God Is an Astronaut: A Novel

Jessica Frobisher is a botanist and college professor — and the wife of an astronaut. Her husband, Liam, helps run a private company that takes tourists into space. When one of Spaceco’s ships explodes soon after liftoff, killing its small group of rich wannabe-adventurers, Jess and her family are thrust into the spotlight. Of course, Spaceco goes into public-relations overdrive, and relationship dynamics and the reality of having a mortgage and two young children force Jess to play along so the disastrous situation can somehow be turned around. This ends up including having cameras follow her around as her family and Liam’s company become the focus of a documentary.

Jess writes about the unwanted attention in regular emails to her co-worker and former lover, Arthur, who had escaped to do research in the wilds of the far north. As her life implodes (inevitably, as readers are meant to divine), Jessica provides the gory details of each increasingly crazy day even while reflecting on what happened between her and Arthur.

Alyson Foster’s writing is smart and razor-sharp and shows a keen eye for people and current culture. God Is an Astronaut provides an entertaining look at one flawed woman’s attempt to find solid footing on a rapidly spinning world.