Gravity Well

by Melanie Joosten

Lotte is an astronomer who spends her nights peering into deep space rather than looking too closely at herself. When she returns to her hometown after years in South America, reeling from a devastating diagnosis, she finds that much has changed. Lotte’s father has remarried, and she feels like an outsider in the house she grew up in. She’s estranged from her former best friend, Eve, who is busy with her own life, and unsure of how to recover the closeness they once shared. Initially, Lotte's return causes disharmony, but then it is the catalyst for a much more devastating event — an event that will change Lotte and Eve's lives forever.

If families are like solar systems — bodies that orbit in time with one another, sometimes close and sometimes far away — what is the force that drives them? And what are the consequences when the weight of one planet tugs others off course?

The long-awaited second novel from the award-winning Melanie Joosten, 'Gravity Well' is a striking and tender tale of friendship and family: both the family we are born to, and the family we choose. Deeply compassionate and profoundly moving, it is a heartrending portrait of how we rebuild when the worst has happened.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 29, 2017

About the author

Melanie Joosten is a writer who lives in Melbourne. Her first novel, Berlin Syndrome (2011) saw her named as a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist and awarded the Kathleen Mitchell Award for Young Writers. Berlin Syndrome is currently being turned into a film with a screenplay by Shaun Grant, to be directed by Cate Shortland.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours), a Master of Arts (Editing) and a Master of Social Work. She has had work published in Best Australian Stories 2014, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings and Sleepers Almanac. She is a recipient of grants from the Australia Council and Arts Victoria and residencies from Writing Australia and Varuna.

Reviews

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told through alternating POVs, Eve and Lotte have been best friends since university but both have made completely different choices in life and find themselves becoming more and more distant.
This book follows them over a specific period of time, but also flashbacks quite often. This kind of style with the moving in time and POVs and the 'Tim Winton' style of not using punctuation marks for dialogue, and you get a story that I found quite difficult to follow at times. I may not have continued with if it wasn't for the fact that this was chosen for my book club and I felt compelled to keep going.
Once we hit about 60% and we find out about an awful tragedy that drives the future relationship of Eve and Lotte ; then the book kind of got it's stride and started to come together. Overall I'm not sure how I felt about it... kind of clever, but maybe too clever writing? And a story that is overall extremely emotional and not for the faint of heart.

[Bookread2day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gravity Well is my first book by Melanie Joosten . I found Melanie an extremely talented writer, one that really has thought hard about describing scenes with a difference. Lotte is an astronomer who spends her time gazing into space. The words that Melanie used to describe what Lotte sees are with poetry like words and sentences flow poetic. also the author has a way of making you feel like you are really there seeing what Lotte can see. Gravity Well takes you much deeper into Lotte's life. Quite an emotional read, one well worth reading.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were great, some parts were a little off, and some parts annoyed the hell out of me.

But the ending. Oh my. My hearts swells for that ending.

[Catherine Davison · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some beautiful writing in this book, particularly the parts about the planets and astronomy however I found the construction of the novel annoying. There were too many of those instances of ‘now here’s the back story’ happening with too many characters and then again for each pair of characters. It’s a good story, very sad and not recommended for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child in tragic circumstances. Overall it’s a good read I’m just not a fan of that style of a book which keeps going backwards to the big reveal. She’s got talent though and some parts are written very beautifully.

[James Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a devastating and entirely self-contained book. Tiny events spill outwards, only to find their full resonance later. Every relationship is unique, and forensically analysed. The timelines create a telescopic effect, revealing just when they need to. I loved the synergy of imagery and character and their different perspectives - one character early on sees fuschias as fairies; another later sees them as planetary nebulae. Also there's a great moment when one of the characters makes a very entertaining list of all the wonderful ways you can die in space.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not so very long ago that my mother died of ovarian cancer so there were times when reading Melanie Joosten’s second novel was difficult for me. One of her characters dies of the disease, and her daughter fears the genetic inheritance as I do. But Gravity Well is so intriguingly constructed and so engaging on the subject of damaged relationships that I put my feelings to one side and kept on reading anyway…

But first, the title. I bet I’m not the only reader who Googles it to find out what it means.

A gravity well or gravitational well is a conceptual model of the gravitational field surrounding a body in space – the more massive the body, the deeper and more extensive the gravity well associated with it. The Sun is very massive, relative to other bodies in the Solar System, so the corresponding gravity well that surrounds it appears “deep” and far-reaching. The gravity wells of asteroids and small moons, conversely, are often depicted as very shallow. Anything on the surface of a planet or moon is considered to be at the bottom of that celestial body’s gravity well, and so escaping the effects of gravity from such a planet or moon (to enter outer space) is sometimes called “climbing out of the gravity well”. The deeper a gravity well is, the more energy any space-bound “climber” must use to escape it. (Wikipedia, viewed 3/8/17)

And I bet I’m not the only person who doesn’t understand the significance of this title until the end of the book.

Gravity Well begins with a prologue, so the reader knows that something terrible has happened, but not what it is. Thereafter, third person narratives bring the intersecting stories of Lotte and Eve, once the best of friends but now both perilously alone. Eve is a sound engineer, captivated by the the minutiae of our world: animal, human and the built environment. Lotte is an astronomer, fascinated by the night sky, and obsessed by the quest to find new planets. Lotte and her colleagues amuse themselves by cataloguing all the gruesome ways there are to die in space. And Lotte jettisons relationships without a qualm because, well, what does it matter? we’re all just specks in the universe.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/08/03/g...

[Michael Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a neatly structured book about two friends whose lives intersect in various sad and complicated ways. This had all the ingredients of something I'd love, but I never quite got wrapped up in it. The characters didn't really connect with me and the plot felt a bit overblown at times. Joosten is a nice writer, but I had much higher hopes for this.

[Scribe Publications]

[Joosten’s] characters are faced with all the complexity of the modern world, and sometimes the decisions they make turn out to be wrong. Watching them face the consequences makes for riveting reading … This is the work of an elegant and vital novelist, someone fully engaged and grappling with the multitude of difficulties involved in the way we live now.
Louise Swinn, Sydney Morning Herald

Joosten’s plotting is both wonderfully assured and stunningly unexpected: as details fall into place readers cannot but admire her chutzpah even as they respond to the complex humanity of her intimately realised characters.
Adelaide Advertiser

Masterfully constructed … Though there is loss at the centre of Gravity Well, Joosten knows that the most urgent observations about life come from making sense of the unfathomable. This is a carefully crafted, emotionally cathartic novel. Our journey away from suffering, Joosten suggests, begins with our movement towards each other.
Gretchen Shirm, Weekend Australian

[Gravity Well] is only the second novel by Melanie Joosten, but it achieves a textured and realistic quality that for some writers takes a lifetime.
The Saturday Paper

Melanie Joosten’s devastating second novel reminds us of the risks and redemptive power of human connection. Gravity Well brilliantly conveys the magnitude of love and loss, even as its exquisite planetary imagery reveals how small we truly are.
Emily Bitto, Author of The Strays

Cleverly constructed and beautifully written, Gravity Well is an absorbing, heart-squeezing novel about family, friendship, grief, and forgiveness. Joosten’s empathy shines through, as does her insight into how easy it is to wound the people we love the most. In Eve and Lotte, she has created two very different characters, but both display an all-too-believable mix of selfishness, generosity, fragility, and toughness, and their deep, complicated, vital friendship is gorgeously real.
Emily Maguire, Author of An Isolate Incident

An expert dissection of friendship and relationships in all their beautiful, terrible, constantly surprising glory … Joosten has a gift for tracing the random lines of connection and disconnection that shape human life: the fractures that break us and the stubborn power of love to put us back together again.
Kirsten Tranter, Author of Hold

Exceptionally written … Joosten’s meditations on friendship, ambition and family life are wise and thought-provoking. She has created fully rounded and credibly flawed characters, with an authorial gaze moving seamlessly between the broad and the telescopic.
Annie Condon, Readings

