Austin Taylor's sharp, insightful debut novel, Notes on Infinity, charts the meteoric rise of a pair of Harvard students who may have discovered a miracle anti-aging drug, and the high personal and professional costs of their success.
Zoe and Jack first meet in an organic chemistry class, where they become intellectual sparring partners. When Jack helps Zoe secure a coveted position in a professor's lab, Zoe finds herself joining Jack in all-hours, all-consuming lab work, to the detriment of her coursework (and her sleep). The two begin to suspect they've cracked the code to prevent aging, with promising results in their initial tests, so Jack convinces Zoe to drop out of Harvard, bring their idea to an investor, and join the breathless, cutthroat world of biotech startups. Jack and Zoe find themselves increasingly entwined on a personal and professional level, as they're caught up in the glamour and the pressure of their undertaking and its potential. But when the glittering facade of their work begins to crack, showing glimpses of the darkness underneath, neither of them is sure they can sustain what they've been striving toward, or how long their bond will survive.
Taylor, a Harvard graduate, turns a razor-keen eye on the dynamics of a world-famous, high-pressure environment filled with young, ambitious students convinced they are (or should be) the best. She grounds her narrative in the streets of Cambridge, tracing her characters' journeys between the imposing brick and history of Harvard Yard and the shiny new glass monoliths of Kendall Square. Zoe, the diligent but anxious daughter of an MIT professor, feels a desperate need to prove herself to her father and outshine her older brother. Jack, meanwhile, plays up his classic by-your-bootstraps tale of reinvention from backwoods Maine to the halls of the Ivy League, rarely letting anyone glimpse the messier, more painful reality. Taylor shows each phase of their turbulent partnership from both Zoe's and Jack's perspectives, reminding readers how many layers and variables always exist: in lab work, in competition, in love.
As their startup hurtles toward fame, gaining notoriety with every round of funding and publicity, a serious allegation forces Zoe and Jack to stop and defend what they've built and all they've sacrificed for it. Notes on Infinity is a blazing meditation on the pressure cooker of academia, the price of fame in the digital age, and how far is too far to go for a chance at corporeal--or scientific--immortality. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: Austin Taylor's blazingly insightful debut novel traces the meteoric rise of a biotech startup whose founders are convinced they've found the key to prevent aging.