The Sound of a Thousand Stars
Rachel Robbins
Alcove Press (2024)
ISBN: 978-1639108961
Reviewed by Jill Rey for Reader Views (07/2025)
As Hitler rounded up Jews and the rest of the world fought in the war, the citizens of Los Alamos worked on something to end it all. Poor, Orthodox Jews, atheist Jews, Jewish physicists, local natives, famed scientists, and their families came together to work on an unthinkable weapon. Each with their own piece of the puzzle, none with the full scope of their work, their brains, brawns, and abilities saw to the end of the war.
They grappled with their own reasons for being there, their murky understanding of what they were doing, and the destructive power and dangers surrounding them. The Sound of a Thousand Stars by Rachel Robbins shines a light on the relationships, the humans, and the town behind the atomic bomb.
Alice Katz studied under the well-known Dr. Oppenheimer; off his recommendation, she soon finds herself called to the very same secret government project he’s leading. As a woman, Alice faces prejudice, isolation, and is left out of many conversations due to her gender alone. With only her dog for company and the many parties thrown by Oppenheimer himself, Alice soon finds herself drawn to a man.
Seeking his own place in the war after his brother joined up, Caleb Blum works in the explosives division of this desert secret. As a man, he’s invited into rooms Alice dreams of as he grapples with the morality of it all. Love blooms at Los Alamos while others are incinerated away. The Sound of a Thousand Stars takes readers inside the making of the atomic bomb, while showing us the devastating effects of its use.
Using her own grandparents’ letters, years after their deaths, author Rachel Robbins has reconstructed their romance, glimpses into their experiences there, and the role they played in a pivotal turning point in history. Robbins has penned a propulsive novel of love, decision, and destruction, opening readers’ eyes to the work happening at Los Alamos, the real people behind the bomb, and the atmosphere of those living within.
Despite the fictional nature of this read, Robbins has drawn from the real lives of people who were there, including her own grandparents, as she reconstructs this period. Relating to other popular books and movies such as Oppenheimer, Hidden Figures, Lessons in Chemistry, and The Atomic City Girls, Robbins’ The Sound of a Thousand Stars blows all those who have come before it away with this moving, thought-provoking, and captivating read.