A quiet, intelligent story about loneliness and friendship, about grief tempered by hope. I admired Joosten’s thrilling plot-twist just past the halfway mark, and her beautiful imagery … a pleasure to read.
Naama Grey-Smith, Australian Book Review

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lotte and Eve are best friends. Lotte is an astronomer, who's sole focus is her work. Because of this Lotte and her family and friends are drifting apart. Eve is an artist working with sounds. She loves passionately, but isn't lucky when it comes to matters of the heart. When Lotte finds a job abroad the friendship slowly disappears. However, Eve is still part of Lotte's world and when Lotte returns from a long stay in South America, they both discover that it's more difficult to forgive, forget and move on than they initially thought. What will happen when disaster strikes, are Lotte and Eve strong enough to survive? Will they be able to work things out or will meeting each other again end in disaster?

Gravity Well is a beautiful heartbreaking story. Lotte and Eve are two very different women. Lotte is driven, focused and totally work oriented. She has a dream, she wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and she's dedicated to her job. This causes trouble in the rest of her life though, because Lotte is emotionally detached and her work is her main priority. That means she effortlessly leaves everyone she loves and each problem she has behind for the job she's always wanted. Eve tries to keep in touch with her, but her life has taken a direction Lotte isn't particularly happy with. For the first time their friendship is under pressure. I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough to find out more about their relationship, the trouble they have to deal with and the events that lead to so much unhappiness on both sides. Melanie Joosten kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Eve and Lotte have a complex bond and Melanie Joosten describes their hopes, dreams, faults and struggles in a gorgeous open way. It's clear from the start something big is going to happen. This inevitability makes the story intriguing and nerve wracking. Melanie Joosten alternates between Lotte and Eve and I equally loved each character. They both have strong personalities and real problems. I read their story with tears in my eyes and loved how much I felt while reading Gravity Well. It's poignant, impressive and compelling. I highly recommend this amazing book.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I loved the Australia-ness of it, the writing, the imperfect characters, the astronomy metaphor about relationships, the way plot points were revealed. Sometimes I was completely surprised by little revelations, other times I saw them coming. And the ending was satisfactory too!

[Lesley Moseley · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW what a lucky find on an EBOOK platform. The words 'astronomy' caught my attention; and once I could tell that the jumping around timelines and narrators, gradually made sense, and made this is delightful, clever, sad, loving, book. I really like it. (Yes, even fussy me.)

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway, so keep in mind that this review is not of the final publication.

That said, this was a solid, enjoyable read.

This book follows the intertwining stories of two women; Lotte and Eve. It's told from dual POVs, following the characters from the present day into the past. Their unfolding stories really kept me interested; I wanted to know how they came to be at the current points in their lives.

Sometimes the time jumps were a bit confusing; I wasn't sure at what point in time events were taking place, but by the end of the book everything had settled into place in my mind.

The writing had me hooked from the beginning. This book is beautifully written, the writing flows very well and it's extremely readable. At times the descriptions take on a lovely, dreamy quality. The writing itself was the highlight of the book for me.

I'm not sure if this will change in the final copy of this book, but in my ARC none of the dialogue was written in quotation marks and sometimes I was unsure if what I was reading was dialogue, thought or more descriptions. I didn't really see a need for this at all and it was occasionally distracting.

I was however, very happy that the main characters felt like real women. They were flawed, and both had their own distinct strengths and personalities. I would have liked the different POV chapters to each take on a more unique tone, but there was enough there to distinguish them.

I also loved the little astronomy details and metaphors inserted into Lotte's chapters, though I do have an interest in space; I feel like some people might find it distracting.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I might have to go and read Melanie Joosten's other work.

