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Under Story
The New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists returns with an intimate yet epic love story—and a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery. Under Story invites us to consider the promise of this life, what might lie beyond it, and how far we would go for more time with the people we love, cementing Chloe Benjamin's place among our best, and most lasting, storytellers.
"We wake up to tomorrow, never yesterday."
At the end of the world, biologist Laurel Salter is hiding from everything she's ever known. For ten hours a day, six days per week, she works as a dishwasher at McMurdo Station, an isolated research base in Antarctica. She tells no one that before she arrived, she was a renowned young scientist with a promising career, a husband, and a family.
But even in this remote outpost, Laurel can't outrun her past. When a strange light appears across the ice—and draws a group of physicists to McMurdo—her former husband, Eli, won't be far behind.
Laurel is captivated by the Arc: its surreal glow; the way it seems almost alive. And though Eli is reluctant to test her wildest theory, Laurel is convinced that the Arc leads down a rabbit hole, and into a world, they can barely imagine. Can she persuade him to risk everything to fix the burden that hangs between them—to turn back the clock and live their story a second time?
A breathless page-turner and a love letter to our planet, Under Story grapples with the great questions of our time: human hubris, the precarity of the natural world, and the mysterious webs of consciousness that bind us. A modern epic of science and soul, of bravery and redemption, it offers a vision of the future that demands we reckon with what we owe to one another, and to the earth itself.
"We wake up to tomorrow, never yesterday."
At the end of the world, biologist Laurel Salter is hiding from everything she's ever known. For ten hours a day, six days per week, she works as a dishwasher at McMurdo Station, an isolated research base in Antarctica. She tells no one that before she arrived, she was a renowned young scientist with a promising career, a husband, and a family.
But even in this remote outpost, Laurel can't outrun her past. When a strange light appears across the ice—and draws a group of physicists to McMurdo—her former husband, Eli, won't be far behind.
Laurel is captivated by the Arc: its surreal glow; the way it seems almost alive. And though Eli is reluctant to test her wildest theory, Laurel is convinced that the Arc leads down a rabbit hole, and into a world, they can barely imagine. Can she persuade him to risk everything to fix the burden that hangs between them—to turn back the clock and live their story a second time?
A breathless page-turner and a love letter to our planet, Under Story grapples with the great questions of our time: human hubris, the precarity of the natural world, and the mysterious webs of consciousness that bind us. A modern epic of science and soul, of bravery and redemption, it offers a vision of the future that demands we reckon with what we owe to one another, and to the earth itself.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2026
About the author
Chloe Benjamin
4 books3,061 followersChloe Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of UNDER STORY, THE IMMORTALISTS, and THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS.
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick for September 2026, UNDER STORY was also an Indie Next selection, a Barnes and Noble Book Club pick, and an Amazon Editors' selection. THE IMMORTALISTS—a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, LibraryReads favorite, and #1 Indie Next pick—was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and others. THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
Originally from San Francisco, CA, Benjamin is a graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick for September 2026, UNDER STORY was also an Indie Next selection, a Barnes and Noble Book Club pick, and an Amazon Editors' selection. THE IMMORTALISTS—a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, LibraryReads favorite, and #1 Indie Next pick—was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and others. THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
Originally from San Francisco, CA, Benjamin is a graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,820 reviews
August 28, 2026
i loved this book so much that i teared up for having finished it.
i read to chase that feeling.
(review to come)
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tbr review
BREAKING: the physical cover has beautiful little metallic stars on it.
that's enough to make me want to read it in and of itself.
(so thanks to the publisher for the copy!)
i read to chase that feeling.
(review to come)
---------------------
tbr review
BREAKING: the physical cover has beautiful little metallic stars on it.
that's enough to make me want to read it in and of itself.
(so thanks to the publisher for the copy!)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I already knew Chloe Benjamin could emotionally destroy me, but I wasn’t prepared for this level of existential heartbreak wrapped inside icy scientific wonder and one of the most haunting love stories I’ve read in years. This book feels like somebody cracked open grief itself, mixed it with quantum theory, Antarctica’s terrifying beauty, human longing, and asked: “If you had one impossible chance to rewrite your greatest loss… would you survive what comes after?”
And excuse me while I scream into the frozen void because this story absolutely consumed me.
Laurel Salter might be one of the most painfully human protagonists I’ve read lately. A brilliant scientist abandoning her entire life to wash dishes in Antarctica after unimaginable loss? That premise alone already had me emotionally preparing for damage. But the way Chloe Benjamin writes loneliness, guilt, regret, and the strange numbness that follows tragedy felt terrifyingly intimate. Laurel isn’t always easy. She’s messy, avoidant, grieving, stubborn, emotionally fractured — which made me love her even more. She feels like a real person trying to keep functioning while carrying a black hole inside her chest.
And then this book slowly mutates into something else entirely.
At first, I thought I was reading atmospheric literary fiction with emotional depth and gorgeous prose. Then suddenly I’m spiraling through theories about time, consciousness, parallel existence, memory, nature, and the terrifying possibility that love itself might be strong enough to break reality. Casual. Completely casual behavior from Chloe Benjamin.
The Antarctica setting deserves its own award because WOW. The isolation, endless ice, eerie silence, unnatural light phenomena — the entire book feels cold in the most hypnotic way possible. There’s this constant feeling that something ancient and unknowable is breathing underneath the surface of the world. Even the scientific discussions somehow feel emotional instead of clinical. The novel balances intellectual ambition with raw vulnerability so beautifully that I found myself highlighting passages one minute and having an emotional crisis the next.
Also… Eli and Laurel absolutely wrecked me.
This isn’t some shiny romantic fantasy where love magically heals everything. Their relationship is complicated, bruised, unfinished, filled with tenderness and resentment existing side by side. They don’t just mourn a person — they mourn versions of themselves, versions of their marriage, versions of the future they thought belonged to them. And that emotional weight gives every choice in this story devastating consequences.
What truly got under my skin was how the novel explores humanity’s obsession with second chances. Not in a cheesy “fix your mistakes” way, but in a deeply uncomfortable way. Would getting another opportunity actually heal us… or would it destroy us differently? The book keeps asking impossible questions without handing you neat answers, which honestly made the experience even more powerful.
And can we discuss how Chloe Benjamin somehow made advanced scientific concepts feel emotionally terrifying? Because my brain was working overtime while my feelings were simultaneously being run over by a truck.
This is one of those rare books that feels enormous while remaining deeply personal. It’s about science, nature, time, grief, love, guilt, memory, survival, and the unbearable human desire to hold onto the people we lose. Quietly devastating, unsettlingly beautiful, intelligent without losing its heart, and the kind of story that follows you around long after you finish the final page.
I already know this will become one of the most discussed literary releases of the year — and honestly? I would not be surprised at all to see it everywhere during awards season because this book practically demands conversation.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing one of my most anticipated fiction reads of the year — and highly probable Goodreads Choice Awards nominee — with me in exchange for my honest opinions, which I truly appreciated.
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And excuse me while I scream into the frozen void because this story absolutely consumed me.
Laurel Salter might be one of the most painfully human protagonists I’ve read lately. A brilliant scientist abandoning her entire life to wash dishes in Antarctica after unimaginable loss? That premise alone already had me emotionally preparing for damage. But the way Chloe Benjamin writes loneliness, guilt, regret, and the strange numbness that follows tragedy felt terrifyingly intimate. Laurel isn’t always easy. She’s messy, avoidant, grieving, stubborn, emotionally fractured — which made me love her even more. She feels like a real person trying to keep functioning while carrying a black hole inside her chest.
And then this book slowly mutates into something else entirely.
At first, I thought I was reading atmospheric literary fiction with emotional depth and gorgeous prose. Then suddenly I’m spiraling through theories about time, consciousness, parallel existence, memory, nature, and the terrifying possibility that love itself might be strong enough to break reality. Casual. Completely casual behavior from Chloe Benjamin.
The Antarctica setting deserves its own award because WOW. The isolation, endless ice, eerie silence, unnatural light phenomena — the entire book feels cold in the most hypnotic way possible. There’s this constant feeling that something ancient and unknowable is breathing underneath the surface of the world. Even the scientific discussions somehow feel emotional instead of clinical. The novel balances intellectual ambition with raw vulnerability so beautifully that I found myself highlighting passages one minute and having an emotional crisis the next.
Also… Eli and Laurel absolutely wrecked me.
This isn’t some shiny romantic fantasy where love magically heals everything. Their relationship is complicated, bruised, unfinished, filled with tenderness and resentment existing side by side. They don’t just mourn a person — they mourn versions of themselves, versions of their marriage, versions of the future they thought belonged to them. And that emotional weight gives every choice in this story devastating consequences.
What truly got under my skin was how the novel explores humanity’s obsession with second chances. Not in a cheesy “fix your mistakes” way, but in a deeply uncomfortable way. Would getting another opportunity actually heal us… or would it destroy us differently? The book keeps asking impossible questions without handing you neat answers, which honestly made the experience even more powerful.
And can we discuss how Chloe Benjamin somehow made advanced scientific concepts feel emotionally terrifying? Because my brain was working overtime while my feelings were simultaneously being run over by a truck.
This is one of those rare books that feels enormous while remaining deeply personal. It’s about science, nature, time, grief, love, guilt, memory, survival, and the unbearable human desire to hold onto the people we lose. Quietly devastating, unsettlingly beautiful, intelligent without losing its heart, and the kind of story that follows you around long after you finish the final page.
I already know this will become one of the most discussed literary releases of the year — and honestly? I would not be surprised at all to see it everywhere during awards season because this book practically demands conversation.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing one of my most anticipated fiction reads of the year — and highly probable Goodreads Choice Awards nominee — with me in exchange for my honest opinions, which I truly appreciated.
medium.com
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️ 4 ⭐️ A much anticipated speculative/literary fiction novel about a woman who can not forgive herself and goes into somewhat a self-imposed exile in Antartica but soon discovers a small sliver of hope that turns into obsession. In over 500 pages, Chloe Benjamin delivers a very thought provoking, character driven and a bit scientific story in the framework of grief, loss, motherhood and dual universes. It's intimate and sweeping and quite intellectually gripping. It's a time travel story with a little bit of romance, mystery, nature and human connection. For me, this was a 'quiet', introspective/reflective story that explored a deeper psychological conflict. The novels deeper meaning is found in the roots of nature and some of the philosophical framework. I thought it was very clever of Chloe Benjamin to use the ecosystem (fungal networks) to parallel the characters lives and their emotions. It may not be for everyone but Under Story was a work of literary art for me and I enjoyed the masterful storytelling.
What's it about?
Laurel is a mycologist (someone who studies fungi) who is caught between two psychological conflicts. She lost a child, a marriage and herself and has been emotionally self-punishing. She abandons her whole identity and moved to Antartica to live a very isolated life. There, she meets a wonderful group of people and catches a mysterious phenomenon called 'The Arc' that appears across the ice. This event pulls in a lot of scientists, including her ex husband Eli. His arrival forces Laurel to confront the past. Laurel believes that The Arc is able to turn back their time and alter their shared past. Eli has his own theories and strongly believes that the Arc can connect two universes and run in the opposite direction of time. Their reunion becomes the emotional core of the novel that drive forward the events that follow.
The book really centers around the question of what one would do and how far one will go for more time with the people they love. And I would do anything as long as my choice does not hurt the ones that are present and most closest to me. When we lose people, we often tend to revisit the days leading up to the loss. We think of alternative conversations, perhaps even decisions that could have been made differently, we try to imagine alternative outcomes. Our experiences are of course very individual and how we process grief, guilt and loss varies on many circumstances but I do believe that if people were presented with a chance to change the course of a life event, most would take that offer and make the best out of it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons and the author, Chloe Benjamin for an early ARC.
Publication date: September 1, 2026
What's it about?
Laurel is a mycologist (someone who studies fungi) who is caught between two psychological conflicts. She lost a child, a marriage and herself and has been emotionally self-punishing. She abandons her whole identity and moved to Antartica to live a very isolated life. There, she meets a wonderful group of people and catches a mysterious phenomenon called 'The Arc' that appears across the ice. This event pulls in a lot of scientists, including her ex husband Eli. His arrival forces Laurel to confront the past. Laurel believes that The Arc is able to turn back their time and alter their shared past. Eli has his own theories and strongly believes that the Arc can connect two universes and run in the opposite direction of time. Their reunion becomes the emotional core of the novel that drive forward the events that follow.
The book really centers around the question of what one would do and how far one will go for more time with the people they love. And I would do anything as long as my choice does not hurt the ones that are present and most closest to me. When we lose people, we often tend to revisit the days leading up to the loss. We think of alternative conversations, perhaps even decisions that could have been made differently, we try to imagine alternative outcomes. Our experiences are of course very individual and how we process grief, guilt and loss varies on many circumstances but I do believe that if people were presented with a chance to change the course of a life event, most would take that offer and make the best out of it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons and the author, Chloe Benjamin for an early ARC.
Publication date: September 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
The most beautiful exploration of a what if I’ve read in a while.
Laurel, a brilliant scientist, Is hiding from everything and everyone in the furthest place she can think of - an isolated research station on Antarctica. We know she is escaping a reality she cant quite face, and we slowly realize exactly why. When a strange yet beautiful arc suddenly appears (also drawing her husband, Eli, to Antarctica) alongside a long shot that they could perhaps turn time and do things all over again, Lauren and Eli are confronted with the most heart aching and mind bending of “what ifs”.
I finished this one with full body chills, but it’s also kind of heart to talk about without spoiling some of it’s power. Here’s what I think you do need to know: you must read some science stuff…you don’t have to understand it all, but the first half holds a lot of it. Keep going. This is also an exploration of grief, time, connectivity, and consciousness in a wholly original way. Once I realized what was happening, I raced to finish this. I needed to see Lauren and Eli through in a way that felt like they were in someway…mine? This was a deeply personal reading experience, and I imagine that will be the case for anyone that knows a capital g Grief.
I wish I could say more, but that might spoil some for you when this publishes September 1. Thank you @tinder_press for this e-galley. I cannot wait to talk with fellow readers about this one, and I hope Chloe Benjamin continues exploring these “what ifs”, helping each of us savor the good a little more each time.
Laurel, a brilliant scientist, Is hiding from everything and everyone in the furthest place she can think of - an isolated research station on Antarctica. We know she is escaping a reality she cant quite face, and we slowly realize exactly why. When a strange yet beautiful arc suddenly appears (also drawing her husband, Eli, to Antarctica) alongside a long shot that they could perhaps turn time and do things all over again, Lauren and Eli are confronted with the most heart aching and mind bending of “what ifs”.
I finished this one with full body chills, but it’s also kind of heart to talk about without spoiling some of it’s power. Here’s what I think you do need to know: you must read some science stuff…you don’t have to understand it all, but the first half holds a lot of it. Keep going. This is also an exploration of grief, time, connectivity, and consciousness in a wholly original way. Once I realized what was happening, I raced to finish this. I needed to see Lauren and Eli through in a way that felt like they were in someway…mine? This was a deeply personal reading experience, and I imagine that will be the case for anyone that knows a capital g Grief.
I wish I could say more, but that might spoil some for you when this publishes September 1. Thank you @tinder_press for this e-galley. I cannot wait to talk with fellow readers about this one, and I hope Chloe Benjamin continues exploring these “what ifs”, helping each of us savor the good a little more each time.
September 10, 2026
Part of my disappointment with this newest novel by an author I've loved in the past is that it started so great and fell so far. I was so excited by the news of this book that I used an audio credit to pre-order (a first for me).
And then it came and I immediately started listening. And then it started so great. I was enthralled. The setting, the characters, the story and all the information the author managed to incorporate so effortlessly. I learned about Hilma af Klint and the Five and burial mounds in Wisconsin and Antarctica--how that base works and the various people who populate and live there. This was all great stuff.
And then came Part II. I won't even go into my disappointment. It felt rushed, made no sense and I went from wanting to search out the print to eye rolling and hearing the entire premise fall apart. All I could think was that the author had to meet a deadline and instead of continuing to gently craft an excellent story she just began to type. I turned to double speed just to see if there was a possibility that the story would get back on track. But alas. I listened to the end and the plot/science/fiction just got increasingly silly. I don't expect a rational explanation for all science fiction elements in a novel but the author was unable to even obey the rules that she had set up for a fictional dual universe. It just made no sense. A bridge too far for this author. Still sorting through my feelings. Boy I hated to give it two stars but that was up from the one star I felt at the end,
And then it came and I immediately started listening. And then it started so great. I was enthralled. The setting, the characters, the story and all the information the author managed to incorporate so effortlessly. I learned about Hilma af Klint and the Five and burial mounds in Wisconsin and Antarctica--how that base works and the various people who populate and live there. This was all great stuff.
And then came Part II. I won't even go into my disappointment. It felt rushed, made no sense and I went from wanting to search out the print to eye rolling and hearing the entire premise fall apart. All I could think was that the author had to meet a deadline and instead of continuing to gently craft an excellent story she just began to type. I turned to double speed just to see if there was a possibility that the story would get back on track. But alas. I listened to the end and the plot/science/fiction just got increasingly silly. I don't expect a rational explanation for all science fiction elements in a novel but the author was unable to even obey the rules that she had set up for a fictional dual universe. It just made no sense. A bridge too far for this author. Still sorting through my feelings. Boy I hated to give it two stars but that was up from the one star I felt at the end,
September 2, 2026
3.5- 3.75
Going in completely blind, this book was definitely not what I expected. It’s a quiet, reflective story that offers plenty to contemplate regarding life, time, memory, and connection.
The narrative centers on Laurel, beginning with her early memories on a simple sheep farm and orchard with her mother, capturing the quiet minutiae of daily life through her eventual journey to Antarctica later in life.
Alongside Laurel’s story, the book explores fascinating sci-fi and speculative concepts:
-Scientific & Biological Musings: Blends discussions of neutrinos, neural signaling, dark matter, and underground fungal networks, exploring how consciousness and selfhood emerge from internal connectivity.
-The Anti-Universe / Duo-Verse: Details a world where everything operates in reverse—much like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Seeds emerge old from soil and grow younger, fossils precede living skeletons, and people are born elderly and live for decades before ever meeting their parents.
-Motherhood & Memory: Grounded by themes of motherhood, the weight of childhood, and the experience of watching loved ones age in reverse. It raises thought-provoking questions about deja-vu and shared existence.
It takes a moment to grasp the conceptual framework, but it certainly makes you think. While it didn't completely blow me away, it is beautifully written, genuinely unique, and ideal for readers who enjoy books that push stylistic and speculative boundaries.
***I both listened and read this one. (Thank you, Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons/ NetGalley for this ARC)
Going in completely blind, this book was definitely not what I expected. It’s a quiet, reflective story that offers plenty to contemplate regarding life, time, memory, and connection.
The narrative centers on Laurel, beginning with her early memories on a simple sheep farm and orchard with her mother, capturing the quiet minutiae of daily life through her eventual journey to Antarctica later in life.
Alongside Laurel’s story, the book explores fascinating sci-fi and speculative concepts:
-Scientific & Biological Musings: Blends discussions of neutrinos, neural signaling, dark matter, and underground fungal networks, exploring how consciousness and selfhood emerge from internal connectivity.
-The Anti-Universe / Duo-Verse: Details a world where everything operates in reverse—much like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Seeds emerge old from soil and grow younger, fossils precede living skeletons, and people are born elderly and live for decades before ever meeting their parents.
-Motherhood & Memory: Grounded by themes of motherhood, the weight of childhood, and the experience of watching loved ones age in reverse. It raises thought-provoking questions about deja-vu and shared existence.
It takes a moment to grasp the conceptual framework, but it certainly makes you think. While it didn't completely blow me away, it is beautifully written, genuinely unique, and ideal for readers who enjoy books that push stylistic and speculative boundaries.
***I both listened and read this one. (Thank you, Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons/ NetGalley for this ARC)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
⭐️⭐️ ARC Review from Netgalley
This book had a really intriguing premise, and there were a few moments I genuinely enjoyed, but overall the execution didn’t work for me.
The first 40% was weighed down by excessive backstory and unnecessary detail, which made the book drag. Some descriptions went far beyond what was needed which pulled me out of the story.
The worldbuilding raised more questions than it answered. Key concepts necessary for the story to make sense were either poorly explained or not explained at all. The rules of the world essentially didn't exist.
Late in the book, the timeline starts jumping back and forth between years, which only added to the confusion and was not necessary. It could have been told in order and it wouldn't have changed anything. It seemed like there were 15 different storylines happening at once, and half the time I didn't know which one I was as on.
If this hadn’t been an ARC, I likely would have DNF’d. There are good ideas here, and the premise itself is genuinely cool, but too much was either unexplained or poorly explained. It also couldve been easily half the length. For me, the confusion outweighed the intrigue.
This book had a really intriguing premise, and there were a few moments I genuinely enjoyed, but overall the execution didn’t work for me.
The first 40% was weighed down by excessive backstory and unnecessary detail, which made the book drag. Some descriptions went far beyond what was needed which pulled me out of the story.
The worldbuilding raised more questions than it answered. Key concepts necessary for the story to make sense were either poorly explained or not explained at all. The rules of the world essentially didn't exist.
Late in the book, the timeline starts jumping back and forth between years, which only added to the confusion and was not necessary. It could have been told in order and it wouldn't have changed anything. It seemed like there were 15 different storylines happening at once, and half the time I didn't know which one I was as on.
If this hadn’t been an ARC, I likely would have DNF’d. There are good ideas here, and the premise itself is genuinely cool, but too much was either unexplained or poorly explained. It also couldve been easily half the length. For me, the confusion outweighed the intrigue.
September 4, 2026
Two stars for the enjoyable first half which is basically book club fiction, well written and sensitive. But the second half is so shockingly bad I’m agog, I’m aghast, I can’t believe this got published. I haven’t read anything this flagrantly bad and stupid in like… years.
This is a spoiler I guess but it’s in all the reviews and I honestly think you should be aware before you commit to this awful book. Midway through, the main characters Laurel and Eli go through a portal to an alternate universe where time moves backward. But does this make any sense? No, because if that were actually taken seriously life couldn’t exist. So you know… digestion moves forward but society moves backward, in the most nonsensical manner imaginable. Technology moves backward, the iPhone giving way to flip phones, electronic transmission giving way to manual, for no reason other than that Benjamin needs to flip our timeline, not because these things make any sense logically. Christmas and Marxism exist even though Jesus and Karl Marx don’t. People magically compose in the ground and are “born” that way, rather than you know… from humans… and then age backward, going to high school as elderly people, but wait, young people who are closer to death ALSO go to high school, because ??? Yes it’s a great use of time at the end of your life to go to algebra class. The entire thing is so utterly nonsensical that I could barely believe what I was reading, and the timeline and logic of parenthood vs being a child with the random “birth” rules literally did not make any sense to me as I read, leaving me utterly bewildered.
Benjamin also doesn’t have a good way to end this, with all the nonsense science she’s invented, and defaults to pure fantasy to get her characters a happy ending.
As the excellent Guardian review points out, other backward time travel narratives that work tend to be very short because as soon as you get into details everything falls apart which is exactly what happens here. This book is so self-indulgent and so bad, and I don’t know why an editor didn’t intervene. I also don’t know why this book has mostly gotten rave reviews. The fact that professional critics are basically never willing to pan even a book as farcically bad as this makes me despair for the profession and for literary culture.
This is a spoiler I guess but it’s in all the reviews and I honestly think you should be aware before you commit to this awful book. Midway through, the main characters Laurel and Eli go through a portal to an alternate universe where time moves backward. But does this make any sense? No, because if that were actually taken seriously life couldn’t exist. So you know… digestion moves forward but society moves backward, in the most nonsensical manner imaginable. Technology moves backward, the iPhone giving way to flip phones, electronic transmission giving way to manual, for no reason other than that Benjamin needs to flip our timeline, not because these things make any sense logically. Christmas and Marxism exist even though Jesus and Karl Marx don’t. People magically compose in the ground and are “born” that way, rather than you know… from humans… and then age backward, going to high school as elderly people, but wait, young people who are closer to death ALSO go to high school, because ??? Yes it’s a great use of time at the end of your life to go to algebra class. The entire thing is so utterly nonsensical that I could barely believe what I was reading, and the timeline and logic of parenthood vs being a child with the random “birth” rules literally did not make any sense to me as I read, leaving me utterly bewildered.
Benjamin also doesn’t have a good way to end this, with all the nonsense science she’s invented, and defaults to pure fantasy to get her characters a happy ending.
As the excellent Guardian review points out, other backward time travel narratives that work tend to be very short because as soon as you get into details everything falls apart which is exactly what happens here. This book is so self-indulgent and so bad, and I don’t know why an editor didn’t intervene. I also don’t know why this book has mostly gotten rave reviews. The fact that professional critics are basically never willing to pan even a book as farcically bad as this makes me despair for the profession and for literary culture.
August 26, 2026
The two halves of this book were so disjointed that giving it an overall rating is difficult, but I’m going to be generous and give it a 3.
This is definitely a story best entered blind, so I’m going to avoid much summary for those who may enjoy it. I feel like I read two entirely different stories, which isn’t inherently bad (Life of Pi, The Count of Monte Cristo, hello?), but it really didn’t work for me here for reasons I’m sure you’re excited for me to tell you. So I’m breaking this review into the Good Half (first 40%) and the Not-So-Good Half (the rest).
The Good Half: Good, good. This is literary fiction exploring grief, failed relationships, motherhood vs. personal ambition, and middle age, and I absolutely loved it. The geographic setting (Antarctica!) mirrors Laurel’s internal isolation so, so well. The writing is strong, with prose that never gets too highfalutin. The characters are endearing, particularly the side characters, and Laurel’s development showed so much promise. The dialogue and scenes could be a little corny or stiff at times, but it didn’t make me like them any less. The first 40% was easily 5 stars.
The Not-So-Good Half: Oh, boy. I don’t mind speculative SciFi at all. In fact, I often prefer it. I also don’t think an author needs a background in science to write good SciFi (Amal El-Mohtar and Taylor Jenkins Reid do a good job of this). However, I think Benjamin was just too ambitious here, and her inexperience with the subject matter bled through.
A significant part of scientific training is learning how to explain your science so other people can understand it. While I’m no authority, I do have a scientific background, and I didn’t know wtf was goin on. We have fictional scientists with fictional motivations conducting fictional experiments based on fictional hypotheses that completely challenge actual scientific laws, and things get very, very muddy. I am dying to know what actual physicists or mycologists would think of this, because I have a feeling it ain’t great.
The second-chance romance also had so much potential, but the chemistry was nowhere to be seen. Whatever emotional thread existed between them got lost among the 1,000 other things I was trying to keep track of. By the end, the second half felt like a confusing marathon I was just ready to have over. 2 stars.
I’m not sure I would recommend this book specifically, but I do think Benjamin shows a lot of promise as a more traditional literary fiction author. The quieter, character-driven parts of this were genuinely excellent. I just wish she’d shown more restraint with the scope, because the book I was reading at the beginning was one I absolutely loved.
Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is definitely a story best entered blind, so I’m going to avoid much summary for those who may enjoy it. I feel like I read two entirely different stories, which isn’t inherently bad (Life of Pi, The Count of Monte Cristo, hello?), but it really didn’t work for me here for reasons I’m sure you’re excited for me to tell you. So I’m breaking this review into the Good Half (first 40%) and the Not-So-Good Half (the rest).
The Good Half: Good, good. This is literary fiction exploring grief, failed relationships, motherhood vs. personal ambition, and middle age, and I absolutely loved it. The geographic setting (Antarctica!) mirrors Laurel’s internal isolation so, so well. The writing is strong, with prose that never gets too highfalutin. The characters are endearing, particularly the side characters, and Laurel’s development showed so much promise. The dialogue and scenes could be a little corny or stiff at times, but it didn’t make me like them any less. The first 40% was easily 5 stars.
The Not-So-Good Half: Oh, boy. I don’t mind speculative SciFi at all. In fact, I often prefer it. I also don’t think an author needs a background in science to write good SciFi (Amal El-Mohtar and Taylor Jenkins Reid do a good job of this). However, I think Benjamin was just too ambitious here, and her inexperience with the subject matter bled through.
A significant part of scientific training is learning how to explain your science so other people can understand it. While I’m no authority, I do have a scientific background, and I didn’t know wtf was goin on. We have fictional scientists with fictional motivations conducting fictional experiments based on fictional hypotheses that completely challenge actual scientific laws, and things get very, very muddy. I am dying to know what actual physicists or mycologists would think of this, because I have a feeling it ain’t great.
The second-chance romance also had so much potential, but the chemistry was nowhere to be seen. Whatever emotional thread existed between them got lost among the 1,000 other things I was trying to keep track of. By the end, the second half felt like a confusing marathon I was just ready to have over. 2 stars.
I’m not sure I would recommend this book specifically, but I do think Benjamin shows a lot of promise as a more traditional literary fiction author. The quieter, character-driven parts of this were genuinely excellent. I just wish she’d shown more restraint with the scope, because the book I was reading at the beginning was one I absolutely loved.
Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 13, 2026
Brilliant. Moving. Surprising. And some of the most extraordinary "world-building" in fiction I've ever come across. Imagine not precisely a parallel universe. . .but a duoverse where our souls also reside, but time moves in the opposite direction. So, for instance, we get younger as we "age." Add to that two deeply protagonists, a wife and husband who are scientists and who've tragically lost their young son. . .and, after discovering what they christen the "duoverse," manage to go there to try and rescue their boy. The novel is a breathtaking achievement.
September 8, 2026
5⭐️ I absolutely loved this big beautiful speculative/sci fi/ romance story! Chloe Benjamin’s gorgeous writing and the icy Antarctic and duoverse settings grabbed me from the first pages and I enjoyed every page after!
I loved Laurel and Eli’s relationship and felt their trauma, loss, and grief. Each of their friends and their adventures came alive on the pages! While the book is heavy on science at times, it is an integral part of the tapestry of the story.
Who hasn’t wished they could go back in time for another chance to change things, and would trying really change anything at all? I’m not going to go into the story or spoilers as I went in blind and you should too! Sure to be a favorite of mine for 2026.
Thanks to NetGalley, G P Putnam’s Sons and Chloe Benjamin for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I loved Laurel and Eli’s relationship and felt their trauma, loss, and grief. Each of their friends and their adventures came alive on the pages! While the book is heavy on science at times, it is an integral part of the tapestry of the story.
Who hasn’t wished they could go back in time for another chance to change things, and would trying really change anything at all? I’m not going to go into the story or spoilers as I went in blind and you should too! Sure to be a favorite of mine for 2026.
Thanks to NetGalley, G P Putnam’s Sons and Chloe Benjamin for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 23, 2026
I read Chloe Benjamin’s new book in a fever dream 24 hours where I simply could not put it down - this is a book that somehow manages to tackle big ideas - love, grief, rupture, the origin of life, time itself - in a vividly human story of two people who find themselves at the end of the earth, the end of so many things, and yet - on the cusp of discovery.
This book felt new, bold, and astonishing. It’s not so much a journey as a constant revelation.
The only question I’m left with as a reader is: Where will Chloe Benjamin take us next?
I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
This book felt new, bold, and astonishing. It’s not so much a journey as a constant revelation.
The only question I’m left with as a reader is: Where will Chloe Benjamin take us next?
I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
October 8, 2026
oh my god. i think this is my favourite of the year. im crying
September 4, 2026
"An intimate yet epic love story—and a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery. Under Story invites us to consider the promise of this life, what might lie beyond it, and how far we would go for more time with the people we love, cementing Chloe Benjamin’s place among our best, and most lasting, storytellers.
“We wake up to tomorrow, never yesterday.”
Laurel Salter is a biologist who is hiding at McMurdo station in Antarctica as a dishwasher. After the breakup of her family she feels isolated and heartbroken. When scientists begin discussing the Arc, Laurel feels hope for the first time. What she discovers is beyond her wildest dreams.
I think the less you know going into this, the better. It is an emotional story about the bonds that tie partners together and parents to their children. Scientific possibilities are explored that are so compelling and mind blowing. Sometimes the science distracted from the flow of the story. I love science but I enjoyed all the emotions the book made me feel and wanted to explore that more.
The audiobook performance by Maggi-Meg Reed (20 hours 37 minutes) was excellent and added another layer to the storytelling. This was long at times but the concept and research for this was so good, its brilliance can't be denied. Recommend for fans of speculative science fiction and books that emphasize our responsibility to take care of our planet.
Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, PRH Audio and Chloe Benjamin for the gifted advance reader's copy and advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.
“We wake up to tomorrow, never yesterday.”
Laurel Salter is a biologist who is hiding at McMurdo station in Antarctica as a dishwasher. After the breakup of her family she feels isolated and heartbroken. When scientists begin discussing the Arc, Laurel feels hope for the first time. What she discovers is beyond her wildest dreams.
I think the less you know going into this, the better. It is an emotional story about the bonds that tie partners together and parents to their children. Scientific possibilities are explored that are so compelling and mind blowing. Sometimes the science distracted from the flow of the story. I love science but I enjoyed all the emotions the book made me feel and wanted to explore that more.
The audiobook performance by Maggi-Meg Reed (20 hours 37 minutes) was excellent and added another layer to the storytelling. This was long at times but the concept and research for this was so good, its brilliance can't be denied. Recommend for fans of speculative science fiction and books that emphasize our responsibility to take care of our planet.
Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, PRH Audio and Chloe Benjamin for the gifted advance reader's copy and advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Wow, this was NOT at all what I was expecting.
Under Story is incredibly AMBITIOUS and BIG. As in 500 pages big.
We start the book with Laurel Salter in the McMurdo Station in Antartica (a real place), working as a dishwasher, putting aside her teaching job for a year, to just escape from reality.
Along the way, we meet new friends, a new life for Laurel, and find out why she's there to begin with.
The most intriguing parts of this book is the science behind the station and discovering new facts I never knew about Antartica. Chloe Benjamin is incredibly smart and really breaks down the details to the reader who will probably not know anything about what we're about to learn.
When a mysterious Arc appears over the frozen ice, the world becomes captivated - what could this possibly be? And can it help finds humans a passage towards discovering basic humanity? What if it could turn back time so we could relive what was once lost?
In the most improbable of a Benjamin Button storyline, and I take that lightly, Laurel and her ex-husband Eli decide to take a chance of a lifetime, even if that means living in a parallel universe.
I don't want to reveal too much, because there's SO much to unpack. There's a ton of science, perhaps 100 pages too much of storyline, the pacing speeds up in the second half despite going backwards, if that makes sense.
There's discussion about who we vote for can change the world (ahem) and protecting the earth in all its glory, because damn it, it's all we have.
I loved the first 50%, the second half had me wishing it was 100 pages shorter. There's a lot of speculative scientific chatter going on, much that went over my head because I'm not smart enough to understand it.
I expect to see a TON of different view points once Under Story is released on 9/1/26. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!
Under Story is incredibly AMBITIOUS and BIG. As in 500 pages big.
We start the book with Laurel Salter in the McMurdo Station in Antartica (a real place), working as a dishwasher, putting aside her teaching job for a year, to just escape from reality.
Along the way, we meet new friends, a new life for Laurel, and find out why she's there to begin with.
The most intriguing parts of this book is the science behind the station and discovering new facts I never knew about Antartica. Chloe Benjamin is incredibly smart and really breaks down the details to the reader who will probably not know anything about what we're about to learn.
When a mysterious Arc appears over the frozen ice, the world becomes captivated - what could this possibly be? And can it help finds humans a passage towards discovering basic humanity? What if it could turn back time so we could relive what was once lost?
In the most improbable of a Benjamin Button storyline, and I take that lightly, Laurel and her ex-husband Eli decide to take a chance of a lifetime, even if that means living in a parallel universe.
I don't want to reveal too much, because there's SO much to unpack. There's a ton of science, perhaps 100 pages too much of storyline, the pacing speeds up in the second half despite going backwards, if that makes sense.
There's discussion about who we vote for can change the world (ahem) and protecting the earth in all its glory, because damn it, it's all we have.
I loved the first 50%, the second half had me wishing it was 100 pages shorter. There's a lot of speculative scientific chatter going on, much that went over my head because I'm not smart enough to understand it.
I expect to see a TON of different view points once Under Story is released on 9/1/26. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!
September 3, 2026
Brilliant, original, inventive, speculative, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking. Will likely be my favorite book of the year.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc via Net Galley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc via Net Galley.
August 7, 2026
I was really excited for Under Story because I enjoyed Chloe Benjamin’s previous book, but this was a DNF at 30% for me.
There is a story in here somewhere. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time trying to find it underneath all the scientific exposition about mushrooms, matter, space, time, and the universe—complete with diagrams. Add in the constant jumping backward and forward in time, and I never had a chance to connect with the characters or the story.
I finally realized I was skimming just to get back to the actual plot. That’s usually my sign to stop.
Interesting concept, but definitely not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tinder Press for the Arc
Trigger warning ⚠️ death of child, suicide
There is a story in here somewhere. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time trying to find it underneath all the scientific exposition about mushrooms, matter, space, time, and the universe—complete with diagrams. Add in the constant jumping backward and forward in time, and I never had a chance to connect with the characters or the story.
I finally realized I was skimming just to get back to the actual plot. That’s usually my sign to stop.
Interesting concept, but definitely not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tinder Press for the Arc
Trigger warning ⚠️ death of child, suicide
Read
February 3, 2026A mind-bending, head-popping sci-fi love story full of intrigue and tenderness.
September 25, 2026
Laurel Salter has suffered a tragedy that has left her heartbroken. Divorced from her now-ex-husband, Eli, she travels to McMurdo, a base at the far reaches of the world in Antarctica. She will be a kitchen steward. No one will know her background as a mycologist. However, there's this strange arc of light that changes colors in the distance. The Arc tickles Laurel's scientific curiosity. The scientists at McMurdo are flying a particle detector over it, but so far, it’s unexplainable.
At the beginning of the story, we find five- or six-year-old Laurel in the garden with her father. When she crawls under a Golden Russet apple tree, she notices the root system and asks her father how far the roots go. Her father tells her that some roots go deep and some grow wide. Laurel realizes that when she drew a picture of a tree at school, she’d only drawn half the story. The other half is under the ground - the Under Story.
This little vignette at the beginning sets us up for the journey that Laurel will take. She was a questing child, and she carries that same spirit into adulthood. She quests for the other part of the story regarding The Arc, the Under Story. What is she not seeing?
Eli is a physicist. When he arrives with other scientists to research The Arc, things are strained between him and Laurel. Laurel has been there a while and has already made friends. However, they both share a growing curiosity about The Arc.
I love how Benjamin brings facts and science into her story. The scientists at McMurdo give a presentation regarding fossilized tree trunks they’ve found. A geologist explains:
Fossilized plants have been found on the continent before. In 1912, the remains of a five-man party, led by Robert Falcon Scott, were discovered in a tent on the Ross Ice Shelf. More than thirty pounds of specimens lay beside their bodies. The fossils include two thousand animals, four hundred formerly unknown, and the first Emperor penguin eggs ever see by human beings. But nothing caused so much of a stir as Glossopteris indica, a tree that had been extinct for two hundred million years. Its discovery confirmed that Antarctica had been part of Gondwanaland…
Like Laurel and Eli, I am drawn into the science. My curiosity about The Arc grows along with theirs.
