Y: Oppenheimer, Horseman of Los Alamos

by Aaron Tucker

J. Robert reluctant father of the atomic bomb, enthusiastic lover of books, devoted husband and philanderer. Engaging with the books he voraciously read, and especially the Bhagavad Gita , his moral compass, this lyrical novel takes us through his story, from his tumultuous youth to his marriage with a radical communist and the two secret, consuming affairs he carried on, all the while bringing us deep inside the mind of the man behind the Manhattan Project. With the stunning backdrop of Los Alamos, New Mexico, Oppenheimer’s spiritual home, and using progressively shorter chapters that shape into an inward spiral, Y brings us deep inside the passions and moral qualms of this man with pacifist, communist leanings as he created and tested the world’s first weapon of mass destruction ― and, in the process, changed the world we live in immeasurably.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2018

About the author

Aaron Tucker is the author of the forthcoming novel Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys with Coach House Books on June 6th, 2023. His essay “A Cowboy’s Work” was longlisted for the 2022 CBC Non-Fiction Prize and is part of a work-in-progress collection of essays.

Tucker’s latest poetry collection is Catalogue d’oiseaux (Book*hug Press, Spring 2021). His novel Y: Oppenheimer, Horseman of Los Alamos (Coach House Books) was translated by Rachel Martinez into French as Oppenheimer (La Peuplade) in the summer of 2020. In addition, he is the author of two books of poetry, Irresponsible Mediums: The Chess Games of Marcel Duchamp (Bookthug Press) and punchlines (Mansfield Press), and two scholarly cinema studies monographs, Virtual Weaponry: The Militarized Internet in Hollywood War Films and Interfacing with the Internet in Popular Cinema (both published by Palgrave Macmillan).

He is currently a PhD candidate in the Cinema and Media Studies Department at York University where he is an Elia Scholar, a VISTA doctoral Scholar and a 2020 Joseph-Armand Bombardier doctoral fellow. He is currently studying the cinema of facial recognition software and its impacts on citizenship, mobility and crisis.

He was born in Vernon B.C. and grew up in Lavington B.C., on the lands of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Currently, he is a guest on the Dish with One Spoon Territory.

Reviews

[Alexandra Prochshenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is so beautifully written, and scenes are so vivid. I can still recall the image of Opje sitting on the edge of the bathtub, and I still remember how I got goosebumps when the bomb went off, although I read the book almost a year ago!

And yet, the text is not the easiest to read: although Aaron Tucker's writing style is rhythmical and bewitching, there are long sentences and complicated constructions in it. This is a historical fiction for real poetry lovers, and Oppenheimer himself is a lyrical, poetic figure who lives poetic lifestyle.

Although it is fiction, the novel is quite educative.

Loved it big time, but it's not for everybody. As my friend once said, "reading this book is the labour for the soul" - and for the mind, I think.

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling and poetic novel about Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb, but more than that, a look into how we push away the ones we love and how work can dominate our lives. I think it’s better than the movie.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy run-on sentence Batman!

Seriously. It feels like 70% of this book is made up of run-on sentences. There was no reason for this. It didn't enhance the book at all. The rest of the time was spent by Oppenheimer remembering events from his past. I really didn't like the writer's style. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to really understand a book like this. I have a degree in English Lit, so I like to think I'm not that uncouth.

I love historical fiction, and I'm fascinated by nuclear history, so I'm always excited to see books that blend the two. Of the three books I've read that feature this combo (This one, The Wives of Los Alamos and Atomic City Girls), all have fallen flat. I'm still waiting for a book that handles the subject well.

I award 1 star for the author writing a book. Most people won't ever do this, so kudos.
I award a 2nd star for finding someone to publish your book.
I cannot award any further stars, because did not enjoy this book at all. I honestly regret ever requesting to read this.

I received a free copy of this e-book (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very obvious construction. It starts with old Bhagavad Gita quote, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," and is not subtle about how it expands from this line that Oppenheimer famously cited when discussing his contributions to nuclear warfare. Aaron Tucker's book then wraps itself around other poems, which tortuously (I want to stress that I am using this word as a positive) interject themselves as pseudo-calm caesuras in the literally explosive world that Oppenheimer creates. The passages create a new complexity by richening and elevating the text to spaces and people outside the novel's immediate setting. I'm not convinced that the chronology that the author has chosen is logical in demonstrating the evolution of Oppenheimer's mindset or the historical happenstances of the book, but perhaps that is something that would reveal itself with a second read.

Not a huge fan of the title nor the design of this book. The title is a forgettable mouthful of long words and I bet the cover looked aged as soon as it came off the presses.

[Clazzzer C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting read. Some of the content was fascinating. It was excellently researched and the content was very well chosen and edited. But the writing itself wasn't fascinating at all I felt, it was difficult to follow and the sentences for the most part seemed to go on and on and on and from my point of view there was not reason for that at all It didn't enhance the book, it just annoyed me if I'm honest and detracted from my enjoyment. But the content as I said previously was so very interesting so for that reason I award 3 and a half stars to Y by Aaron Tucker

[Victoria Peipert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book and the research and sources that went into developing the profile of Oppenheimer. I think what fell flat for me though was that the writing was very convoluted and weighty and even though I finished the book, I feel like there is little I could actually point out about Oppenheimer - it all ended up feeling blurry.

[Rekha O'Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the way it was written and I thought the portrayal of all the characters was sadly one-dimensional. I had the feeling throughout that something would happen that never did. I wanted there to be more. More atmosphere, more interaction less pretension. I was disappointed.