Celestial Lights

Exquisite and deeply felt’ VOGUE

‘Beautifully rendered’ GRAZIA

‘Magnificent … melds sharp insight with great heart’ NICOLA DINAN

‘Thoughtful and beautifully compelling’ ALICE WINN

A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls.

28 January, 1986: Moments after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls from the sky. At the same time, in a small English village, Oliver Ines is born.

Ollie spends his childhood in a bedroom covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper, bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire approaches him to lead a landmark, ten-year mission to the distant moon Europa, Ollie cannot resist the call of history.

As the mission advances deeper into uncharted territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his school days and years in the Navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns?

Celestial Lights is a breathtaking story of fate, love, and sacrifice that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones, when our ambitions and loyalties collide.

‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic’ JO HAMYA, author of The Hypocrite

‘A wonderful and singular reading experience’ JENNY MUSTARD, author of What A Time To Be Alive

‘Incredible … stayed with me long after the page’ RED MAGAZINE

‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful’ ELA LEE, author of Minbak

‘Masterful … I was totally absorbed from start to finish’ JYOTI PATEL, author of The Things That We Lost

‘A moving story that stays with you’ ROMALYN ANTE, author of Agimat

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Author Info

Cecile Pin grew up in Paris and New York City before moving to London at 18 to study philosophy at University College London, followed by an MA at King's College London. She is currently editorial assistant at Jonathan Cape. She also writes for Bad Form Review, was longlisted for its Young Writer's prize and is a London Writers Awards 2021 winner.