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How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky A Novel Lydia Netzer 9781250047021 Books

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How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky A Novel Lydia Netzer 9781250047021 Books

Irene, a pragmatic astronomer who believes only in science, makes tiny black holes in a device of her own design. George, a dreamer and an astronomer, hallucinates goddesses and gods who reveal to him a marvel in the universe, one that will make him famous if he can only prove it. When their worlds collide through the Toledo Institute of Astronomy, they discover they both love the same obscure music, memorized the same poetry, and were born on the same day in the same year in the same hospital. George believes they are destined to be together. Irene doesn’t believe in love.

Bernice and Sally have been friends since childhood. Both are from broken homes. Both are lonely and turn to each other for comfort and support. Sally is driven. Bernice is psychic. In their youth, they plan to each have a child, raise them to be soulmates, and see them married to each other. But Bernice is keeping a secret, one that will destroy their friendship, her future, and possibly any chance that George and Irene might find happiness.

This is Lydia Netzer’s second book, and is every bit as quirky as her first, Shine, Shine, Shine. In Toledo, she pits belief against science over and over, in every major character. Bernice, the psychic, claims to base her predictions on sound reasoning and scientific principles. Yet she makes a prediction early in the book that only becomes relevant much later – a prognostication that couldn’t possibly have been founded in science, yet has a profound effect on the characters. Sally, who plays at astrology and tarot, and who dragged Bernice into the psychic business with big dreams for their futures, becomes a cold, calculating attorney who believes in nothing. Irene doesn’t believe in fiction, god or love, yet she learns almost from the womb how to practice lucid dreaming, and can visit her mother in dreams. George, who is working to prove that there is symmetry in the universe, not only sees deities, but nymphs and other mythic creatures that come to life from paintings, sculptures and rug patterns to distract and delight him. His belief in love is enough for both himself and Irene, and far too strong for Irene to refute.

In fact, science is almost a character in its own right in Toledo. Even the way Irene thinks, the imagery in her head, is mathematical, precise, based on astronomical principles. George’s hallucinations center on astronomy. And psychic or not, science underlies everything Bernice does, right down to documentation of every experiment. With so much of the story taking place in the Institute, or centering around activities of the Institute, even many settings take on a scientific patina.

Yet this is definitely not a dry read. Evocative, yes. Quirky, definitely. Netzer starts the story in the middle, weaving backward and forward to build mystery, providing tantalizing tidbits that fill in the gaps bit by bit, but it is only in the last fifteen percent of the book that the final piece falls into place and the reader sees the whole picture. I was drawn into this wormhole of a story without ever noticing when I passed over the event horizon and could no longer turn back. I had to know how George and Irene’s story turned out, whether George would keep his goddesses, and Irene would finally believe in something whether or not it was real.

Toledo isn’t just about Bernice and Sally, or Irene and George. This is a story about how the baggage we carry becomes orbital debris that endangers those things we want most. It’s about the struggle to control the damage, and make a meaningful life in spite of—or maybe because of—the fallout. Profound and humorous, down-to-earth and inspiring, tragic and heartwarming in turns, this is a book I will read again and again. Highly recommended.


Tags : How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky: A Novel [Lydia Netzer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Lydia Netzer, the award-winning author of Shine Shine Shine</i>, weaves a mind-bending, heart-shattering love story that asks,Lydia Netzer,How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky: A Novel,St. Martin's Press,1250047021,Contemporary Women,Family Life,FICTION Contemporary Women.,FICTION Literary.,Man-woman relationships;Fiction.,060101 St Martins Trade Fiction,AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION,American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +,FICTION Family Life General,FICTION Literary,FICTION Women,Family Life General,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Contemporary Women,Fiction-Literary,FictionFamily Life,FictionLiterary,GENERAL,General Adult,Literary,Man-woman relationships,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Ohio,United States,bisacsh,contemporary fiction; modern women; contemporary womens fiction; women fiction; literary fiction; contemporary fiction; astronomy; magical realism; ohio; love stories; alcoholism; fantasy novels; contemporary novels; women authors; family life; family fiction

How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky A Novel Lydia Netzer 9781250047021 Books Reviews

The die is cast, so to speak, in the Prologue when George and Irene are born in a Toledo hospital at almost exactly the same time. Their mothers, Sally and Bernice respectively, close friends since childhood, smile at each other in recognition and satisfaction that their planned arrangement has come to fruition. What could possibly go wrong? In a word, plenty.
Fast forward years later when Dr. Irene Sparks is a physicist working in a Pittsburgh laboratory trying to replicate the formation and decay of black holes. Unbeknownst to Irene, Dr. George Dermont lives in Toledo and is a post-doctoral research fellow and instructor at the Toledo Institute of Astronomy. When Irene’s experiments produce amazing results, she turns her attention to the Toledo Institute for professional recognition. As you might suspect, the wheels are now set in motion for George and Irene to meet. They’ve not seen each other since they were three years old so they meet as almost perfect strangers.
On their first date in a restaurant, Irene arranges the sugar and sweetener packets by color in a ceramic container and turns the labels of all bottles to face in one direction. Irene also uses the F-bomb liberally in her conversations. George is a dreamer, a believer in fairy tales, astrology, etc. He also has headaches and uses an opiate nose spray to relieve his pain.
The book’s story moves back and forth, one chapter at a time, to show Bernice and Sally in their childhood, high school, college, and their simultaneous pregnancies. This didn’t bother me because it enhanced the back stories for Irene and George and how their mothers played such a crucial role in their relationship.
Lydia Netzer has created a fascinating book. About half way through, I was eager to keep reading and find out how she was going to “write herself out of the corner.” She succeeds quite well and gives the reader a beautiful and satisfying ending.
This book was a true delight. I reserve a five star rating for books I would read a second time, and those are very rare, so, a reserved five stars for this wonderful book. I love Netzer's fresh and vibrant writing style. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good love story, populated by flawed but charismatic characters and a great plot. I also recommend her previous novel, Shine, Shine, Shine. Congratulations, Ms. Netzer, on another winner!
I had high hopes for this book; the premise seemed interesting. Unfortunately, the execution was terrible. Implausibilities, gaping holes in the story lines. This reads more like an early draft than an published work. And the worst sin the ending! Everything tied up in a neat bow in the last chapter. All this ridiculous ending needed was some unicorns flying around farting stars.
This book started with a good start but then it became a bit boring, but after a while it becomes interesting. If you have a wild imagination, then you'll like this book. It's about Sally & Bernice who got pregnant together on purpose just to have 2 babies destined to be together, they gave birth on the same day and in the same hospital and separated them when they were 3 years old so they can meet after so many years of separation and fall in love without knowing about it, but eventually they know about it.

The writing was kind of strange but I liked it and it was easy to read even though i felt something was strange about it. Loved the characters, all of them except Belion, so boring. The story plot becomes interesting when you start exploring the past life of Bernice & Sally and what happened to them and how they planed all of this. Sometimes you'd feel sorry for Bernice and sometimes pissed at her. So overwhelming. The book was okay.
Irene, a pragmatic astronomer who believes only in science, makes tiny black holes in a device of her own design. George, a dreamer and an astronomer, hallucinates goddesses and gods who reveal to him a marvel in the universe, one that will make him famous if he can only prove it. When their worlds collide through the Toledo Institute of Astronomy, they discover they both love the same obscure music, memorized the same poetry, and were born on the same day in the same year in the same hospital. George believes they are destined to be together. Irene doesn’t believe in love.

Bernice and Sally have been friends since childhood. Both are from broken homes. Both are lonely and turn to each other for comfort and support. Sally is driven. Bernice is psychic. In their youth, they plan to each have a child, raise them to be soulmates, and see them married to each other. But Bernice is keeping a secret, one that will destroy their friendship, her future, and possibly any chance that George and Irene might find happiness.

This is Lydia Netzer’s second book, and is every bit as quirky as her first, Shine, Shine, Shine. In Toledo, she pits belief against science over and over, in every major character. Bernice, the psychic, claims to base her predictions on sound reasoning and scientific principles. Yet she makes a prediction early in the book that only becomes relevant much later – a prognostication that couldn’t possibly have been founded in science, yet has a profound effect on the characters. Sally, who plays at astrology and tarot, and who dragged Bernice into the psychic business with big dreams for their futures, becomes a cold, calculating attorney who believes in nothing. Irene doesn’t believe in fiction, god or love, yet she learns almost from the womb how to practice lucid dreaming, and can visit her mother in dreams. George, who is working to prove that there is symmetry in the universe, not only sees deities, but nymphs and other mythic creatures that come to life from paintings, sculptures and rug patterns to distract and delight him. His belief in love is enough for both himself and Irene, and far too strong for Irene to refute.

In fact, science is almost a character in its own right in Toledo. Even the way Irene thinks, the imagery in her head, is mathematical, precise, based on astronomical principles. George’s hallucinations center on astronomy. And psychic or not, science underlies everything Bernice does, right down to documentation of every experiment. With so much of the story taking place in the Institute, or centering around activities of the Institute, even many settings take on a scientific patina.

Yet this is definitely not a dry read. Evocative, yes. Quirky, definitely. Netzer starts the story in the middle, weaving backward and forward to build mystery, providing tantalizing tidbits that fill in the gaps bit by bit, but it is only in the last fifteen percent of the book that the final piece falls into place and the reader sees the whole picture. I was drawn into this wormhole of a story without ever noticing when I passed over the event horizon and could no longer turn back. I had to know how George and Irene’s story turned out, whether George would keep his goddesses, and Irene would finally believe in something whether or not it was real.

Toledo isn’t just about Bernice and Sally, or Irene and George. This is a story about how the baggage we carry becomes orbital debris that endangers those things we want most. It’s about the struggle to control the damage, and make a meaningful life in spite of—or maybe because of—the fallout. Profound and humorous, down-to-earth and inspiring, tragic and heartwarming in turns, this is a book I will read again and again. Highly recommended.