TITLE: HILL OF SECRETS
AUTHOR: GALINA VROMEN
PUBLISH DATE: OCT. 2024
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for this advanced copy.
I pre-ordered it. Vromen puts you right in the mind, place, and time of the historically-relevant characters who built the atomic bomb. She writes about the everyday lives of the residents of Los Alamos with nuance and care while exploring themes of infidelity, queerness, moral injury, and secrets.
It’s clear Vromen spent time understanding the science. She writes about physics and chemistry in a way that helped me truly understand the significance of building such a powerful weapon. Her depictions of sex and love are skillfully crafted to engross you in the attraction of the people involved without reducing it to gimmicky filler.
The dialogue is authentic, her descriptions of the desert landscape are vivid, and she captures the mystifying energy of the American Southwest as it was back then and continues to be now.