Sun at Midnight

by Rosie Thomas

An epic love story and adventure set against the stunning backdrop of Antarctica.

Alice Peel is a geologist. She believes in observation and proof. But now she stands alone on the deck of a rickety Chilean ship as a stark landscape reveals itself. Instead of the familiar measurable world, everything that lies ahead of her is unknown and unpredictable.

Six weeks earlier her life was comfortably unfolding in an Oxford summer. Then, with her relationship suddenly in pieces, she accepted an invitation to join a group working at the end of the earth: Antarctica.

James Rooker is a man on the run. He's been running since his childhood in New Zealand. Now, there is nowhere further to go. He has taken a job working on the same small Antarctic research station.

Alice discovers an ice-blue and silver world, lit by sunlight. Nothing has prepared her for the beauty of it, or the claustrophobia of a tiny base shared with eight men and one other woman. The isolation wipes out everyone's past, and tension crackles in the air. But there is a jolt of recognition between Alice and Rooker that is like nothing she has ever known. And it is in Antartica that she discovers something else that will change her life forever … if she survives.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adventure, Contemporary Romance, Travel

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Janey King, née Morris was born on 1947 in Denbigh, Wales, and also grew up in North Wales. She read English at Oxford, and after a spell in journalism and publishing began writing fiction after the birth of her first child. Published since 1982 as Rosie Thomas, she has written fourteen best-selling novels, deal with the common themes of love and loss. She is one of only a few authors to have won twice the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association, in 1985 with Sunrise, and in 2007 with Iris and Ruby.

Janey is an adventurer and once she was established as a writer and her children were grown, she discovered a love of travelling and mountaineering. She has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, spent time on a tiny Bulgarian research station in Antarctica and travelled the silk road through Asia. She currently lives in London.

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never read or even heard of Rosie Thomas before this. I really enjoyed this escapist read; I got so absorbed in the parts set in Antarctica that at one point I complained that the room was cold even though I was curled up on the sofa next to a blazing fire! Rosie Thomas is so good at conveying a sense of place, and I liked the fact that it was clear that she had been spellbound by Antarctica, Alice's feelings about it a reflection of hers. I also liked her set of characters and the claustrophobic tension on the Antarctic base. All the characters seemed like real individuals, the sort you think about after you've finished the book, wondering what they are doing now. The central idea of Alice living through an extreme experience that transforms her outlook on life appealed to me too. Of course there are parts that are a bit implausible, but I thought she did a good job of making Alice's behaviour and reactions completely believable. In many ways she reminds me of Maggie O'Farrell, who is also so good at conveying strong emotion.

I'd have given it four stars if it hadn't been for the last two chapters, which seemed to have been written with a Hollywood film deal in mind. Alice and Rook really deserved something better and more real than this. Nevertheless I enjoyed the rest so much I'd certainly read another book by her. Perfect holiday reading.

[Barbara Elsborg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this mostly for the descriptions of Antarctica. I really did get a feel for how difficult it must be to exist out there. Interesting dynamics between the characters but I wish, wish, wish there had been more between Rooker and Alice. It all seemed crammed into the last part which was very exciting, but not enough for me. I wanted more passion. Though I do understand that it wasn't possible at that point - not going to give anything away here - but earlier it might have been. Overall, it was a light read while I lay in the sunshine, feeling rather glad I wasn't at the somewhat chillier south pole.

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The airport scenes seemed anachronistic. Apparently this was published in the U.K. in 2004, but people could still walk right up to the departure gate without a ticket??

But the romance was nice, if a bit unbelievable, and the Antarctic setting was super awesome.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really stupid book. The only reason I'm giving it three stars is that it held my interest for the first three-quarters--but then it got really bad, really, really fast.

The story is about this female geologist who takes an assignment in Antarctica. She's extremely competent. Not only is she a smart scientist, but she completely takes to the wilderness. No hurdle is too much for her to handle, even though (as she finds out later), she's pregnant!

