UNDER STORY by Chloe Benjamin

4 stars

This deeply intellectual and thought-provoking book of speculative fiction is the latest from Benjamin, author of the fabulous The Immortalists. The novel is sweeping in scope as well as length and delves deeply into the mysteries of dark matter and possibility of an alternative dark matter universe that mostly parallels our own except time flows backward instead of forward – a mind-bending concept played out in detail.

Laurel Salter, a scientist studying mushrooms, their electrical pulses and the possibility of fungi intelligence, has divorced her husband Eli over an unnamed trauma that led to their separation. She has accepted a menial cafeteria job in Antarctica at a remote research station. Laurel immerses herself in new friendships, and the cold isolation from the rest of the world. One day, a completely mysterious Arc radiating shimmering light appears on the continent, and it mesmerizes Laurel.

As teams of scientists come to study the Arc, her ex-husband Eli arrives with a team of fellow physicists. Laurel believes that the Arc is connected to Eli’s belief of a Duoverse, which he’s until them been unable to substantiate scientifically. Eli believes that the Big Bang created two connected universes, and that the anti-universe accounts for dark matter.

Deciding to dive under the Arc based on Laurel’s intuition, they both arrive in the anti-universe. The reversal of aging, the elders as toddlers and the babies dying of old age, completely blows your mind. You have to read this part of the book really slowly just to wrap your head around the details.

The Duoverse offers Laurel and Eli the possibility of intervening and preventing the trauma (which is revealed) that created their split and essentially ruined their lives in the regular universe. Their quest for redemption is both heart-warming in the recovery of their romance and laced with tragic elements around loss and dying.

Thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.