Journal of Alta California

The Lightest Object in the Universe

Kimi Eisele’s debut novel, The Lightest Object in the Universe, is a love story set against the background of societal apocalypse—which means it is a narrative of hope in the face of despair. Eisele, an author and artist living in Tucson, Arizona, is compelled more by how extreme circumstances bring us together than by how they pry us apart. Here is how the novel begins:

At the end of a long

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Editor & Publisher William R. Hearst III Editorial Director: Blaise Zerega Creative Director: John Goecke Editor at Large: Mary Melton Books Editor: David L. Ulin Digital Editor: Beth Spotswood California Book Club Editor: Anita Felicelli Newsletter

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