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Unabridged Audiobook: 9 CDs (11.5 hours)
Read by Joshilyn Jackson
From songwriters to screenwriters, authors to artists, countless creatives have devoted their careers to lamenting the trials and tribulations of finding love. But, in the audio version of How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky, author Lydia Netzer takes a different approach, considering the possibility of manufacturing the perfect couple.
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky follows a pair of young astronomers on their strange journey to find love. Irene Sparks has always dreamed of being invited to conduct her research at the Toledo Institute of Astronomy, though the close proximity of her alcoholic mother, Bernice, has forced her to keep her distance. But the stars seem to align for Irene, and on the same day that Bernice falls down a flight of stairs to her death, Irene makes an important scientific discovery—and she soon finds herself back in Toledo.
When Irene meets her colleague George Dermont, the two feel an instant connection. Little do they know that the connection was created before their birth, by two mothers who were determined to help their children find their soul mates.
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky is an eccentric love story—a flowing and lyrical tale of science and the supernatural, of formula and fate, intertwining George and Irene’s present-day events with the account of their mothers’ childhood friendship and their plan to predestine their children to fall in love and live happily ever after.
Thanks to their mothers’ careful planning, George and Irene are so different yet so similar. Both share a love of the stars and a brainy social awkwardness. They’ve also memorized the same poems and visited the same countries—and they listen to the same obscure folk music. At the same time, though, Irene is sensible and mathematical while George is a dreamer—one who believes that the ancient gods actively aid in his scientific discoveries. And while George is convinced that he and Irene have some magical cosmic connection, Irene is skeptical.
But George and Irene aren’t the only quirky characters in this peculiar romance. From their eccentric mothers to their unusual partners—Kate Oakenshield, a fellow astronomer who was raised mute, and video game programmer Belion (short for “Belion, the Archmage of the Underdark”)—there isn’t really a bland character in the bunch.
The unusual characters and their oddball adventures definitely make for a unique experience. And, as a result, How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky is unlike anything you’ve read (or listened to) before. But it’s sometimes so extreme in its quirkiness that it seems to be trying a little too hard to be bizarre. So if you’re like Irene—and you prefer reads that are smart and straightforward—it’s sure to leave you shaking your head in frustration. But if you’re like George—and you can appreciate things that are dreamy and strange—you’ll enjoy this oddball exploration of the science of soul mates.
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