanks in large part to the flu and a government that decided to just quit. And now, the electrical grid has stopped working. What to do? Well, in Carson's case, he decides to head West. His heart lies with Beatrix, a woman he met by chance and who lives on the opposite side of the country. So he sets out to make his trek on foot. On the way, he encounters plenty of folks who either want to con him, hurt him, join him, convince him to join them, etc.. Yep, people are making moves. And some are heading to a voice they hear on the air waves - a preacher named Jonathan Blue. As for Beatrix, she's banded together with her neighbors to create a new community, a cooperative. They help one another with food, water, and by being there for each other. Miles between them, Carson and Beatrix are doing the best they can with what they have. Will they reunite? Will the world right itself? What will happen to the folks heading to Jonathan Blue? So many questions and so many adventures in this tale of hope, rebuilding, and love.

Eisele has written an engaging and entertaining story that will keep you turning pages late into the night. I absolutely LOVED this story to bits!

Thank you Netgalley and also Algonquin Books for this ARC of The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele. This is a dystopian-type story that follows Carson, who lives on the East Coast when the grid collapses. The woman he loves, Beatrix, is across the country on the West Coast. This reminded me a little bit of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. In both stories the main characters are travelers and the plot development is based around their various encounters along the way. I enjoyed this story and do recommend it.

I struggled with this one right from the start. It's an interesting premise, but I found myself getting bored quickly, every time I picked the book up. Just not compelling enough to keep reading.

When I picked up The Lightest Object in the Universe, I didn't consciously draw all the parallels between the story and my own circumstances - but when it clicked, I couldn't put it down. Set in a post-apocalyptic America after the economy collapses, the power grid fails, and a flu epidemic sweeps the country, this book centers on Carson and Beatrix, lovers who find themselves on opposite sides of the US without modern technology to bring them together. It's a reality that hit close to home for me, in a country that's seen so little good news lately, a global COVID crisis, and nearly 3,000 miles separating me from my own love. But in a time when folks might be reaching for books that help them escape, I found hope in a story about my own worst nightmare. Because as Carson makes his way on foot across state after state, and Beatrix works to create a safe haven in her community, the each find kindness and beauty to light up the dark. And the characters you meet along the way will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It was a great reminder that there's always goodness to be found, even when the world is falling apart, Grief may be the heaviest object in the universe, but it's a good thing we've got love to keep us aloft.

It's very refreshing to read a dystopian/post apocalyptic book that is focused more on rebuilding civilization than the devastation. Also I thought it was extremely odd that the troubles in this book started with a flu pandemic...

The Lightest Object in the Universe is an atypical dystopian novel. Kimi Eisele crafts a novel that is based on the rebuilding - the story of what happens after the destruction. When I saw this novel described as “Sleepless in Seattle meets Station Eleven,” I knew I would enjoy it.

I will be honest that I haven’t been reading many apocalyptic books these days, but Eisele’s deep character development and themes of community, love, hope and resilience were a balm on my weary soul.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.