Things start to go downhill when she gets trapped in Antarctica towards the end of her pregnancy. As if that isn't dramatic enough, a fire burns down their buildings just as she's about to go into labor. Then the pilot who flies the helo out to rescue her refuses to take her back to the ship because a blizzard comes in, and he decides it's too dangerous. Amazingly, another guy, who serves as the macho, romantic interest decides to fly the helo himself, even though he hasn't flown in years, and it's not even clear that he's ever flown a helo before. But somehow, he's able to fly something as complex as a helo in Antarctica during blizzard conditions, when even the professional pilot doesn't dare because it's too dangerous. But it gets even worse. As they're flying towards the ship, she suddenly goes into labor on the helo! The romantic interest substitute pilot has to do an emergency landing on the ice, and he's able to deliver her baby by following instructions from the ship's doctor over the radio. Who knew it was that easy! Then he somehow manages to take off again and fly in zero visibility to land on the ship. I wonder what the Navy pilots I work with would think of that!

Predictably, he ends up separated from the woman. She goes off to New Zealand to look for him, and after months of deliberation, he finally decides to go to England to look for her. He just misses her--literally by an hour. He races to the airport and manages to catch up with her right as she's about to board the airplane!

The worst thing of all is that this incredibly, competent female scientist decides that, in the end, the most important thing in life is having a man and being with her baby. She completely gives up her career, and says she'll go anywhere or do anything as long as she can be with him!

ICK!!!

So disappointing, especially, when the first three quarters of the book were actually pretty good!

[LindyLouMac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosie Thomas is not only an author but a keen traveller and mountaineer which has provided her with excellent and well researched material for her novels. To research the Antarctic background for Sun at Midnight Rosie spent a month living with the scientists on a Bulgarian research station on Livingstone Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula.
I am a long time fan of her writing although I still have to catch up with her most recent novels. With Sun at Midnight I was immediately engrossed in this adventure and love story that is set in Antarctica and gave me a rare glimpse of an amazing world. The author's personal research pays off as it shows in her writing as I really felt transported to the location from page one. In fact to quote from her website ' she believes that her travelling and writing are interdependent, and that one informs and enables the other.'
Having raved over the atmospheric setting of the novel I had better give you a brief outline of the story without spoilers of course. The theme is a familiar one for Rosie Thomas that of love and loss but it works as it is the stronger background settings that for me personally make her novels so readable.

The female protagonist is Alice Peel a geologist and daughter of a famous scientist who had worked in Antartica. It is due to her mothers failing health that Alice is herself given the opportunity to take part in a research programme herself. In sharp contrast to her normal life in Oxford she finds herself on-board a ship in a desolate landscape about to enter the realm of the unknown and unpredictable. Nothing has prepared Alice for the stark beauty of this place or for the realities of living in close confinement with a small group of people, just one other woman besides herself. It is with James Rooker, a man on the run his entire life and another member of the expedition, that she finds she has a spark with, like she has never felt with anyone before. The characters are all realistic with well portrayed personalities. As the claustrophobic tension builds amongst the people living and working together in this isolated research station, it is the present moment and survival that matters most. Their behaviour and reactions to the environment and situations they find themselves in may be a little implausible, it is their personal reactions that are more believable. Alice discovers something about herself in Antarctica that may change her life for ever if she survives the experience. Whilst saying that the human reactions were more believable, it does not mean you will necessarily agree with them, but I think you will understand them.

I recommend Rosie Thomas to women that are looking for more than romance in their reading. She is a writer whose style of writing is now appealing to a new generation of young women as well as those of us that have been reading her novels since the early eighties.

http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...

