The Path of Minor Planets
A Novel
Readers rate it 3.8 (4 on Hardcover)
288 pages · Released Oct 4, 2002 · Picador
Content report card
The Path of Minor Planets parent’s guide: what’s inside
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
A note for parents
This is a literary adult novel focused on complex relationships and emotional introspection rather than action or explicit content. A child dies early in the narrative (off-page), and the book explores themes of loss, regret, and moral ambiguity among middle-aged characters. While not graphic, the emotional weight and psychological maturity required make it better suited for older teens and adults. The astronomy backdrop provides some educational interest but is secondary to the character study.
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From the publisher
In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. Denise struggles for respect in her professional life, married Eli beco... In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. Denise struggles for respect in her professional life, married Eli becomes increasingly attracted to Denise and her quixotic mind, and young Lydia attempts to escape the scientists' long-casting shadows. Andrew Sean Greer's remarkable and sweeping first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, is an exploration of chances taken and lost, of love found and broken, and of time's subtle gravitational pull on the lives of everyday and extraordinary people.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Classics
- Fantasy
- General
- Friendship
- Comets
- Astronomers
- Fiction, psychological
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ISBN 9780312306052 · Picador