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The Longest Night

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A scintillating debut novel about a young couple whose marriage is tested when they move to an army base rife with love triangles, life-or-death conflicts, and a dramatic cover-up
In 1959, Nat Collier moves with her husband, Paul, and their two young daughters to Idaho Falls, a remote military town. An Army Specialist, Paul is stationed there to help oversee one of the country’s first nuclear reactors—an assignment that seems full of opportunity.
Then, on his rounds, Paul discovers that the reactor is compromised, placing his family and the entire community in danger. Worse, his superiors set out to cover up the problem rather than fix it. Paul can’t bring himself to tell Nat the truth, but his lies only widen a growing gulf between them.
Lonely and restless, Nat is having trouble adjusting to their new life. She struggles to fit into her role as a housewife and longs for a real friend. When she meets a rancher, Esrom, she finds herself drawn to him, comforted by his kindness and company. But as rumors spread, the secrets between Nat and Paul build and threaten to reach a breaking point.
Based on a true story of the only fatal nuclear accident to occur in America, The Longest Night is a deeply moving novel that explores the intricate makeup of a marriage, the shifting nature of trust, and the ways we try to protect the ones we love.
Praise for The Longest Night
“[A] stunning debut.”Entertainment Weekly
 
“[A] smart and detailed portrait of a dissolving postwar marriage . . . will remind many readers of Richard Yates’s Revolutionary Road.”San Francisco Chronicle
 
“[Andria] Williams’s quietly confident style is without swagger or gimmick. . . . What emerges most powerfully from The Longest Night is a kind of quiet wonder at the exquisite intricacy, but astonishing durability, of familial love.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Think Army Wives meets Serial meets your perfect long weekend read. About an army base with a lot of love triangles, and a cover-up.”theSkimm
“The tension builds heavily with each page.”InStyle

“Scintillating . . . A smoldering, altogether impressive debut that probes the social and emotional strains on military families in a fresh and insightful way.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[A] luminous debut . . . Williams expertly builds tension between Paul and Nat as the story progresses towards the inevitable nuclear tragedy in this utterly absorbing and richly rewarding novel.”Booklist (starred review)

“Andria Williams’s debut is an intimately detailed portrait of love, trust, and guilt in a town—and an era—clouded with secrets.”—Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You
“A smart and compassionate novel that offers as many fresh insights into marriage and intimacy as it does about American nuclear history. Andria Williams is a terrific writer—clear-eyed and empathetic—and this is a fantastic debut.”—Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans

“It’s hard to believe The Longest Night is Andria Williams’s debut novel. Her command of language, character and plot—the three essential ingredients for a riveting read—is extraordinary.”—David Abrams, author of Fobbit
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 5, 2015
      Williams’s debut opens boldly with the story’s climax—an apparent accident at a government-run nuclear reactor—then moves back and forth through a young couple’s uneasy marriage to arrive at the fateful event. When Paul Collier takes an army posting in Idaho in the late 1950s to operate a nuclear reactor, he’s hoping for a career opportunity and stability for his young family. But he sees firsthand that the reactor is problematic and dangerous, and he immediately suspects that his superiors are not following protocol. Paul’s wife, Nat, a free-spirited Californian, tries to fit in with the conservative military-centered social life, while their marriage starts to unravel amid work stress, jealousy, boredom, loneliness, temptation, and immaturity. Master Sergeant Richards, Paul’s troublesome supervisor, and his scheming wife are central to their distress; Richards is demeaning to Paul and flirts audaciously with Nat, provoking Paul into a confrontation that has devastating consequences. Williams’s austere Idaho setting with small-town diners, jukeboxes, and cowboys is appealing , and her characters’ clothing, cars, food, and conventional gender roles provide a time stamp of the era. Although the narrative occasionally trudges along and Nat can be opaque, the simultaneous breakdown of nuclear reactor and marriage provides satisfying symmetry.

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2016

      It's 1959, and Nat must move with her husband, Paul, and their two young girls to a small military town in Idaho where Paul has been stationed to oversee a nuclear reactor. But freethinker Nat has trouble making friends with the military wives, and Paul realizes the reactor has been compromised and is a threat to the community. When her husband gets deployed, Nat meets a rancher, Esrom, and is comforted by his kindness. The time they spend together makes Nat less lonely but creates rumors about their relationship. Once Paul returns, Paul, Nat, and Esrom are forced to make decisions that will alter the course of their lives and others in the community. Williams's debut novel is based on the true story of an explosion at a small nuclear reactor in Idaho. More than a historical retelling, this is a deep exploration of love, marriage, and trust. The lonely and desolate setting plays a key role in the narrative, while character development and growth is of less importance. VERDICT Overall, this is a great first novel and will be enjoyed by historical romance readers. Recommended for fans of M.L. Stedman and Santa Montefiore. [See Prepub Alert, 7/6/15.]--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL

      Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from October 15, 2015
      Inspired by a real-life nuclear accident in Idaho Falls in 1961, Williams' luminous debut explores the lead-up to the tragedy through the eyes of a young army specialist and his beautiful wife. Neither Paul Collier nor Nat fits in very well in their new home. Paul is dismayed to learn that the CR-1, the nuclear reactor he and several other men are in charge of, is in poor shape: the core is failing, and one of the reactor's rods is sticking, making adjustments not only difficult but perilous. Paul quickly realizes that his buffoonish supervisor has no interest in his concerns about the reactor, and a clash between them turns violent, resulting in Paul getting shipped off to another assignment for six months. Left behind with two young children and pregnant with a third, Nat tries to make friends with the prim-and-proper army wives, but she finds her deepest friendship with a handsome young Mormon cowboy who proves to be both a help and a bright spot in Nat's life, as well as a temptation. Williams expertly builds tension between Paul and Nat as the story progresses towards the inevitable nuclear tragedy in this utterly absorbing and richly rewarding novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2015

      In 1959, Nat Collier moves to Idaho Falls with army specialist husband Paul, who is tasked with overseeing operations at one of the country's first nuclear reactors. Paul quickly discovers that the reactor's core was not constructed correctly but hides this frightening news from Nat, who feels increasingly isolated both from him and from the town's holier-than-thou military wives. Inspired by the nation's only fatal nuclear accident (on January 3, 1961); Williams hosts an online book review for military spouses, female veterans, and women in the military.

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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