[Gabriela Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not the "normal " standard of romance. Actually I don't know if I could call it a romance. And by saying this I am not disappointed at all with my reading choice. This book talks s lot about geology, remembering me things about sedimentary rocks that I did not hear since I went to university. And teaching new things I did not know about. Most of the story takes place in Antarctica and although you could think of Antarctica as white place with it everywhere and nothing else the book descriptions are amazingly written and you can actually see the beauty of such a place! The dance of the sunlight hitting the icy mountains, the penguins.. Honestly it can make you wanna get there!
And I did not thought that such an icy place could have interest for a geology scientist but it actually does. The ice is only our only association to such a distant place. I think Rook's story could have been better explained. And I would prefer if his mother was seen as kind to him rather than drunk and irresponsible. You can't really understand his sorrow when you get the feeling his mother was kind of a bitch. Romance? Well you almost don't have the typical romance you may expect. Rook and Alice barely interact and with exception of the last chapters you never think there's such love between them. But that is actually the beauty of it. Their relationship is silent, made of small gestures and small confidences
And when the thing Alice was hiding is discovered.. Well, THAT was actually romantic. However I was disappointed with the end. Although I was filled with joy when they finally reunited I was actually expecting to see more about how they were going to be together. I mean you had so little romance in the book that at least in the end you could have seen a little more of love. However I really enjoyed the book. Great for who wants to read an interesting book and likes geology and biology

[Fátima Linhares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Não foi nada má esta estreia com a autora Rosie Thomas.

Estava à espera de um romance xaropento em que os pombinhos não podiam viver longe um do outro e amo-te para trás e para a frente, mas foi o oposto. O romance vai-se desenvolvendo de forma lenta dentro de cada um.

Os protagonistas são artomentados, cada um com a sua cruz.

James Rooker foge ao seu passado e vai até à parte mais austral do mundo para fugir dos fantasmas do seu passado.

Alice Peel também resolve ir para a Antártida, numa expedição científica, depois de um desgosto e também para perpetuar o legado da sua mãe, uma famosa biológa.

Na Antártida tudo é diferente. Os dias não são substituídos pela noite e tudo o que se vê são um branco infinito, a ausência de civilização e o facto de todos os membros da expedição, biológa, paleontólogo, glaciologista e o pessoal de apoio estarem confinados aquele clima e solidão extremos.

E se aqui o relato se poderia tornar chato, tal não acontece, pois os acontecimentos são narrados de forma fluída, apesar da extensão dos capítulos.

E depois da grande revelação da nossa protagonista, Alice Peel, que até eu fiquei um bocadinho surpresa, pois não estava mesmo à espera, a ação ainda se desenrola de forma mais fluída.

À medida que me aproximava do final, e já antevendo que ía ser um bocado à filme de Hollywood, aeroporto e tal, não foi de todo o caso. Foi um final maduro, de quem deixa o passado para trás e procura um novo futuro, à sua maneira.

[Nina Draganova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Бях много приятно изненадана разлиствайки книгата, да открия специално посвещение на членовете на 11-та българска антарктическа експедиция и техния водач професор Христо Пимпирев. И много горда , разбира се.
Книгата има и много силни, и не толкова страни.
Беше ми любопитно да прочета за живота на хората, дръзнали да останат за дълго на този континент, още повече че това е разказ от първо лице.
Авторката е много добър разказвач с богато въображение и език.
Накара ме да съпреживея драматичните обрати и да се пренеса в един напълно непознат за мен свят.
Възхищавам се искрено на такива смели хора.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I love survival stories, so this was a pleasurable read. The characters are somewhat stereotyped, but all are sympathetic, human. The story could be a Hallmark movie- be prepared for romantic drama and all that that implies. One irking moment for me, incidental to the plot- when can a writer portray a woman who had an abortion without grief as a side effect? It does happen.

[Sara Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story with well-written characters, superb descriptions and a plot that moves at a steady pace. Ok, for the story to really work, you do have to suspend your disbelief and enjoy the book but if you are prepared to do that, then this book is worth a look. Recommended.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book ... gave good insight into Antarctica ... with a love story for added interest

[Svetlana Ivanova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книгата ми хареса, с изключение на края тя не е типичния романтичен роман. Изпълнена с много действие, опасности, описва живота на екип в изолирана антарктическа база, авторката е била в действителност в такава база, и то българска и ми беше интересно как описва това място.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was fascinating to read about Antarctica.

