First Light [Hardcover]

Charles Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1987

A car dealer who has never left his Michigan hometown and his younger sister, a brilliant astrophysicist, reunite in this magnificent achievement by "one of the finest of American writers."--Boston Globe.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having published two books of short stories, Baxter does a masterful job of combining form with function in his first novel. The story begins with a Fourth of July celebration. Dorsey Welch and her husband, Simon, an actor, are spending the holiday with Dorsey's brother, Hugh. The visit is awkward. Years, distance and experience separate brother and sister. Dorsey, always the smart one, is a professor of astrophysics. Her brother, once a promising athlete, is now a car salesman. Simon exacerbates the situation; a sly, insinuating man, he continually mocks his stolid brother-in-law. Chapter by chapter, the story moves back in time, through the siblings' college years, their adolescence and childhood, to Hugh's first glimpse of his baby sister, exploring the things that shaped these people. The characterizations here are superb, as is the writing. There are no fireworks in this story, apart from the Fourth of July pyrotechnics, but this imaginatively conceived, evocative novel will hold the reader's attention from first to last.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As an astrophysicist Dorsey Welch studies the origins of the universe and the gravitational forces that make it cohere. Similarly, this novel moves backward in time to trace the evolving antagonisms and the bonds of love between Dorsey and her brother Hugh. At one point Hugh says to his sister, "You always go . . . I always stay," and this simple statement sums up their radically different lives. Hugh remains in the small town where they were born, lives in the house inherited from his parents, and sells Buicks. Dorsey travels to California, bears the child of an eccentric professor, and marries an even more eccentric actor. Bridging all these differences, however, is a powerfully evoked sense of family. Baxter's style is sharp and elegant, and his characters are convincing. Albert E. Wilhelm, English Dept., Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (September 8, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670817015
• ISBN-13: 978-0670817016
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,757,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully told family drama, October 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: First Light (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

Baxter begins this book with a glimpse into the life of a family in a state of static malaise. Rather than take the story forward he begins drifting backward in time, layering in incidents and moments that start to explain how the family got that way. In the hands of many writers this would feel like a gimick, but Baxter has the grace and skill to pull it off beautifully. With each chapter our questions are answered and our understanding grows.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply a masterpiece, June 3, 1999

By 

Noah Mass ([e-mail]) (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Light (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

Although Charles Baxter is best known as a master of the short story (BELIEVERS etc.), this novel is his finest piece of work. It is the story of the complicated relationship between a brother and sister, told backwards, from end to beginning. Each individual chapter has the tight logic of a short story, but as a whole the novel is rich and complex. A magnificent study of the bonds of love and friendship.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A warm, wonderful book, March 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: First Light (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

Charles Baxter is better known as a short story writer, but his novels are little-known gems. First Light takes an "ordinary" relationship--that of a brother and sister--and shows how complex it really is. The book travels backwards in time: each chapter takes place at an earlier age in the characters' lives than the previous one. What could be a constricting or gimmicky literary device becomes magical in Charles Baxter's hands. The ending is beautiful. The characters sometimes exasperate but then, doesn't your brother or sister sometimes exasperate you?