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There are currently 26 member reviews
for An Infinite Love Story
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Linda V. (Independence, KY)
Space? or Love the Final Frontier?
Having grown up during the Space Exploration era, I enjoyed reminiscing about the many times, we, as a family watched launches with a mix of excitement and trepidation. It was also sobering to realize how the life of an astronaut, his wife and his family were impacted by this stress, this need to succeed and the public face of every aspect, good or bad. The love story was sweet and realistic as both thought of the impact of a relationship so fraught with the impact of one career path.
However, I felt there was a disconnect with what Vivian experiences after Joe's last mission. We are taken on a scientific review of wormholes. But that's not the answer. And I felt it just wrapped up too quickly with no explanation. I am glad she continued to fight for Joe and the other astronauts, but I felt the ending was abrupt. The epilogue was painful as well.
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Patricia L. (Seward, AK)
The reality behind the magic…
The 1960's were tumultuous. I grew into a teenager during those years. I vaguely remember the Kennedy/Nixon debates on TV. But the race riots, Kent State murders, JFK, MLK and RFK assassinations as well as the Vietnam war body count on national news nightly are forever etched into my memory.
The Space Race however was a magical story amid all the drama. The astronauts were handsome and daring and all of their wives were beautiful and dutiful. However, Cleeton prefaces her novel, An Infinite Love Story, with this statistic: "There were thirty-nine astronauts in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. Twenty of those marriages ultimately ended in divorce."
The novel begins as, Vivian, an astronaut's wife faces the unimaginable. Joe's spaceship has lost contact, can't be found and is not expected to return. Vivian is a young woman who has married the love of her life. When Joe disappears, she is determined to find out why, by whatever means. Through flashbacks we are introduced to the human side of the space race magic. Lonely wives, philandering husbands and unpredictable futures all take a back seat to the mission of winning the race to the moon.
As an adult, the story and characters felt a little obvious and predictable. Yet Cleeton inserts a little space magic into Vivian's search that is enjoyable and almost believable. An Infinite Love Story is an easy read, somewhat predictable but recommended for those who wish to remember the reality and the magic of space travel in the sixties.
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Rebecca G. (Havertown, PA)
So So Love Story
So having recently read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid I was ready for another space/astronaut love story. Unfortunately, this book doesn't quite cut it although I know it's difficult to find a place next to a favored book. Ms. Cleeton does a very good job with the space and astronaut part of her story especially setting it against the space race with Russia, the rush to reach the moon and the fear of the Cuban Missile Crises. I thought she was very compassionate in describing the difficult life of space wives and the bias of the early space program against women as astronauts. I do think the love story between Vivian and Joe fell short. Joe is a charismatic, confident, fighter pilot with a life long desire to become an astronaut. He is willing to put his life on the line for what he wants and doesn't have to sacrifice anything for his dreams. Vivian is a journalist who has had to fight for what she wants, desires a quiet life and has no desire to constantly move houses after having had to do that as a child. She's the opposite of Joe; she isn't even sure she believes in the Space Program believing the millions are better spent domestically. Even after they are married she constantly reminds him that she wishes he were something else, like a boring dentist, and even tries to get him to abandon his idea of becoming an astronaut. She ultimately gives up everything she is and believes in to be a hated space wife. I understand it was not uncommon for women to give up their dreams for their husbands in the 1960's but her dislike of her life and her unhappiness with her husband didn't seem like an infinite love story to me until he died. I also didn't care for the time travel/wormhole part of the story. The note from the author said that she believed that great loves could be lived over and over yet she ultimately gives no explanation for the odd occurrences and basically just lets them drop. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to relive a bit of the space race but don't look for a great love story.
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Laura P. (Atlanta, GA)
Not my favorite
I've read a number of Chanel Cleeton's books and enjoyed them, but this one missed the mark for me. It's a dual timeline story, with half the book tracing protagonist Vivian's life before her husband is lost in space, (literally - he's an astronaut) and the other half detailing her life after the accident. The early time line (1961-67) is enjoyable if a little over-hyped on the romantic front (i.e. reads like a bodice-ripper). The second story line is not as well done -- lots of "telling not doing" when it comes to how she's feeling about her life, NASA, the space race generally. There's also a speculative element to the story, since the space capsule which is lost simply disappears, so there is discussion of wormholes and time-space travel on a not-very scientific level. (Cleeton admits in the author's note she's not a scientist and it shows.) It was OK and had some good moments, but on the whole it is not comparable to her other books.
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Robin S. (Tall Timbers, MD)
An Infinite Love Story
If you enjoy reading novels centered around romantic love, Chanel Cleeton's An Infinite Love Story is the book to read. The focus of this novel is the enduring love between a young woman starting out her adulthood as a journalist & a fighter pilot who dreams of becoming an astronaut. The plot takes place during the 1960's when the USA was dealing with the Vietnam War, space exploration was just beginning, & feminism was starting to take root. While all of these events are mentioned in the book, this is truly a story of the love between Vivian & Joe, the main characters.