But the male main character, Rooker, was an awful, violent person. I could not root for him and Alice to be together.

And the author herself was pretty awful, too, in her homophobic characterization of the one gay man in the book as a pedophile.

But the scenes of Antarctica were vivid and beautiful. I do appreciate having that experience, through Thomas’s writing.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antarctica stories are another fascination; I will want to read just about anything that I come across with Antarctica as the setting, so I picked up this one.

My standard for a good arctic adventure is "Ice Station Zebra", the first Antarctica thriller I ever read. "Sun at Midnight" was a yawn in comparison, just straight up weather and fire disasters, nothing new.

The characters - I am not at all a romance fan because you know the story even before you crack the cover and that just bores the crap out of me. The characters were stock characters at best; even their tribulations and traumas were only mildly interesting.

So why did I stick with this story to the end? Because her descriptions about what it's like to be just a normal person living in such life-threatening weather - by CHOICE, no less - made me glad I was sitting in a nice warm apartment reading about this dangerous place rather than experiencing that place for myself. Her descriptions of the challenge of travel across that landscape and the struggle to create a small space that will sustain human life - the struggle of providing basic shelter and food are mind blowing tasks. No romanticizing here, thank you very much!

I am an armchair adventurer, no doubt about it.

[Avicenna Lover-of-Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Thomas's Kashmir Shawl and picked up Sun at Midnight as it's setting (both in time and space) was quite antithetical to the former. Unfortunately, my ability to maintain suspended disbelief took a nose dive. The story is sufficiently incredulous to make one keep reading, but it doesn't quite scratch the itch the right way. There are a number of significant chunks of the story that defy probabilities - but the one that I found most difficult to cinch was the appeal of Rooker. Seems like women are all scrambling over each other to get a piece of him - a man with anger management issues, a clear drinking problem, uncommunicative, no career or ambitions, and of no-fixed address. It became comical that every woman he came across wanted to bed him, and he took it well enough in stride. If you can swallow that - then you may be able to swallow the grand finale.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot of this story, but it lost a star from be because Alice, a woman of science, and clear basic knowledge of pregnancy willingly and knowingly continued to consume whiskey and vodka and other alcohol after she found out she was pregnant! This story was set in the 21st century! And she's doing one of the top big no-no's pregnant women are heavily advised against!

Thankyou for listening to my TED Talk

[penelopewanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about this author, but decided to sign up for this ray. What a delight. I loved reading about the Antarctic -and while reading it we had a presentation at our school about our earth which included quite a large section on the Antarctic... (red VW phenomenon)... I would have loved to have heard more about what happens to the characters afterwards, so I was left rather hungry for more. Only the very ending with the last minute meeting was a bit over the top to my taste... Nonetheless very enjoyable read, I look forward to finding more by this author.

[Gmr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done! It was beautiful and poetic in its descriptions, while conveying a story that truly came from the heart. Our leading lady was nothing to shirk at to begin with but by book's end, she had come not only full circle the globe (well, in a manner of speaking), but also into her own sense of self. It reminds us that life is fleeting but love can last forever and is expressed in so many ways. While not a quick read, it is certainly a book for whiling away many an afternoon due to the length and lengthy meanderings, making it a wonderful addition to your summer reading conquests.

[Bambola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, clearly I liked this a lot more than many other readers, as it averages just over 3 stars... I loved the incredibly evocative sense of place in this book and for me it was something completely different to read about Antarctica. The overall plot requires a pretty big stretch over one decision the main character makes, but I could live with that and it had to be done otherwise there would have been no story to speak of.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok but there were a few plot holes and quite frankly the character was stupid enough to continue with the antarctic expedition even though she was pregnant and there was a boat that could have taken her back home.

[Pip White · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Rosie Thomas book was not as absorbing as others she has written.
I felt the situation of the main character was unbelievable and I need to have credibility in a story.
I liked the characters and the location of the story but the link with reality was lost.

[Elaine Silvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favourite book. I adore it. It has everything. I have probably read this book 10 times so far.

