The Infinite Tides

A stunning debut novel about an astronaut's return to earth and the losses he must confront—elegant, moving, and deeply resonant with our times.

Keith Corcoran has spent his entire life preparing to be an astronaut. At the moment of his greatness, finally aboard the International Space Station, hundreds of miles above Earth's swirling blue surface, he receives word that tragedy has befallen his family and that, in its wake, his wife has left their failing marriage. Returning to earth, to his now empty suburban home, Keith is alone with the ghosts, the memories and feelings he can barely acknowledge. He is a mathematical genius, a brilliant engineer, a revered astronaut, but nothing has prepared him for such a vacancy.

His experiences in space quickly dwindle to a distant memory. What remains are endlessly interlocking cul-de-sacs, big box stores, enormous parking lots. And yet out of this landscape comes reconnection. A neighbor who holds a secret to Keith's own crumbling life. A man from a distant country who presents an opportunity for redemption. An unlikely friendship that helps him come to some understanding about everything he has lost. And finally a sense of how to live under the weight of gravity.

The Infinite Tides is a deeply moving, tragicomic story of love, loss, and resilience. It is also an indelible and nuanced portrait of modern American life, rendering our strengths and weaknesses with great and tender beauty.

Christian Kiefer earned his Ph.D. in American literature from the University of California, Davis, and is on the English faculty of American River College in Sacramento. His poetry has appeared in various national journals including theAntioch Review and Santa Monica Review. He is also an accomplished songwriter and recording artist. He lives in the hill country north of Sacramento with his wife and five sons.