Under Story

Under Story opens with our protagonist, Laurel Salter, en route to Antarctica in 2016. Her life is shattered—her marriage has ended, and there is a tragedy that is hinted at that was the cause of the dissolution. Laurel is a scientist by trade—a mycologist specializing in mushrooms—but in Antarctica, she works simply as a kitchen steward supporting the on-site research teams. It was the only available job, and she desperately needed to get as far from home in Madison, Wisconsin, as possible.

While descending, Laurel notices something strange on the horizon: "A small dome of light appears to sit over the ocean. It reminds Laurel of a bubble cut in two: faintly pink and translucent, with an iridescent skin." After settling in, she learns the dome is referred to as "the Arc." Nobody knows what it is, but teams of scientists are actively trying to solve its mystery. Laurel makes friends and adapts to life in Antarctica, which mostly allows her to distance herself from the pain back home—until her ex-husband, Eli, shows up.

Tests on the Arc yield staggering conclusions regarding particle physics and the world of dark matter. While I'll leave the exact details for the book, the scientists believe they have discovered a fourth kind of neutrino within the Arc, one that spins to the right instead of the left. Eli has a pre-existing theory about a "Duoverse": effectively, that the Big Bang created two universes—ours, where time moves forward, and a second "antiuniverse," where time moves backward. In an antiuniverse, neutrinos would spin to the right, explaining why Eli was summoned to the site.  

"Eli may not believe in his own model, but even so, he's here—which means that other people do. Beneath her hurt, a strange elation is struggling to life.

For if it were real?

And if she could go?—

—back to the site of her life's undoing, and take it away; if she could rewind, return to a time when she did not know despair, and she and Eli loved each other still—"

From there, the theory is put to the test.

There is so much packed into this novel. It approaches time travel in a way I have never read before, operating at a level of complexity that makes an intrinsically tricky subject even more mind-bending. Chloe Benjamin puts immense thought (and plenty of layman-accessible science) behind the mechanics and execution. There are holes—it's inevitable given the scope of things to think though when contemplating a timeline that moves in reverse—but Benjamin considers a myriad of scenarios, while sprinkling in dozens of tongue-in-cheek moments to remind us not to get bogged down in the details and simply go along for the ride.

And it's so good. It is confusing at times, as a story that moves in two directions naturally could be, but it's smart and heartfelt and as buttoned-up as I needed something this speculative to be. It's a deep exploration of relationships and love in multiple forms: between couples; between parents and children; between friends; between mentors and their mentees. The characters are forced to make impossible choices, especially at the end. It make you think on several levels, and it will likely have you pondering portions of the book for weeks or months to come, attributes that make it perfect for a book club discussion.

In a year full of strong releases, Under Story sets a new standard. Its creativity is off the charts, the plotting is meticulous, and the emotional weight of the story is brilliantly handled. Quite simply, it's the best book I've read all year.