The Wanderers

this is my first experience with the author's work. Both the human qualities between all involved in the book, emotions, childhood histories, etc.were exceptionally written. if you like psychological insight; want to experience what it is like to take a trip to mars this book will fullfill for you. By example the stories show how our minds take us over during stressful times and perhaps our own minds will be the next frontier. This was quite a read. It is not a beach novel. But an insightful viewing of both heros going on a simulated trip to mars and their families left behind waiting for their return. Probably one of the better reads for me. Only give it a try if you are able and willing to think about what each character is saying.

Do you read books based on one-star reviews? I sure do. Several reviews of this one complained that it was so character-driven that almost nothing happened. That's like catnip to me. It was also untrue: Plenty of things happened. But not big explosions, heart-breaking reveals, or dramatic cliff-hanging moments. This is a novel that took place mainly in the characters' minds and hearts. It is exquisitely well done and I adored it. The premise is that a trio of astronauts are preparing for a Mars trip, but they're going to do a 17-month-long dry run before they take the actual trip. They'll be like Biosphere 2, but even more locked in, and they won't even be able to see out even when doing walks on the pretend planetary surface. The novel follows the three main astronauts as well as some of their closest family; the people they have left behind. It's beautiful, it's compelling, it's thought-provoking, and it is a very deftly done novel.

Well written character study that gives no answers, leaving you with a sense of, huh. OK. The writing is good, the characters well explored, especially Helen and her daughter. But as someone else mentioned, there was an implied promise of a plot twist that was never resolved. Resolution is key to reader satisfaction.

I've read it three times and this one was a gift. Give it to any women in your life who are over fifty and still seeking adventures, or anyone interested in space or Mars, or daughters/sons/spouses of complicated people, or anyone who just loves great writing. Pairs well with Orbital or The Martian.

Let me just say that while I found the exploration of the human condition in this book fascinating and quite moving it ultimately didn't feel like a science fiction novel but rather a human drama that explored the fringes of how we define ourselves versus how we project versions of ourselves for others. It's about that fundamental duality and it's quite brilliantly explored in the context of a space mission simulation but, and perhaps this is the sci-fi geek in me, I kept waiting for a big reveal, something that went beyond the revelations the characters discover about themselves but rather a big, impactful on humanity, reveal and the fact that it never came left me feeling dissatisfied.

Meg Howrey has written a literary book about space travel without alien raiders or man eating space bugs. Instead she has crafted a deep character study of three astronauts and the people they leave behind. We know we're in for art when we read the Wittgenstein quotation in the front and we're not disappointed. The novel begins with Helen Kane an astronaut, retired from active duty after twenty-one years at NASA. "It had been the right thing to do...she was prepared for it." And then in the next paragraph: "She had not prepared. You can't train for irrelevance." Now she's interviewing at "Prime Space" a private company, which hopes to send a crew to Mars. We see her in her interview mode preparing to give the CEO "PIG: Polite, Interested, Good humored." She gets the job, of course, and then we meet her daughter, Mireille. "A terrible thing has happened to Mireille: she has been selected as the spa employee of the month." But Mireille longs to be a successful actress. Helen will share a long isolation simulation with two other astronauts, Sergei, a Russian astronaut, who leaves behind his two sons, and Yoshi who adores his wife, without realizing the difficulty she has relating to other living beings. I won't tell you more, because THE WANDERERS is a space you will want to explore yourself.