[Gina Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I joined the adult winter reading challenge at my local library. One of the challenges was to read a book that happens where it snows. I choose this book because my father in law served in the United States Navy at Amundsen Scott base at the South Pole on Antarctica. I thought it would be enjoyable for me to read a story that takes place on the continent.

I was pulled into the story quite early. Rook has a short introduction and it shows how he ended up going to the setting place of the story. Then Alice has her introductory story. Alice's mother is a famous celebrity that has gone to Antarctica and other places throughout her life. Margaret had shoved her way into the male dominated world. Alice walks in her mother's shadow her whole life. Her father loved geology so she takes that path. They had a very close relationship since her mother traveled a lot. Her mother has received an invitation to join a new Antarctica summer season but due to her health she can't go. So she suggests they invite Alice who is a professor of geology at Oxford.

Alice is happy in a relationship and has no interest in following in her mother's footsteps on Antarctica. Then she catches her significant other kissing someone at a party they host then a few days later walks in on him at his art studio giving oral satisfaction to a student. She breaks up with him. This emotional time causes her to rethink her life and what's she's doing with it.

In the end she decides to join the expedition. There are many very descriptive and interesting sections that make you feel like you can see what the author is writing about. The characters are fun and interesting, some are a little predictable but still they have depth and morals.

The team leader is someone that Alice might have been interested in during her time in academia. He's intelligent, highly focused and organized, and he works with fossils while she works with rocks and such. But she's just not that person anymore.

She and Rook develop feelings for each other over the 6 months they are summering over.

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up really enjoying this book even though it took me a bit to get into it. With a diverse, interesting cast of characters - it was fun to see them all thrown together. It was kind of like survivor, Ha! People from all over, from different backgrounds having to live together. And then, throw in the frigid cold weather and blizzards not to even mention all their personal issues and baggage.

The descriptions were great! I could really picture being there (and I would love to be there!). There were also a few heart stopping moments.

"They attempted to work, although it was clear from the onset that there was almost no point. The wind was so strong that it tore the pages of their notebooks and threatened to snatch instruments out of their hands. It was impossible to talk, only to shriek above the gusts, and it was too cold to take off mittens or goggles for even a few seconds at a time."

"Then he dropped the compass.
In an eye-blink the instrument hit the ground beside his boot, hung for a second in the ruff of soft snow mounded around his tracks, then toppled again and began to slide. It gathered speed, skidding faster, out of sight down the small slope to the glacier. They were so cold that the hardly moved. There was no point in plunging after it. It was gone for good."

Well all this makes for an interesting read. My only negative really was that is was long! Almost 500 pages and it was a bit slow in spots, but definitely worth the read!

This was a new to me author and I would love to try more.

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from The Overlook Press ~ Thank You!

[Priscilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Um romance leve em um cenário exótico. Isso já deve ser mais do que o suficiente para segurar a mão de qualquer leitor, mas eu tenho alguns motivos mais concretos para os mais empedernidos.

Não me leve a mal, eu gosto de romances bodice-ripper, acho o estilo relaxante e sempre me permite dar umas boas risadas. Porém não foi o que aconteceu aqui porque a autora, descaradamente, abusa da boa vontade de qualquer leitor.

A personagem, uma cientista altamente instruída e cheia de Ph.D., age como uma garota que mal saiu da faculdade, sendo sonsa ao ponto da irritação. Incapaz de decisões firmes, a não ser quando é empurrada pelos familiares, é também a responsável por todos os problemas que vai encarar no livro.

Seu par romântico é o homem-machão típico do estilo, mas com o decorrer da história sua força se resume em antagonizar outro homem com base na desculpa que o sujeito lhe lembra um tio autoritário. Como se não bastasse, seu desenvolvimento emocional é mínimo, assim como o de todos os outros personagens do livro. Entretanto, o que me aborreceu espetacularmente é a história de fundo que a autora lhe proporcionou:

Quando adolescente era um delinquente pirotécnico que foi assediado sexualmente por um amigo da mãe que também era a epítome do clichê homossexual. Ou seja, na história, todo o seu machismo, atrofia emocional e imaturidade são resultados de um beijo forçado por outro homem.

