The Last Pilot: A Novel
Author: Benjamin Johncock
Genre: Historical Fiction/General Fiction
Publisher: Picador
Description:
"Harrison sat very still. On the screen was the surface of the moon."
Jim Harrison is a test pilot in the United States Air Force, one of the exalted few. He spends his days cheating death in the skies above the Mojave Desert and his nights at his friend Pancho's bar, often with his wife, Grace. She and Harrison are secretly desperate for a child-and when, against all odds, Grace learns that she is pregnant, the two are overcome with joy.
While America becomes swept up in the fervor of the Space Race, Harrison turns his attention home, passing up the chance to become an astronaut to welcome his daughter, Florence, into the world. Together, he and Grace confront the thrills and challenges of raising a child head-on. Fatherhood is different than flying planes-less controlled, more anxious-however the pleasures of watching Florence grow are incomparable. But when his family is faced with a sudden and inexplicable tragedy, Harrison's instincts as a father and a pilot are put to test. As a pilot, he feels compelled to lead them through it-and as a father, he fears that he has fallen short.
The aftermath will haunt the Harrisons and strain their marriage as Jim struggles under the weight of his decisions. Beginning when the dust of the Second World War has only just begun to settle and rushing onward into the Sixties, Benjamin Johncock traces the path of this young couple as they are uprooted by events much larger than themselves. The turns the Harrisons take together are at once astonishing and recognizable; their journey, both frightening and full of hope. Set against the backdrop of one of the most emotionally charged periods in American history, The Last Pilot is a mesmerizing debut novel of loss and finding courage in the face of it from an extraordinary new talent.
Praise:
“Using
the early days of the U.S. space exploration program as a backdrop,
Johncock’s impressive debut laces fact with
fiction to tell the tale of Jim Harrison, an Air Force test pilot, and
his wife, Grace. The story opens in the Mojave Desert in 1947, where Jim
pushes innovative aircraft to their extremes and rubs elbows with the
likes of Chuck Yeager and Jack Ridley. Jim
and Grace pine for a child and eventually welcome a daughter, Florence.
But Florence becomes gravely ill at the age of two, and despite his
vast knowledge of cutting-edge aerospace technology, Jim can do little
to save her life. Devastated, he throws himself
into his work instead of mourning her death, volunteering for the
upstart NASA program and moving with Grace to Houston. Once there, Jim
must race against a ticking clock—the president expects a mission to the
moon by 1970—and he slowly drifts away from Grace,
develops anxious ticks, and suffers through disturbing visions of
Florence, all as he prepares to participate in one of the Gemini space
shuttles. Jim’s story is fascinating, and the author writes with a strong ear for dialogue, which rattles the pages
with intensity. A marvelous, emotionally powerful novel.” — **PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED BOXED REVIEW **
"This is by far the best debut novel I've read in years. You can read about the plot elsewhere, but for me, the
beauty of this novel is in the balance of the dialogue; the sustained
emotion that runs through the whole; the haiku-like simplicity of the
prose (and trust me, it takes a long, long time to create that sense of
effortlessness). Like so many of America's stories, this is a Western in
disguise; a quiet, limpid Western, where
the action mostly takes place in the air and in the chambers of the
heart. To me, it reads like the reclusive disciple of Cormac
McCarthy and de Saint-Exupéry, and if it doesn't get at least on
the shortlist of a major literary prize, then the book world
is even more clueless than I've always suspected…"—Joanne Harris
"I read
The Last Pilot in a single sitting, drawn into this story of a
couple's journey through love and grief as it unfolds during the tense
early days of the Space Race. Told in language as beautifully spare—and
unsparing—as a desert or a moonscape,
The Last Pilot reminds us in powerful ways that the real unknown
frontier still lies within the mysteries of the human heart."—Kim
Edwards, No. 1
New York Times bestselling author of The Lake of Dreams and The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
"Prepare
yourself for a one sitting read. This tautly crafted domestic drama is
set against the backdrop of the early days of NASA. When Jim and Grace
face the devastation of losing their
only child, their world implodes. Grace retreats, and Jim seeks
salvation in the dangerous world of space travel. Readers won't be able
to leave these characters until they turn the final page. Benjamin
Johncock's novel is a gorgeous exploration of loss,
forgiveness, and courage. THE LAST PILOT is a remarkable debut."
—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
“Filled
with dialogue that cuts like a knife, THE LAST PILOT is a riveting time
capsule of a novel that tells the gripping story of Jim Harrison, an
Air Force test pilot, working at NASA
during the 1950s glory years. But the dangers and magnitude of space
exploration pale in comparison to Harrison’s life-on-earth challenges,
including the death of his young daughter, which haunt and threaten to
destroy him. An emotionally raw, riveting read.”
—Susan Hans O'Connor, Penguin Bookshop, Sweickley, PA
—Susan Hans O'Connor, Penguin Bookshop, Sweickley, PA
"I
fell into this book like a falling star. Jim Harrison, already a test
pilot, wants to go into the wild beyond above the earth. At least until
he found that he was going to be a father,
something he and his wife thought would ever happen . . . Debut
author Johncock swirls into the narrative real history that makes the
tale that much more engrossing, and gives a very impressive debut
novel. I'll be keeping my eye on this guy, and so should
you."
—Jackie Blem, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO
“A tremendous debut! The subject matter is compelling and the story is
heartbreaking at times, but what set it apart for me was the style in which Benjamin Johncock tells this story. Brilliant!”
—Julie Slavinsky, Warwick's, La Jolla, CA
Author Links:
http://www.benjohncock.com/
http://www.twitter.com/benjohncock
http://benjohncock.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thatbenjohncock
Giveaway: (2) Hardcover copies of The Last Pilot - Open to US only!
