The Path of Minor Planets: A Novel

The Path of Minor Planets: A Novel
by Andrew Sean Greer

The Path of Minor Planets: A Novel
List Price: $16.00
Our Price: $4.99
You Save: $11.01 (69%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-10-04
ISBN: 0312306059
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Picador

Book Reviews of The Path of Minor Planets: A Novel

Book Review: Necessary read:
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book. I picked it up soon after it came out because the cover caught my eye; was instantly curious after the description of a fiction book focused on astronomy and the summary on the back. I expected to like it, and after my first reading that was exactly my reaction, but a couple years later and after many, many more readthroughs this is without a doubt one of the most excellent books I have ever read.

Greer's language is astonishing, his observations are so applicable to the world and resonate in nearly any situation, his language is breathtaking. His metaphors make you stop and think and look up from the book; almost every other line is something I wish I could remember. The images he conveys and the difficult, almost very confusing plot he effortlessly pulls off is, again, beautiful, and so much more is gained from it after a second (or third, or fourth) read - more observations, more detail, more wisdom from the entire thing. There are so many tiny details that are smile-worthy, for lack of a better expression, and so many phrases that I was reading too quickly to notice at first but that really are wonderful and perfect. As multiple reviewers from the inside cover say and as the character Kathy in the novel notices, the "tiny hidden flaws in ordinary people" are what he is drawing out in this book - it is almost entirely character driven but it is incredible enough that to me, it does not get slow and it never gets boring, and the plot never disappears. There is always something new to find, every character is somehow likable and flaws are made understood and all right and acceptable without ever being brushed off (in fact, the characters' flaws is in many ways the focus of the novel). I would say that my favorite part is the many connections between astronomy, stars and comets (you do not have have to know anything about them to read the book), and human life, but I'm not sure that's true - it is honestly all too difficult to choose from. All the characters I love more every time I read it.

It's hard to get into at first (after the very beginning, which has a very slight resemblance to some of Contact, by Carl Sagan), but it is more than worth it. This is Andrew Sean Greer's first novel and while his second, The Confessions of Max Tivoli, has gotten much more press, I believe that The Path of Minor Planets deserves that and much more. This is absolute proof that an author's age has nothing to do with talent, and every time I look through this book again I think that is what it is: raw talent. It is very difficult for me to come up with a fault that really, honestly means anything about this book; I can barely recommend it enough and I encourage trying to get through the whole thing even though it's difficult at first, especially if you like beautiful (but never overdone) descriptive writing as much as I do. I have never been able to pick a favorite book but if I had to, this very well might be it. It is so much more than a romance novel (I think it is barely that at all...it's about how people *are*) and if it were up to me it would be assured to be in print for generations.

Read this book. Really.

Five hundred stars.

Summary of The Path of Minor Planets: A Novel

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 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.

United States Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in United States Books
Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor ImageMirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor
by Michael J. Rosen
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2000-02-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Gifts of the Body ImageThe Gifts of the Body
by Rebecca Brown
Harper Perennial; Published: 1995-08-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.90
Price in other shops: $12.00
Love and Lies ImageLove and Lies
by Kimberla Lawson Roby
William Morrow; Published: 2007-01-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.96
Price in other shops: $23.95
Blues Dancing: A Novel ImageBlues Dancing: A Novel
by Diane Mckinney-Whetstone
HarperTorch; Published: 2005-03-29; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right & Right Is Wrong ImageRed, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right & Right Is Wrong
by Alan Colmes
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $14.95
Hunger Point: A Novel ImageHunger Point: A Novel
by Jillian Medoff
Harpercollins; Published: 1997-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $24.00
The Price of Blood ImageThe Price of Blood
by Chuck Logan
Harpercollins; Published: 1997-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.99
Blue Hour: Poems ImageBlue Hour: Poems
by Carolyn Forche
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.93
Price in other shops: $13.99
Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir ImageBlue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir
by Laurie Albanese
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-03-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $12.99
The Kindness of Strangers: A Novel ImageThe Kindness of Strangers: A Novel
by Katrina Kittle
William Morrow; Published: 2006-01-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.35
Price in other shops: $24.95
Similar Books and other products
The Confessions of Max Tivoli: A Novel ImageThe Confessions of Max Tivoli: A Novel
by Andrew Sean Greer
Picador; Published: 2005-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Likeness: A Novel ImageThe Likeness: A Novel
by Tana French
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-05-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.43
Price in other shops: $15.00
State of Wonder ImageState of Wonder
by Ann Patchett
Harper; Published: 2011-06-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: $26.99
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them ImageThe Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
by Elif Batuman
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2010-02-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.51
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Story of a Marriage: A Novel ImageThe Story of a Marriage: A Novel
by Andrew Sean Greer
Picador; Published: 2009-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.29
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Confessions of Max Tivoli: A Novel ImageThe Confessions of Max Tivoli: A Novel
by Andrew Sean Greer
Picador; Published: 2005-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops: $14.00
How It Was for Me: Stories ImageHow It Was for Me: Stories
by Andrew Sean Greer
Picador; Published: 2001-04-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.82
Price in other shops: $16.00