Finally, someone taps the vast romantic potential of mathematics and physics.
To The Moon is a historical fiction novel set during the Space Race following two NASA employees: Katrina Ivanova, a mathematician and Soviet turncoat, and Gloria Johnson, a brilliant Black physicist stuck working as a secretary for her white peers. Katrina fled from the Soviet Union after her lover, Natasha, was killed by the state for refusing to calculate missile trajectories. She leaves behind her mother, whom she is trying to secure a visa for. This visa is held over her head when she is asked to spy on Gloria, her coworker and love interest, for her work with the Black Panthers.
There’s a lot I like about To The Moon. Noble sets an interesting premise with engaging stakes; the story feels more-ish. Noble’s prose is straightforward but unafraid to linger and blossom in tender moments. The tone here is serious—which makes sense, as the text confronts the racism, sexism, and homophobia of the era—but isn’t quite a thriller. The POV is fluid, loosely alternating chapter-by-chapter, but there are moments where Noble will slide from Katrina to Gloria’s perspective mid scene, or vice-versa.
The draw here is absolutely the characters; it’s so wonderfully easy to fall in love with Gloria and Katrina, and the two of them make for an excellent outsiders-against-the-world pairing. Noble does a wonderful job of giving them dorky moments—Gloria is a trekkie, for example, and makes a trekkie out of Katrina as well—that humanizes the both of them while giving balance to the more serious tone of the novel.
My only gripe is the pacing. Gloria and Katrina’s connection in Thompson’s office felt too instant, almost forced; I felt I was told how to feel about their attraction, instead of being allowed to come to my own conclusions. I found myself wishing I’d had a scene of their very first contact, not just of their proper introduction. Katrina recalls in passing the first time she’d noticed Gloria, but we don’t get much more detail than that.
More generally, I found myself wishing that some scenes were given more room to breathe and reverberate. [Spoilers, highlight to read] The scene where Katrina first gets credit for Gloria’s work feels like it should have mattered more than it did to Gloria. Natasha’s death, too, could have used some space. Noble lingers so beautifully during romantic moments that I found myself wanting a little more of that poetic waxing throughout.
I enjoyed my time with To The Moon; Noble’s care oozed from the text. I’ll certainly be looking forward to her future work.