A Antártida se torna, então, apenas o lugar em que tudo ocorre, mal servindo para a descrição de uma ou duas passagens. Se tudo tivesse ocorrido no Nordeste Brasileiro, não haveria a menor diferença.

[Nancyann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sun at Midnight is a one of a kind story. Set mostly at a research station in Antarctica, Sun at Midnight paints a picture of human determination in a most hostile environment, allows us to witness a diverse group of people in their attempts to get along in the name of science, and at the central core is a love story of self discovery. Main character Alice Peel's stable life as an academician at Oxford is shaken to its core and her mother, a famous research scientist, convinces Alice to apply for a geology position on an Antarctic expedition. Author Rosie Thomas herself spent time in Antarctica so does a wonderful job bringing the reader to this desolate yet beautiful destination. Her writing style was spot on, I could feel the chill of the frigid temperatures but also the warmth of camaraderie amongst the workers. This is also a story of secrets which lead to dramatic plot twists and has an anxious yet happy ending. Sun and Midnight is good on so many levels and I'm glad to have read it.

[Elisabeth Bibbings · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a lot of research went into this book. Rosie Thomas sets the important part of the story in an Antarctic Research station, which entailed actually spending some time there. The story is a bit improbable, but then most Antarctic experiences must be like that - people from different nationalities and with different backgrounds cooped up together in a place of incredible beauty and great danger.
On top of that, she's had to get to grips with geology as well.
(Spoiler alert) I won't say much about the plotline as it is a bit mad - Oxford doctor in geology meets wandering wastrel from New Zealand while finding herself pregnant by ex-boyfriend - pregnant in Antarctica, thousands of miles from the nearest midwife? And she decides to stay out her season on the research base?
I did wonder if there was a happy-ever-after ending as the couple at the end seemed too dissimilar to me for a long-term future together. But heigh-ho, it's only a story.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 'The Sun at Midnight', author Rosie Thomas paints a vivid picture of life in an Antarctic research station where a dozen people of different nationalities are spending five months. You can almost picture yourself there. The descriptions of this southern-most landscape are very evocative. When two researchers go off and spend a week far from the settlement you can feel the isolation, their dependence on each other and how vital it was to read the weather. The main character Alice finds the environment changing her, though the predicament she finds herself in and how she chose to handle it seemed very selfish. However, so far, so good. But then, one of the support staff, a loner who broods a lot, and has never said more than a few words to Alice, suddenly says 'I love you'. This 'romance' never felt real and spoilt the entire story for me. The Hollywood ending was very artificial. So... Thomas can write beautifully; she just can't do romance.

[Sarah Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written, Antarctica adventure, where nine people are thrown together. Some are scientists, like Alice ( the heroine), while others are support assistants to the scientists, Rook (a bit of an antihero) - who comes good in the end.

One lesser background character in this novel, was written quite superficially - hopefully without spoiling it for readers, the character of Lester is based on an ugly stereotype of a gay man (gay man depicted as a paedophilie - one which fortunately I haven't come across in any other book!).

Apart from the depiction of Lester, it was a brilliant book. A soundly written love story, concerned with adventure, conflicting emotions and fabulous descriptions of the surroundings. A great read. Hat off to the author (well partial hat off!). Would have been a four star ( but with Lester a three). Very well written.

[Yolande Stannard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed her writing. I love the way she describes Antarctica. The sheer magnificence of the frozen world. Living in isolation so close to people with no were to go. It creates emotions and tensions you can get away from in normal day to day life. It is interesting to think how a person would cope in that harsh environment. In a situation where everything is taken away so you can appreciate the splendor of nature and learn to respect the boundaries there of. Our Hero is a bit of a bad boy with his own struggles that he has to work through. The Heroine makes some bad choices she has to live with. I found the story engaging and would recommend it, but I felt the ending was a bit abrupt.