If you want or expect a sci-fi or dystopian novel, then you may be disappointed. Fortunately, I was not, and experienced it on the merits of a mildly speculative but mostly literary novel about characters facing the challenge of authenticity vs. representation, and their very (and sometimes fluid) definitions. An American astronaut, Helen Kane, a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Kuznetsov, and a Japanese taikonaut, Yoshihiro Tanaka, spend 17 months together in a simulated mission to Mars and back, ( a test-run for the real thing, which would come afterward) run by a space corporation intent on selecting the best astronauts of different nationalities. The drama of a simulated journey on their spaceship, Primitus, captures the theme of the tale, about who we are, and what creates and maintains our genuine self, as well as our temptation to deceive others and ourselves in relationships. The narrative is best when we are thrust inside the struggles of identity. “I forget what I am because I have been so long simulating the man I wish to be that I now believe myself to be this man.” As the characters alternate with the chapters, we witness the thoughts, behaviors, and experiences of the astronauts; a member of the ground mission team; Helen’s grown daughter; Sergei’s two young sons, and Yoshi’s wife. Another common motif that is braided into the simulation theme is the idea of boundaries, borders, space--not just outer space, but psychological and physical space. “This is an opportunity to reflect on what the best of us is capable of, what we can accomplish when we put everything aside…for a common goal. My mom has always talked about how you can’t see borders from space…” What happens to our relationships, to our sense of self, when boundaries are disrupted from the norm? Although this is a simulated mission, the astronauts must treat it as a true undertaking. Howrey’s research is impressive; she combines aerospace engineering in specific and defined ways that convince me that she knows her stuff. However, I never felt laden down with dry and technical exposition. It was always saliently woven into the story--the confinement of three very different but complementary high achievers who are tested like never before. As the experts on earth create and impose spacecraft and environmental challenges on the crew, the three astronauts must act without delay. There are other heavy challenges as well, such as isolation, lack of privacy, and separation from loved ones. Along the way, the curtain is pulled back on the personal lives of the astronauts. There’s the death of Helen’s husband and how it continues to affect her relationship with her daughter, Mireille, and the attempt of Mireille to own her life--one not defined by her mother’s mission to Mars. There’s a deep wedge of grief between them, and unresolved matters about Helen’s husband. “…you had to be so careful with grief. It was like an impact crater, its surface always larger than the thing that created it.” Sergei, who had an amicable divorce, has an arm’s length relationship with his two sons. The chapters about Sergei's son, Dmitri, which focused on a teen in torment, occasionally felt like too much of a sublet to the story in front of me. It grabbed my attention, but it didn’t feel fluent with the story at hand. It kept with the theme of identity and living an authentic life, but I didn't feel a palpable connection between Sergei and his sons. And, most enigmatic and mysterious of all is the relationship between Yoshi and his wife, Madoka. Madoka observes that her marriage to Yoshi is perceived by others to be happy and solid, strong and trusting. She also identifies that her marriage might have a solid surface, but may be empty inside. There were numerous references to being an actor in your own life, for several of the characters. The question that permeated the story was whether your authentic self was organic, or whether authenticity is merely an actor playing yourself. Do they merge? Which one is real--the self that emerges without calculation, or the one that we choose to be? It reminded me a bit of Hamlet’s conception of being-ness. The smooth, symbolic prose kept me fastened to both the mission and the characters. It was balanced and inevitably suggestive—reminding us that people, like space, cannot be pinned down. And between what is simulated and what is “real” may just be semantics.

2.5 out of 5 stars I wrote and re-wrote a description of the book numerous times. Each time I gave too much away. I came up with: basically, some people with things to prove, join up for the MarsNOW program to train to go to Mars. They are put into a "simulation" to make sure they can make it there and back - along the way - things go wrong and not only are they not sure if they are in a simulation, but they find new things out about each other and themselves. I really wanted to like The Wanderers - there was something about it that could have bumped it into a better review - but then there were other parts that just kept it going down and down. This might be one of the first reviews I've ever half-spoiled. About halfway through the book I tweeted: "I wanted to look up spoilers and reviews for the book I'm currently reading but I'm holding out. I have an idea of what I THINK is happening, but I want to know what's right..." - Apparently, even if I'd looked it up I wouldn't have found anything out. I'm pretty sure that's what Howrey wanted with The Wanderers but man did it annoy the heck out of me. There is no real "ending" to this book. Sure, it ends and the characters are safe and sound - but you don't actually know if they went to Mars or not. (Spoiler - I'm pretty sure they did). But not actually knowing bugs me more than I thought it would. I don't like the "American Ending" to movies or books. Everything does not need to end happily-ever-after. But give me what the heck happened. I know that some people will say that a 2.5 is generous for a book that bugged me as much as The Wanderers did - but I finished it with the hopes I would learn more. Sure, I was let down, but the fact that Howrey was able to write a book that I HAD to know the ending of is worth something, right? Overall, The Wanderers was a middle-of-the-road Sci-Fi drama that was more focused on the psychology of "is this a test?" and "are they watching us" than an actual Martian-like book. I'm disappointed, the story could have been so good but just fell short for me.