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Gentlemen of Space
Magnolia Court is not the most magical place in Florida, but to Georgie Finch, his suburban development is the center of the universe. In this superbly crafted novel, Georgie tells us the story of how his neighborhood and his family change in 1976 when his father, Jerry, wins a contest to become the first civilian man on the moon.
Once Jerry is shot into space, Magnolia Court turns into the worst sort of American media circus, and Georgie finds himself navigating through star-struck admirers and their card tables, Winnebagos, cookouts, and telescopes. When Jerry goes missing, the camp turns into a vigil, punctuated by potluck suppers and banners. Eventually the astronauts return to Earth without Jerry and descend on Magnolia Court -- in their spacesuits -- to pay their respects. All the while Georgie gets phone calls from his father in space, but no one believes him. Should we? Or is Georgie's entire story just that, a story?
A feat of literary ventriloquism, Gentlemen of Space is surprising, captivating, and astronomically inventive.
Once Jerry is shot into space, Magnolia Court turns into the worst sort of American media circus, and Georgie finds himself navigating through star-struck admirers and their card tables, Winnebagos, cookouts, and telescopes. When Jerry goes missing, the camp turns into a vigil, punctuated by potluck suppers and banners. Eventually the astronauts return to Earth without Jerry and descend on Magnolia Court -- in their spacesuits -- to pay their respects. All the while Georgie gets phone calls from his father in space, but no one believes him. Should we? Or is Georgie's entire story just that, a story?
A feat of literary ventriloquism, Gentlemen of Space is surprising, captivating, and astronomically inventive.
- GenresFictionScience Fiction
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 21, 2016
On a personal level, this is a book I was happy to find. Here's a brief story: About halfway through the novel, I repeatedly starred this description of one of the characters: The nose, a sort of teardrop, runs straight from the top of his head, without any of the usual detours a nose takes in allowing room for brows and ridges.
There's more to this description, and it continues to be really effing good, but I kept coming back to this sentence, before realizing why. I'd heard it before, four years prior, at a book reading by Reif Larsen. He had PowerPointed this passage as an example of how he wanted to describe things.
I remembered the passage, though not verbatim, but as with most quotes I did not remember the author. Much like I did not remember that the author of my favorite story ever to be featured on "This American Life," about a man stuck in a well, was also Ira Sher. He is a writer who many would enjoy, and perhaps already have enjoyed.
Ultimately, it was only through Googling the man in the well story -- titled, of course, "The Man in the Well" -- that I found Sher's novel, ten years uncurrent, and I suspect that it is one of the only ways to find it. There were four remaindered copies left on Amazon when I bought mine, and now that I am finished, there are still three. I am shocked that there are no reviews on Goodreads yet, but if you find this book, you are in for a treat. I want to discuss this book, show you all the lines I've starred, -- my copy is appropriately littered with stars -- defend it's ending, and tell you which of your favorite writers Ira Sher is better than.
There's more to this description, and it continues to be really effing good, but I kept coming back to this sentence, before realizing why. I'd heard it before, four years prior, at a book reading by Reif Larsen. He had PowerPointed this passage as an example of how he wanted to describe things.
I remembered the passage, though not verbatim, but as with most quotes I did not remember the author. Much like I did not remember that the author of my favorite story ever to be featured on "This American Life," about a man stuck in a well, was also Ira Sher. He is a writer who many would enjoy, and perhaps already have enjoyed.
Ultimately, it was only through Googling the man in the well story -- titled, of course, "The Man in the Well" -- that I found Sher's novel, ten years uncurrent, and I suspect that it is one of the only ways to find it. There were four remaindered copies left on Amazon when I bought mine, and now that I am finished, there are still three. I am shocked that there are no reviews on Goodreads yet, but if you find this book, you are in for a treat. I want to discuss this book, show you all the lines I've starred, -- my copy is appropriately littered with stars -- defend it's ending, and tell you which of your favorite writers Ira Sher is better than.
January 28, 2025
Ok, if you are a fan of maximalism in literature then maybe this book is for you. Unfortunately, I found the excessive description often made for dense and extremely opaque reading. You will often come across passages like this:
"I blinked. I saw the blood wall of the eye, and the fluid sphere like an ocean through which all sight must pass. I saw the coiled being clenched like windswept trees, and raised my head."
More times than I can count, I got lost part way through a sentence and emerged completely bewildered at the end. But hey, maybe this is your speed, do what you will.
"I blinked. I saw the blood wall of the eye, and the fluid sphere like an ocean through which all sight must pass. I saw the coiled being clenched like windswept trees, and raised my head."
More times than I can count, I got lost part way through a sentence and emerged completely bewildered at the end. But hey, maybe this is your speed, do what you will.
December 31, 2017
I thought the premise of this book was clever but that's where it ended for me. I found this painful to get through. There were many times I nearly gave up. The author' self indulgent writing style didn't suit my taste at all. I do not recommend this book.
July 15, 2017
I gave up on this book... and did not finish it. It just bogged down with a lyrical narcissism for its own writing, with the plot folding in on itself and seeming to progress only reluctantly and with long introspective meanderings. Disappointing since the book started off well, and was initially refreshing, as it grounded itself more in the vein of literary fiction than genre (sci-fi).
June 5, 2018
OMG, this book is atrocious. I'm sure where to start...the story is supposed to be a flashback to Georgie's youth but the narrator's point of view is never the same from scene to scene -- one moment, Georgie is an adult reflecting back on his youthful self and the next, he's a clueless child. The story skips back and forth from before Jerry leaves to after and then back again without warning. The character's motivations are never really explained so you have no idea why anyone is doing anything and his character development sucks...big time. The author is so taken by the idea of turning everything into a metaphor for the flaws of humanity that he almost completely ignores the plot line -- I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure how peanut butter stuck on a knife is a metaphor for loss of control over one's life. Stay away from this book...I'm completely serious, stay FAR away from this book!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews