A Book A Week

In her debut novel, Wandering Souls, Cecile Pin delivered a searing portrait of a family shaped by war, immigration, and assimilation. It's a completely entrancing read that earned a spot among my favorites of 2023. So when her publisher offered me a copy of her latest novel, Celestial Lights, it was an easy yes. This time, Pin expands her scope beyond the terrestrial, turning her gaze toward space exploration and the profound impact it has on those who choose to venture into the unknown.

In January 1986, the world watched in shock as the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster unfolded just moments after launch. We understood that space travel carried risk, but this felt like something else entirely. The tragedy was made even more devastating by the presence of Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher chosen to represent everyday Americans among the stars. Millions of students watched as she carried a red apple onto the shuttle only to witness her story end in devastation.

That same year, Oliver Innes was born. Growing up in a quiet British village, Ollie’s imagination was sparked early, his bedroom ceiling dotted with glow-in-the-dark constellations. Encouraged by his father to dream big, he pursued engineering, setting his sights on the stars he’d long admired. Years later, with multiple missions already behind him, Ollie is chosen by a billionaire visionary to lead a groundbreaking expedition to Europa.

But the opportunity comes with an impossible cost. With a wife and young son at home, Ollie must decide whether he can commit to a mission that will take him away for a decade. And if he does, will the life he leaves behind still be waiting for him when he returns?

With Celestial Lights, Cecile Pin explores vast, expansive ideas about humanity, our place in the galaxy, and the weight of our choices. Yet she grounds them in an intimate, deeply felt character study. That juxtaposition between the scale of her setting—the infinite stretch of space—and the personal journey of her protagonist gives the novel both focus and deep emotional resonance.

Pin alternates between mission logs from Ollie’s time in space, where he wrestles with the consequences of leaving his life on Earth behind, and flashbacks that trace how he became the man hurtling through the cosmos. Along the way, we also see the psychological toll of the journey on his fellow crew members, adding another layer to this already complex portrait of isolation and ambition.

The novel builds toward a conclusion that may leave readers with more questions than answers, but one that feels true to the messiness of being human. Pin suggests that our lives are defined by the moments that shape us. Even at the farthest reaches of space, we are never free from the emotional gravity of the lives we’ve lived. It makes for a quietly profound novel that asks us to look both outward to the stars and inward at ourselves.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2026, 26)

"Knowledge allows remembering, and remembering is honoring."

I'm not one to stick closely to the daily news cycle. That being said, it has been hard to watch politicians fight over banning books and censoring history, especially as they do nothing to stop school shootings like the one that occurred this week. With so much hate and deceit in the world, it can be hard to remain hopeful. Still, our optimism must remain. How do we keep this positive outlook? I don't pretend to have the answers, but I do see plenty of things that help me maintain an enthusiastic mindset.  In the book world, more and more diverse authors are telling their stories, introducing readers to a wider array of realities. Even more promising, it seems like these tales are capturing a broader audience than ever before. Add Cecile Pin's debut novel Wandering Souls into that category. She's written a searing portrait of a family's history through war, immigration, and assimilation. It is the kind of story that demands to be read. One that is powerful and poignant in its perspective. 

In the years following the Vietnam War, it is clear to Anh's parents that the promises of a bright future rest outside of their home country. Anh's uncle has taken his family to live the American dream, a dream that Anh's father plans to pursue too. This is a huge, life-changing moment for the family. Anh's parents know that the journey to a better life will be as perilous as it will be rewarding. They send Anh and the other eldest children on the trip to Hong Kong first. They promise that they and the younger siblings will not be far behind. The full family will be reunited in China before embarking on the next leg of their trip. This promise, though, will not be kept. Anh's parents and younger siblings are killed during their travels, leaving the fragmented remains of the family left to journey ahead alone. 

Over the next several decades, Anh and her surviving siblings are left to pick up the pieces of their father's shattered dream. They land first in a resettlement camp, a place where they interact with other immigrants, struggling to hold on to their identities. When they finally are placed back into the real world they land not in America, but in the UK. Their new home doesn't offer the bright future they were promised. Instead, the siblings face anti-immigrant hate and systemic social inequality. Instead of coming together, to form their new life, each sibling slowly diverges from the other. Racked with survivor's guilt and a desire to pave their own path, they'll have to reckon with the ghosts of their past to find their way to a brighter future. 

I can't give enough praise to this book. I was entranced by the story told in Wandering Souls, and I'm grateful to the publisher for providing me with a copy of it. Cecile Pin has written a novel that deals with the challenges of memory. How do we keep the memory of loved ones alive? How do we honor our past while moving toward the future? These are the things Pin grapples with. The characters in the book give us an insight into the realities of being an immigrant to a foreign country. Pin intersperses the third-person narrative of her main character Anh with the first-person voice of Anh's deceased younger brother. This ghostly voice ties everything that happens in Anh's life to her past, never fully allowing her to escape it. Also included in the narrative are snippets of factual articles from the time, grounding this fiction in the reality of the world it depicts. These elements come together to tell a visceral story of family, love, and loss. Wandering Souls is the best, most important book that I've read this month, and will no doubt be among my favorite reads of the year. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 18)