3.5 stars.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gravity Well by Melanie Joosten was a Goodreads win

The book has two threads; information and reflections about the cosmos, and the lives of Lotte and her best friend Eve. Both are compared; the cosmos has bodies that orbit and influence each other, the friends likewise. Planets influence anything which comes too close, drift too close and you run the risk of falling down the planet’s gravity well, a collision that would mean disaster. Go too far away and you run the risk of getting lost and disappearing into space. Similarly, Lotte finds it difficult to balance isolation with closeness within her family; her parents as well as Eve.

Lotte, like the planets, follows an isolated path. She is an astronomer, and this is her passion in life. She is willing to sacrifice her marriage to follow her career. Her husband, Vin, wants a home and family, but Lotte sees this as a massive black hole, sucking her into oblivion. He accuses her of being so involved with looking for planets that she has lost touch with everything in front of her. Without telling him, she accepts a job the other side of the world, so her marriage seems doomed.

Eve is Lotte’s lifelong friend. Her passions are cycling and sound recording, but she is not as focused and isolated as Lotte so tends to adapt to life rather than forging her individual way. She unexpectedly falls in love with Lotte’s widowed father, which causes a rift in the friendship. Eventually it is illness and the threat of mortality that forces Lotte to look to others. Worlds collide and a disaster happens.

I like the way the book is written, full of descriptive and lyrical phrases describing both the cosmos and her surroundings on earth…’thousands of galaxies gambolling across the sky, whirling dervishes of colour and heat. Every single one harbouring stars, every star lassoing planets’. I also like the cover of the book, a beautiful illustration of a figure silhouetted against a sparkling, colourful night sky, which, at second glance includes an observatory and telescope. The title is in between- an almost mirror image, maybe making the comparison between cosmos and person, linked by astronomy.

[Sheriene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to get this book as part of Goodreads Giveaways. This is not really the sort of book I usually read, but I was attracted to it because its written by an Australian author (and I read so little from my homeland). And on that front, it did not disappoint. There were a few slang words (not many) but I enjoyed coming across them and a few Australian-isms (like talking about bbq shapes) that made me smile.

Gravity Well is a story of two very different women, friends: Lotte and Eve. The book looks at their lives and their friendship, the things that brought them together and the events that push them apart. There's a fair amount of tragedy and heartbreak to the story as it moves between the two friends and different time periods to tell about their collective lives. This isn't just a story about friendship- there is much in here about family dynamics, relationships, ambition and identity. And there was a lot of realism to the issues that the women each reflect on in their lives.

I thought the book was very well written- I liked Melanie Joosten's style and found it easy to read. The story also moves back and forth in time to give more depth to the characters and deliver more information on their lives, which was a nice structure, though at times it was difficult to keep straight who is where and doing what. Mostly, I think it was the build-up of tension- knowing tragedy is coming and is hinted at all along- that I found frustrating and just wanted the author/narrator to get to the point quicker.

I struggled to give Gravity Well a rating- wavering between 3 and 4 stars. While I enjoyed the story and the style it was written in, at times I was impatient for the story to get to the point. I decided to settle on 3.5 and round up.

[Zora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh so many mixed feelings, including about the star rating system. So many themes examined here are those I love to see explored in fiction - grief, friendship (especially between women), relationships, illness, the place of work in one's life - and the treatment of these was fresh and committed. Yet, while I ripped through this book in a couple of days, there was an odd inertia at the heart of this book too, perhaps to do with the characters who never quite came alive to me, or the distracting planetary material, both 'real' (as in Lotte is an actual astronomer) and used as analogy/ metaphor. There's no doubting the author's significant talent, and the most powerful sections (including the ending) were among the most powerful I've read recently. I do think it will linger with me, especially the depiction of early motherhood.

[Sheetal Sanchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gravity Well - The gravitational pull enough to hold stable , slightly less or more and you risk either getting cut off or falling inside of it.

The book starts with events from life of Lotte who has been trying to fulfill her mother's dreams to be an astronomer. She wants to achieve great things to prove herself to her mother Helen.
The story moves towards the life of Eve, Lotte's best friend and how their lives get intertwined after she meets Tom.

