What do you think?
Rate this book
Lost, Almost
The life and nuclear-weapons work of renowned physicist Adam Brooks form the center of an orbit that binds his family and colleagues to him as he struggles to find his place in science, history, and love. In these eight linked stories, searingly brilliant characters fill a world at once fascinating and familiar in its humanity, empathy, and humor.
- GenresFiction
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 16, 2017
1 person is currently reading
50 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 26, 2018
I was thrilled to be the judge of the publication contest (from Engine Books) that resulted in this book being published. LOST, ALMOST is Amy Knight's debut -- a novel told from multiple vantage points, and from many different moments in time, about a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos and the lives his affects. It's like CAT'S CRADLE without the snark and self-regard and sexism. And it's a perfect book for a small press: quirky, smart, magnetic.
Here's what I wrote about it when I picked it: “LOST, ALMOST takes us into a magnetic world, one where characters orbit not just Los Alamos and the sciences, but also the appealingly hard-nosed physicist Adam Brooks. His son, his grandchildren, and his colleagues all live within his gravitational pull. These characters’ passion for their work becomes the reader’s, and Amy P. Knight paints her brilliant subjects with confidence, empathy, and a deep understanding of psychology. Knight has managed to build a small solar system in these pages, one I was bereft to leave. Hers is a bold, enthralling, and often hilarious new voice.”
Here's what I wrote about it when I picked it: “LOST, ALMOST takes us into a magnetic world, one where characters orbit not just Los Alamos and the sciences, but also the appealingly hard-nosed physicist Adam Brooks. His son, his grandchildren, and his colleagues all live within his gravitational pull. These characters’ passion for their work becomes the reader’s, and Amy P. Knight paints her brilliant subjects with confidence, empathy, and a deep understanding of psychology. Knight has managed to build a small solar system in these pages, one I was bereft to leave. Hers is a bold, enthralling, and often hilarious new voice.”
December 22, 2017
Read in one day (it's not long but it was so engrossing I couldn't leave it to the few-minutes-before-bed-pile). Written in vivid detail without rambling, and I very much enjoyed the shifting in perspectives surrounding this brilliant and disturbing family. The present tense in the alternating "Adam" chapters threw me at first, but I had completely forgotten about it a quarter of the way in.
Beautifully done. Hard to believe this is a first publication.
Beautifully done. Hard to believe this is a first publication.
January 27, 2018
Wow. The PW review I saw notes that one of the book's strengths is the way the author is generous with her characters even when they aren't able to be so with themselves or each other, and I couldn't agree more. So nice to read a book where everyone is smart that also sensitively recognizes the dangers of that.
February 25, 2018
Lost, Almost takes you into an exclusive world populated by some of world most brilliant minds. Family patriarch to Adam Henry is a brilliant physicist who began work at Los Alamos in 1945. His exact work is never revealed, but you know it is it highly guarded and deals with creating high-powered bombs. The story centers around the the eccentricities of Adam and the affects on his family. Of significance is that the entire family refers to him as Adam, with no terms of endearment. He is grumpy, preoccupied and has incredibly high expectations. The story unfolds as the family matures and let's the reader in on how this powerfully man influences each of them. Lost Almost is not easily classified, but it is a refreshing change from so many books of all genres that seem to follow a formula.
March 11, 2018
I was disappointed by this critically praised novel about several generations of a family living in the research community of Los Alamos, and under the shadow of a formidable patriarch. It was hard to keep track of which character was narrating each part, which I assume was intentional since some sections were labelled and some weren't. I found it annoying.
August 18, 2017
A melting pot of history, psychology and hope, Lost, Almost takes us through a few generations originating with Adam Brooks - a dedicated physicist who has so much impact on the world around him. Such a great read - I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day.
January 12, 2018
Excellent book from this first time author.
June 5, 2018
Very impressive writing. Incomplete stories about many characters but they all fit together to tell a tremendous overall story.
February 21, 2023
A really beautiful and sad book about genius and the toll it takes on relationships
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews