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Changing Light: A Novel
Nora Gallagher’s elegant debut novel, Changing Light , is a love story set in Los Alamos during the summer of 1945, in the shadow of the creation of the first atomic bomb.
During the last summer of the war, in the beautiful New Mexico desert, a man and a woman come Eleanor Garrigue, a young painter from New York, and Leo Kavan, a neutron physicist. The story begins when Eleanor finds a delirious man lying by the river near her house. She takes him in and cares for him. In this novel of secrets, we learn before Eleanor does that Leo is AWOL from Los Alamos after witnessing a fatal radiation accident that has forced him to confront the moral implications of his work on the bomb. And we know, too, what Leo does not Eleanor is married, and has fled to New Mexico to escape her husband.
As Eleanor and Leo slowly reveal themselves to each other, their pasts and the present unfold in tandem, taking us from the heady art world in New York to Einstein’s Berlin, from the bomb labs in the English countryside to the hidden city of Los Alamos. Nora Gallagher perfectly evokes the veil of secrecy and tension surrounding the Manhattan Project, the constant hum of fear alongside the remarkable fearlessness of the scientists in the laboratories.
As Leo and Eleanor privately struggle with the losses the war has pitched into their lives, the two find unexpected solace in each other. Their story is all the more poignant because it can only flourish in a brief interlude–an interlude of brilliant madness and irrevocable change. As the scientists engage in literally “changing light,” Leo and Eleanor are connected and changed in unexpected ways by the brutal radiance of the war and their fierce love.
During the last summer of the war, in the beautiful New Mexico desert, a man and a woman come Eleanor Garrigue, a young painter from New York, and Leo Kavan, a neutron physicist. The story begins when Eleanor finds a delirious man lying by the river near her house. She takes him in and cares for him. In this novel of secrets, we learn before Eleanor does that Leo is AWOL from Los Alamos after witnessing a fatal radiation accident that has forced him to confront the moral implications of his work on the bomb. And we know, too, what Leo does not Eleanor is married, and has fled to New Mexico to escape her husband.
As Eleanor and Leo slowly reveal themselves to each other, their pasts and the present unfold in tandem, taking us from the heady art world in New York to Einstein’s Berlin, from the bomb labs in the English countryside to the hidden city of Los Alamos. Nora Gallagher perfectly evokes the veil of secrecy and tension surrounding the Manhattan Project, the constant hum of fear alongside the remarkable fearlessness of the scientists in the laboratories.
As Leo and Eleanor privately struggle with the losses the war has pitched into their lives, the two find unexpected solace in each other. Their story is all the more poignant because it can only flourish in a brief interlude–an interlude of brilliant madness and irrevocable change. As the scientists engage in literally “changing light,” Leo and Eleanor are connected and changed in unexpected ways by the brutal radiance of the war and their fierce love.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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136 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 26, 2010
The quiet, spare beauty of New Mexico's mesas, and the changing desert light that reflects off spring snow, shimmers on pinon needles and marches relentlessly toward the heat of August 1945, create a vivid backdrop to a story about man's most terrible hour- the creation of the atomic bomb.
This is a complex and morally ambiguous story that is told simply, through the perspectives of Leo Kavan, a Jewish physicist and Czech national who has abandoned his post at the Los Alamos research complex, and Eleanor Garrigue, an American artist who finds refuge and creative muse in the high desert near Santa Fe.
Leo's and Eleanor's stories unfold in different worlds: a gifted scientist who is mentored by Einstein, Leo narrowly escaped as Czechoslovakia was crushed under Nazi jackboots, but he is losing hope of finding his cherished sister who was left behind; Eleanor is a successful artist, yet breathless under the grip of her husband's power and jealousy. She lives in fear of a telegram that will inform her of the execution of her brother, a POW in Japan. Gallagher deftly uses historical events to draw their paths closer together until they collide on the banks of an arroyo.
A mature and graceful love story tenuously frames the drama. The author creates a believable emotional and physical coup de foudre between two adults whose professions center on creativity and whose adult lives have brought great success and harrowing loss. Leo's growing realization that the weapon, which he hoped would mean the end to the Nazi regime and the persecution of Jews in Europe, will likely be the means of far greater and longer lasting destruction. His character brings a sense of humanity to the inner moral and ethical battles that must have been waged inside the Los Alamos compound and inside the scientists' hearts.
Gallagher lets loose with too much technical detail about the crafting of the atomic bomb- space that could have been better spent in character development- but she also opens a fascinating window into Los Alamos. This novel's rays of light and vacuums of shadow characterize the dilemmas and decisions of the individuals who shaped our modern history.
This is a complex and morally ambiguous story that is told simply, through the perspectives of Leo Kavan, a Jewish physicist and Czech national who has abandoned his post at the Los Alamos research complex, and Eleanor Garrigue, an American artist who finds refuge and creative muse in the high desert near Santa Fe.
Leo's and Eleanor's stories unfold in different worlds: a gifted scientist who is mentored by Einstein, Leo narrowly escaped as Czechoslovakia was crushed under Nazi jackboots, but he is losing hope of finding his cherished sister who was left behind; Eleanor is a successful artist, yet breathless under the grip of her husband's power and jealousy. She lives in fear of a telegram that will inform her of the execution of her brother, a POW in Japan. Gallagher deftly uses historical events to draw their paths closer together until they collide on the banks of an arroyo.
A mature and graceful love story tenuously frames the drama. The author creates a believable emotional and physical coup de foudre between two adults whose professions center on creativity and whose adult lives have brought great success and harrowing loss. Leo's growing realization that the weapon, which he hoped would mean the end to the Nazi regime and the persecution of Jews in Europe, will likely be the means of far greater and longer lasting destruction. His character brings a sense of humanity to the inner moral and ethical battles that must have been waged inside the Los Alamos compound and inside the scientists' hearts.
Gallagher lets loose with too much technical detail about the crafting of the atomic bomb- space that could have been better spent in character development- but she also opens a fascinating window into Los Alamos. This novel's rays of light and vacuums of shadow characterize the dilemmas and decisions of the individuals who shaped our modern history.
August 31, 2012
This was one of the most profound books I ever read. Its parallel plots involved the remorse of a Jewish physicist whose work was crucial to the making of the A-Bomb and his life in New Mexico before the bomb was dropped on Japan. The second plot line involves a woman artist who moved away from her husband, also an artist, but a declining one as her work was gaining potency. The physicist, Leo, suffering from radiation poisoning, stumbles his way into her life. She does not know who he is but nurses him back to health and in doing so regains her soul. These characters are strong and well developed. However, the tertiary characters are critical to the movement of the plot and they are well developed. They include the Native American maid who has insight gained from the ability to observe people, the priest who reevaluates his values, and the mysterious FBI man. The moral themes resonate and though they are deep, they do not get in the way of the love story, The title illuminates both themes and shows how each character learns to re-evaluate his/her situation under different circumstances, The title also describes the New Mexico setting where the light changes, as well as the changing light of the world after the US bombed Japan.
August 23, 2020
This book has some nice moments but left me wanting.
Changing Light is the story of Eleanor, an artist fleeing a Svengali-like husband (shades of Georgia O'Keefe here) living outside of Santa Fe, who helps an injured man as he recovers from an accident he suffered in the secret Los Alamos lab where he works. He has gone AWOL from his mysterious place of employment and people may be looking for him. Predictably, they have an affair.
What was wanting was more time in the lab learning about the gadget and the scientists, more time in Eleanor's head as she makes art, and more dialogue. Too much description, not enough getting to know the characters.
There are a couple of books set in Los Alamos/Santa Fe at this time that I thought were much better -
The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church and Beginning the World Again by Roberta Silman.
Changing Light is the story of Eleanor, an artist fleeing a Svengali-like husband (shades of Georgia O'Keefe here) living outside of Santa Fe, who helps an injured man as he recovers from an accident he suffered in the secret Los Alamos lab where he works. He has gone AWOL from his mysterious place of employment and people may be looking for him. Predictably, they have an affair.
What was wanting was more time in the lab learning about the gadget and the scientists, more time in Eleanor's head as she makes art, and more dialogue. Too much description, not enough getting to know the characters.
There are a couple of books set in Los Alamos/Santa Fe at this time that I thought were much better -
The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church and Beginning the World Again by Roberta Silman.
January 26, 2023
The author’s low-key minimalist style allows the full horror of The Manhattan Project to reverberate through the novel. The characters are briefly drawn, never becoming more important than the dangerous project the local people don’t even know is there. She covers many themes in this small book - art, religion, science, war. It’s a book that bears reading again.
January 5, 2019
Physicist comes to reckoning over his part in developing the bomb while an artist rediscovers herself in the desert. Painfully beautiful writing.
February 24, 2017
Easy to read. The story relating to the Manhattan Project was what kept me reading, the romantic interest was on the verge of trite.
July 7, 2008
I picked up this book with such hope. A tale about the implications of building atomic bombs holds so much potential to delve into characters and the problems of the time period. However, Nora Gallagher never moves from the superficial.
This book attempts to develop two stories: one of an artist, who escapes an unhappy marriage; and one of a physicist who has been working on the atomic bomb. Both characters have interesting points, but are never fully developed. I would have enjoyed hearing more from the physicist's perspective; he's conflicted about his work, has a challenging past, and has been exposed to unbelievable amounts of radiation.
The author brings them together in an implausible love relationship and then proceeds to finish their bland tales with the dropping of the a-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This book doesn't require much effort on the part of the reader, but don't waste your time.
This book attempts to develop two stories: one of an artist, who escapes an unhappy marriage; and one of a physicist who has been working on the atomic bomb. Both characters have interesting points, but are never fully developed. I would have enjoyed hearing more from the physicist's perspective; he's conflicted about his work, has a challenging past, and has been exposed to unbelievable amounts of radiation.
The author brings them together in an implausible love relationship and then proceeds to finish their bland tales with the dropping of the a-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This book doesn't require much effort on the part of the reader, but don't waste your time.
February 27, 2009
I learned some about the making of the bomb at Los Alamos which I haven't read much about. I will read more. I loved this book despite the serious subject of the bomb and the misgivings some had at the time about using this weapon and the fact that you can't undo the it once it is used. It also a love story and a story of a woman painter who finds the courage to be herself. I like reading about woman who do this before all the 60's women's lib movement. It reminds me that women from the beginning of time have been courageous and creative and that there are stories out there ( maybe few and far between ) about them and their struggle. The descriptions about New Mexico and how and artist sees the landscape were especially wonderful since I had been in NM for my terrific nephew's wedding ( Scott to fantastic Paige ) last Aug.
August 19, 2007
set in northern New Mexico, every page takes me back to where I lived for one glorious year ... a physicist and an artist in a strange and dangerous romance
There is much about the secret project taking place at Los Alamos. There was much for me to learn more about the scientific and deadly experiments going on then ... quite horrifying actually.
I drove several times to (toward) Los Alamos when I lived at Jemez, but couldn't make myself go all the way. There was an eery and frightening feel about the area ... even so many years later.
Now I want to read, and am looking for, The House at Otowi Bridge
There is much about the secret project taking place at Los Alamos. There was much for me to learn more about the scientific and deadly experiments going on then ... quite horrifying actually.
I drove several times to (toward) Los Alamos when I lived at Jemez, but couldn't make myself go all the way. There was an eery and frightening feel about the area ... even so many years later.
Now I want to read, and am looking for, The House at Otowi Bridge
December 23, 2007
Ah, 1950s New Mexico--a place where a Czech Jewish scientist can flee in horror from his work on the A-bomb and meet up with a feisty Georgia O'Keefe-esque painter fleeing from her own crappy marriage, and immediately fall in love. Seriously, why do fictional characters form long-lasting love-type feelings for characters they've only known for five minutes? Were they that sexually repressed or something? I guess the two characters were interesting, but I really didn't buy their sudden romance. Also, the pseudo-villains (a really annoying spy and a jealous priest) were pretty lame. B-.
July 30, 2007
Years ago I loved reading Woman at Ottawi Crossing, a story that took place in Los Alamos when "the bomb" was being developed. This love story also takes place at that time and is a wonderful debut novel.
July 18, 2014
I enjoyed this book mostly due to its focus on the Manhattan Project. It focuses quite a deal on the criticality accident involving Louis Slotin, and the main character of the novel. I thought it could be longer, I didn't feel like I had the time to get to know the characters and their motives.
Read
October 29, 2007boring and transparent.
April 29, 2008
fairly religious, characters weren't totally believable but quite nice.
May 2, 2009
3 1/2, actually. I got caught up in the story.
Read
August 18, 2011Must not have been great; don't remember it.
August 28, 2012
Really loved this. It was full of imagery but at the same time, delved into many important issues. I would love to discuss this in a Book Club.
February 11, 2013
It had it's moments.
May 12, 2013
There are some problems of time & loose ends but the technical descriptions of bomb making were compelling. A near miss.
September 26, 2014
This is an exquisite love story of a painter and a physicist set in the New Mexico desert in 1945 at Los Almos.
January 13, 2015
Interesting to read after seeing Unbroken this week. We never learned about the experiments and building of the bombs in school.
November 7, 2008
A great book by a wonderful lady who graciously came to our book club meeting. Highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews