Description:

A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection * An Indie Next Pick * An Indies Introduce Selection *  One of Reader’s Digest ’s Best Summer Books of 2019  * One of The Millions ’ Most Anticipated Books of 2019 * One of  Real Simple ’s Best Books of 2019    “[This] might be the most optimistic post-apocalyptic story ever written. It’s  Sleepless in Seattle  meets  Station Eleven .” — The A.V. Club    Carson is on the East Coast when the electrical grid goes down. Desperate to find Beatrix, a woman on the West Coast who holds his heart, he sets off along a cross-country railroad line, where he encounters lost souls, clever opportunists, and those seeking salvation. Meanwhile, Beatrix and her neighbors begin to construct a cooperative community, working to turn the end of the world into the possibility of a bright beginning.   Without modern means of communication, will Beatrix and Carson be able to find their way to each other? The answer may lie with one fifteen-year-old girl, whose actions could ultimately decide the fate of the lovers.   The Lightest Object in the Universe  is a moving story about adaptation and the power of community, imagining a world where our best traits, born of necessity, can begin to emerge.