In my opinion, the story does start unhurried but picks up pace and becomes engaging.
The emotional exchange between two friends even after going through heaps of hardships, does display the beauty of genuine companionship.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly and held my breath towards the end.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deeply affected me. It's concepts are realistic - relationship issues, dying and grief, feeling distant. Having lived in nearly all the settings (beside Chile) I found the story almost too realistic to be comfortably distant, which I suppose is the point.
The structure was extremely well executed, providing the precise amount of knowledge gaps that ensured you wanted another chapter. The tonal shifts between time periods was excellent.
This book did frighten me though...I did feel like 'this wouldn't happen to me'.

[Alix Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always one to champion books about female friendship, however this novel explored it at a level of intricacy and complexity that I haven't seen that much in literature. Add in the fact that one of the main characters is an astronomer, and this was probably one of the most unique and interesting novels that I have read all year. Gravity Well is not only gorgeously written, but really gets into the very heart of what being part of a family feels like; the good times, and the catastrophically bad times. Both Lotte and Eve were very interesting and complex characters, and I liked the two narratives in the story, it really made the whole novel more interesting. I think the other relationships in the novel were also facinating to read about their development - especially Lotte's relationship with her mother and father. Altogether, the human relationships in this novel were brilliantly portrayed and explored and this helped to drive the plot forward.

Lotte's career as an astronomer was something I was interested to read about, and I was not disappointed on this front. I think the astronomy in this book had obviously been very well researched and it didn't go completely over my head, which I was grateful for! It was refreshing to read about a strong and independent woman who loved what she did and was career-focused, despite certain people either not understanding that or not being okay with it. The challenges that both women face in this book were portrayed brilliantly and very realistically. The emotion really came through and I cared for them both throughout the whole novel. Gravity Well is itself an astrological definition, but the novel is about people, and their interactions, and how they survive on a planet and its workings that often aren't very kind to them.

Altogether, I loved Gravity Well and it was unlike any book I have read before. If you're looking for a gorgeously written novel about astrology, female friendship and human relationships, then this is definitely the novel for you.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently received an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book. It is an easy read, telling the story of two friends and their changing relationship. I found some of the timings hard to follow. It was not always clear, in spite of a date stamp at the beginning of the chapter, just at what point we were.

Would give this book another half star if I could. I'm sure, in its final form, it will be worth reading.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot to like about this book. The relationships, the love, the dying and illness and the beautiful writing. Yes it was incredibly sad, but also redemptive. However, what lost me a little, and 56 pages in was nearly a DNF, is that the two main characters were flat, and I just couldn’t get invested in their progress, and even at the end, I still really didn’t care about Lotte much. It seemed to be written at an arms length, and it robbed the book of emotional heft for me.

[Anne Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since sharing a house in their student days, Lotte and Eve have been able to tell each other anything. Both only children, they bonded like sisters, despite their diverging interests: Lotte’s passion for astronomy; Eve’s for mountain biking and constructing soundscapes. They have buttressed each other through the breakup of Eve’s relationship with the charismatic narcissist Nate, Lotte’s marriage to Vin and the death of her mother but now, in their late 30s, they’re estranged.
Full review
Gravity Well & The Gravity of Love http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...

[Justine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters were unrelatable, self indulgent and wallowing in self pity. At times the dialogue was literally unbelievable especially in second half. Had some good moments but overall not a book I’d recommend.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the women in this novel very hard to relate or connect to, thus my interest flagged. Expressive language, just not me I guess.

[Claudia Walmsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book!

[Kimberley Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about family and grief and the possibilities for love and recovery.

[Fondantsurprise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes a while to get going but beautiful and desperately sad.

[Mhairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of two friends, how their lives changed and affected each other's, and the relationship between them.

[Gavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a beautiful & moving book. Emotional themes of friendship, love, family, children, cancer & death. Wonderfully written characters & dialogue. Quite melancholic.

[Luisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i won a copy of this book in the good reads giveaway, i really enjoyed this book, even thought it broke my heart, its a story of complicated friendships, love, and tragedy