An Astronomer in Love by Antoine Laurain

An Astronomer in Love Reviews

• 
  William Bentrim

  An Astronomer In Love by Antoine Laurain
  This book might best be described as a character study. Guillaume le Gentil is the French King’s royal astronomer seeking to document the transit of Venus across the sun. Xavier Lemercier is a divorced real-estate agent searching for meaning in his life. Centuries apart the two never meet but the life of one dramatically impacts the other.
  Laurain builds his characters with precision and depth. You, as Xavier feels, must have met sometime before. The strength and resilience of Guillaume are awe-inspiring. There is no action, violence, or mayhem in this book. There are a lot of thoughtful perspectives on human nature, the courage of convictions, and the need for connection and companionship.
  I did not expect to enjoy the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.
  
• 
  Emma

  VERDICT: Historical fiction mixed with a contemporary narrative, clever connections and exquisite descriptions: Laurain’s quirky writing has reached a delightful maturity.
  
  Imagine you go to a flea market, and you find a very old telescope. Then you dig around on the life of famous astronomers. What would you do with that?
  I don’t know how and where Antoine Laurain found his inspiration for An Astronomer in Love, but I can say that with an old telescope and the life of an astronomer, he managed to produce a novel that is definitely my favorite of all his books (and this is my 8th). Here is why you should drop everything and start reading it.
  
  My full review is here:
  
  https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/06/26/...
• 
  Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance

  Two men. Two different times. Two longing for love. One telescope.
  
  Have you read Antoine Laurain before? If you haven't and if you enjoy a light story set in Paris with a bit of adventure and a bit of thoughtful life wisdom, I'd encourage you to read this book or one of his other books. When I set down an Antoine Laurain book, I feel more positive about life, and I can't say that is the way I feel when I set down most books.
• 
  Diana

  Another beautiful book from Antoine Laurain. This time there were dual storylines that kept me interested particularly the historical one. The information about natural history and astronomy was fascinating and of course there was a little romance. Nothing sappy or lame, just a beautiful convergence of individuals in different settings.
  Definitely my favourite author of the past ten years.
• 
  Kaytee Cobb

  I need to check the paper formatting for this one because the Kindle formatting was garbage, but the story was excellent.
• 
  Book Minded Mag

  This book is such a delight. I enjoyed every minute of it. Reading translated books is proving to be the right move for me, as I've enjoyed all of the ones I've read so far. For a more detailed review, see the link below.
  
  
  An Astronomer in Love
• 
  Davida Chazan

  This lovely novel does something very unique with a dual timeline, so even if you hate them, you might love this one! You can read my full review here.
  https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2023/07/1...
• 
  Clelia LADINI

  Une pépite!!
  J'ai découvert la plume d'Antoine Laurain, il y a quelques années, ma meilleure amie m'a offert "La femme au carnet rouge", que j'ai adoré. Je m'étais promis de lire un autre de ses livres jusqu'à ce jour de 2020, où j'ai vu "Le service des manuscrits", et là encore le charme a opéré. Maintenant je suis comme Guillaume Le Gentil de la Galaisière, qui espérait voir Venus passer devant le soleil, j'attend son prochain livre, et cette année j'ai été comme Xavier Lemercier, vis à vis de la vision de cet astre, je me suis précipitée rapidement en librairie, mais surtout j'ai également réussi à le lire rapidement.
  Le style fluide et poétique surtout dans les descriptions, font que lorsqu'on entre dans un de ces livres, on est dans un cocon de douceur, et on a pas envie d'en sortir. Pour la première fois, à 20 pages de la fin, je ne désirais pas le finir, pour rester encore un peu avec Guillaume et Xavier.
  Antoine Laurain réussit à bouleverser ses personnages avec la simple apparition d'un objet, le carnet rouge, le manuscrit, ici il s'agit d'un télescope retrouvé dans un appartement que Xavier, agent immobilier vient de vendre, et que les acquéreurs désirent voir entièrement vidé. Ce télescope est le personnage principal, mais aussi le grain de sable dans l'engrenage de la vie de Xavier Lemercier, mais surtout de son premier propriétaire Guillaume Le Gentil, astronome sous Louis XV, qui part sur demande du Roi pour les mers des Indes pour voir le passage de Vénus devant le soleil prévu pour Juin 1761. La composition de l'histoire alterne chaque chapitre sur l'un des deux personnages, mais l'auteur prend soin à la fin de chaque chapitre de tisser un fil conducteur pour que cette transition de 250 ans, ne soit pas trop pesante. Un roman sublime de poésie, de douceur, de sensibilité, qui nous fait voyager dans l'espace et le temps, et qui nous démontre que bien souvent notre quête est plus proche de nous que nous ne le pensions. La métaphore de la quête de Venus, celle de l'astre ou celle d'une femme, vous promet bien des caprices.
  
  A nugget!!
  I discovered the pen of Antoine Laurain, a few years ago, my best friend gave me "La femme au carnet rouge", which I loved. I had promised myself to read another of his books until that day in 2020, when I saw "The Manuscript Service", and there again the spell worked. Now I'm like Guillaume Le Gentil de la Galaisière, who hoped to see Venus pass in front of the sun, I'm waiting for his next book, and this year I've been like Xavier Lemercier, with regard to the vision of this star, I quickly rushed to the bookstore, but above all I also managed to read it quickly.
  The fluid and poetic style, especially in the descriptions, means that when you enter one of these books, you are in a cocoon of softness, and you don't want to get out. For the first time, 20 pages from the end, I didn't want to finish it, to stay a little longer with Guillaume and Xavier.
  Antoine Laurain manages to upset his characters with the simple appearance of an object, the red notebook, the manuscript, here it is a telescope found in an apartment that Xavier, a real estate agent has just sold, and that the buyers want see completely emptied. This telescope is the main character, but also the grain of sand in the gears of the life of Xavier Lemercier, but especially of its first owner Guillaume Le Gentil, astronomer under Louis XV, who leaves at the request of the King for the Indian seas. to see the passage of Venus in front of the sun scheduled for June 1761. The composition of the story alternates each chapter on one of the two characters, but the author takes care at the end of each chapter to weave a common thread so that this transition of 250 years, is not too burdensome. A sublime novel of poetry, sweetness, sensitivity, which makes us travel in space and time, and which shows us that very often our quest is closer to us than we thought. The metaphor of the quest for Venus, that of the star or that of a woman, promises you many whims.
• 
  N.

  Could not put down. A lovely dual timeline story about a real-life astronomer and a fictional real estate agent in Paris and how their lives intersect.
• 
  Thebooktrail

  
  
  
  Discover the locations in the novel here
  
  
  This ticked all the bookish emotions from the start. Imagine the scene – you go to a bric n brac market, and you stumble upon a very old telescope. It captures your imagination and so you end up researching famous astronomers…
  
  One of those astronomers is the very real Guillaume le Gentil who worked in the French court and whose ultimate goal in life was to document the transit of Venus across the sky.
  
  That is quite the premise don’t you agree? Set in Paris, we take a journey on a boat all the way to India. The two timelines work very well and I felt catapulted from one world to another. It’s very authentic and real so I honestly felt as if I was on that ship one minute, dying to get to India, and the next, on a cobbled street in Paris, trying to examine a telescope. The author waves threads between the chapters, character emotions and settings so you feel you’re being guided along on the adventure.
  
  It was fascinating to meet Guillaume who actually existed in real life. I get the shivers when I read about real people as I honestly feel as if I am going back in time and seeing them for real. Ifelt his excitment of waiting to see Venus, and the boredom he felt on the ship. It must have been such an honour for him to be on that boat, on that mission. I felt all his emotions and more.
  
  It’s a very poetic read and one which looks at friendship, connection and determination and the journeys we take in life. The search for Venus is at the novel’s heart but this is a metaphor for both men’s search for something, someone of note.
• 
  Andy Weston

  I'm a fan of Laurain having read three of his books previously. He has a dry humour that infuses into his writing, the best example being
  Smoking Kills.
  
  Here though, it is less evident. There are two time lines, one telling the story of a French astronomer, Guillaume Le Gentil (1725-1792), and his quest to observe the Transit of Venus on a voyage that takes him to the Indian Ocean.
  
  In the present day, a real estate agent, Xavier, is called upon to retrieve a locked box from an apartment that he recently sold. Inside, he finds Guillaume’s brass telescope, which he sets up on his balcony to use with his young son. On testing it out, he spies a woman in an opposite apartment who seems as lonely as he is, and whose apartment houses a stuffed zebra.
  
  At that point, I hoped for more of Laurain's quirky humour, but instead the second half of the novel descends into melodrama.
  
  I respect that writers want to work with different narrative styles, but having experimented M. Laurain, please return to what you do best..
• 
  Aimee

  A gorgeous, dual-narrative novel. Whether the vibrantly-narrated trials of an 18th century astronomer as he crosses oceans and waits years in hopes of glimpsing Venus, or the anxiety-riddled estate agent in 2012 Paris, finding his place in the world - this novel steals your heart. Once again, an Antoine Laurain novel full of whimsy, heart, and great pathos. The themes of disappointment and letting go, of finding great joy in unexpected places, of love for other and yourself are gently placed before you, and allow the reader to take what they need, and let it nourish their spirits. A proper lovely book. And, I’m not just saying that as a character with my own name appears …
• 
  Nicole's Bücherwelt

  Hach, das war mal wieder eine schöne Lektüre, die man nicht mehr aus der Hand legen mag. Seit "Liebe mit zwei Unbekannten" bin ich ein großer Fan des Autors und fiebere jedem neuen Roman entgegen (nur "Die Zigarette danach" fand ich recht skurril, zwar in seinem Stil, aber nicht ganz meine Geschichte).
  Auch das neueste Werk enttäuscht nicht. Die Figuren, allen voran Xavier und Guillaume, sind sehr sympathisch und man wünscht ihnen ein gutes Ende für ihre Reise, die man gespannt verfolgt. Mehr verrate ich jetzt aber nicht, das müsst ihr schon selbst lesen. 😉
• 
  Wendy

  Another fun read from Antoine Laurain.
  
  This one had historical fiction, science, adventure and romance.
  
  Two stories being told simultaneously, but 250 years apart.
  
  Two men whose lives had many parallels.
  
  Laurain’s most recent of nine books and I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed them all.
• 
  Lisa of Hopewell

  I learned of this book via this review:
  https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/06/26/...
• 
  Carol

  Another winner from Antoine Laurain with his customarily expert blending of history, philosophy, and storytelling. I’ve read all his books and highly recommend them.
• 
  Jessica

  I absolutely adore this book! It is truly fantastic. I found myself remembering little precious details of it in the days after I finished it. Alternating between Guillaume in 1760 and Xavier in 2012, we only get a a few pages of each story at a time before switching. I really liked this. In typical Antoine Laurain fashion, we have a shorter-than-usual novel (some could argue novella size) but the choice of words is so precise that you have exactly, perfectly, what you need for the story, with nothing extra floating around. I'm adding this to my collection of books I really love.
• 
  Margaret McCulloch-Keeble

  Delightful. Charming. Enchanting. Lovely. As usual. There isn't an Antoine Laurain book I've disliked.
• 
  Nanas Watt

  Étant une apatride de récits enlacés j'ai adoré les deux intrigues qui se mélangent peu à peu dans ce roman à la fois sentimental et d'aventures. On voyage avec les personnages à travers des siècles grâce à ce petit télescope.
• 
  Biel An

  Libro bien escrito con potencial pero que le falta miga, esperas que pase algo durante toda la trama... Final predecible y empalagoso