In her latest novel Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid launches readers into the heart of NASA’s 1980s Space Shuttle program through the eyes of Joan Goodwin. Through Joan, Reid explores the challenges and triumphs of being a queer female scientist while navigating a world dominated by men. With her signature complex characters and meticulously woven historical details, Reid delivers, yet again, another novel that refuses to let go of its grip on readers.
Taylor Jenkins Reid, a forty-one-year-old bisexual fiction author of nine novels, has firmly established herself as a significant voice in contemporary fiction. Known best for her novels The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, and Daisy Jones & The Six, Reid focuses on resilient female characters. She highlights narratives of women who excel in their respective fields while navigating personal challenges such as addiction, heartbreak, or loss. She consistently receives praise for her representation of queer characters in her novels, notably Atmosphere, which focuses on the struggles of queer women in the 1980s.
Featuring a non-linear narrative structure, Atmosphere traces the life of Joan Goodwin as she is accepted into a rigorous NASA astronaut program – a mentally and physically challenging experience that pushes Joan beyond any physical or intellectual limits she has previously encountered. However, as Joan becomes increasingly drawn to Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and charismatic aeronautical engineer on the team, she questions her beliefs about herself and the universe as she knows it. The novel follows Joan as she balances her demanding profession, the unfamiliar territory of romantic relationships, familial tensions, and the ongoing challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated field.
In a single novel, Reid weaves together a rich tapestry of themes and messages ranging from more classic choices such as love, family, identity, and loss to more complex ideas such as the politics of queerness, discrimination faced by female scientists, and the delicate balance of family and ambition. However, Atmosphere transcends the conventional romance novel; the love story is interwoven around the broader contemplations of space, divinity, and the human condition, adding emotional and philosophical depth to an already compelling narrative. Through this fusion of intimacy and existential inquiry, Reid offers a story that is both emotionally engaging and entertaining.
Though accessible in its prose, Atmosphere is a novel that challenges readers to reflect on their own lives, examine how their ambitions effect their relationships, and reconnect with their childhood awe of the unknown. The novel’s historical context combined with the complexities of love, family, and life create a beautiful narrative that transcends time and space. With a compelling blend of emotional resonance and thematic depth, Atmosphere earns a rating of 4.5 stars and is certain to leave readers teary-eyed with its powerfully ambiguous conclusion.