Before I read the novel, I read a review in ‘The Guardian’ by Beejay Silcox. It’s a negative review that made me think twice about reading the book. I agree with Silcox that the science in the second half of the story is strained. Probably unbelievable. I agree that the book goes on too long. He argues that it’s too long to be a thought experiment. I disagree with that. That’s exactly what I think about Benjamin’s novel. For me, it’s a thought experiment that I found worthwhile, even though there are bits that could have been cut without hurting the main story.
I’m glad I read the novel despite Silcox’s review. Some of Benjamin's unbelievable scenarios are the ones that will stick with me and make me think about birth and life and how there’s always more to the story than we can see.
At the beginning of the story, we find five- or six-year-old Laurel in the garden with her father. When she crawls under a Golden Russet apple tree, she notices the root system and asks her father how far the roots go. Her father tells her that some roots go deep and some grow wide. Laurel realizes that when she drew a picture of a tree at school, she’d only drawn half the story. The other half is under the ground - the Under Story.
This little vignette at the beginning sets us up for the journey that Laurel will take. She was a questing child, and she carries that same spirit into adulthood. She quests for the other part of the story regarding The Arc, the Under Story. What is she not seeing?
Eli is a physicist. When he arrives with other scientists to research The Arc, things are strained between him and Laurel. Laurel has been there a while and has already made friends. However, they both share a growing curiosity about The Arc.
I love how Benjamin brings facts and science into her story. The scientists at McMurdo give a presentation regarding fossilized tree trunks they’ve found. A geologist explains:
Fossilized plants have been found on the continent before. In 1912, the remains of a five-man party, led by Robert Falcon Scott, were discovered in a tent on the Ross Ice Shelf. More than thirty pounds of specimens lay beside their bodies. The fossils include two thousand animals, four hundred formerly unknown, and the first Emperor penguin eggs ever see by human beings. But nothing caused so much of a stir as Glossopteris indica, a tree that had been extinct for two hundred million years. Its discovery confirmed that Antarctica had been part of Gondwanaland…
Like Laurel and Eli, I am drawn into the science. My curiosity about The Arc grows along with theirs.
Before I read the novel, I read a review in ‘The Guardian’ by Beejay Silcox. It’s a negative review that made me think twice about reading the book. I agree with Silcox that the science in the second half of the story is strained. Probably unbelievable. I agree that the book goes on too long. He argues that it’s too long to be a thought experiment. I disagree with that. That’s exactly what I think about Benjamin’s novel. For me, it’s a thought experiment that I found worthwhile, even though there are bits that could have been cut without hurting the main story.
I’m glad I read the novel despite Silcox’s review. Some of Benjamin's unbelievable scenarios are the ones that will stick with me and make me think about birth and life and how there’s always more to the story than we can see.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A strange, passionate book that buckles under the weight of its own ambitious concept. Is this an introspective story of grief and identity, based in real-life scientific phenomenon, set against a rugged natural landscape, a là Wild Dark Shore? Or is this a dystopian, high-concept speculative fiction novel centered on motherhood, a lá The School For Good Mothers? The author struggles to incorporate elements of both these traditions without fully committing to either theme, creating a book that feels ambitious but confusing at its best and comically preposterous at its worst. Basically, after a strong first half: the protagonist and her husband travel to an alternate world where people age backwards such that all elderly people manifest(?) with the minds of newborns and all "babies" are elderly people taken care of by their own children who they never actually gave birth to?. If you're baffled and a little amused reading this description, you aren't alone - from this point onwards the novel devolves into an absurd sophistic psychodrama that bears almost no resemblance to its intelligent first chapters.
Science fiction in the literary fiction tradition is at its strongest when the author avoids the compulsion to over-justify themselves. Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Scott Alexander Howard's The Other Valley are two great examples of authors succeeding at this. Under Story, meanwhile, is a somewhat cautionary tale of what happens when science is reverse-engeineerd to justify a concept that is just too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The first third of the book is clearly very well-researched, exploring dense scientific research on topics ranging from black holes, mycelium networks, and arctic ecology. All highly interesting concepts that have almost no bearing at all on the rest of the story, leaving me feeling honestly pretty annoyed (protip: if you are going to relentlessly dump in a science fiction novel, you owe your readers at least a MINOR payoff for paying attention). The author clearly built the novel around her central Benjamin Button-esque idea, with the first third of the novel reading, in retrospect, as insecure technical padding designed to justify & legitimize what is fundamentally a goofy premise. I have NOTHING against silly, high-concept science fiction: there are plenty examples of ridiculous premises skillfully (& intentionally) used to create powerfully emotional storytelling. However, this requires leaning into the unusual premise, not struggling to explain how and why it should be taken seriously.
Science fiction in the literary fiction tradition is at its strongest when the author avoids the compulsion to over-justify themselves. Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Scott Alexander Howard's The Other Valley are two great examples of authors succeeding at this. Under Story, meanwhile, is a somewhat cautionary tale of what happens when science is reverse-engeineerd to justify a concept that is just too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The first third of the book is clearly very well-researched, exploring dense scientific research on topics ranging from black holes, mycelium networks, and arctic ecology. All highly interesting concepts that have almost no bearing at all on the rest of the story, leaving me feeling honestly pretty annoyed (protip: if you are going to relentlessly dump in a science fiction novel, you owe your readers at least a MINOR payoff for paying attention). The author clearly built the novel around her central Benjamin Button-esque idea, with the first third of the novel reading, in retrospect, as insecure technical padding designed to justify & legitimize what is fundamentally a goofy premise. I have NOTHING against silly, high-concept science fiction: there are plenty examples of ridiculous premises skillfully (& intentionally) used to create powerfully emotional storytelling. However, this requires leaning into the unusual premise, not struggling to explain how and why it should be taken seriously.
March 3, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Chloe Benjamin for the opportunity to review an ARC of Under Story!
Reading the synopsis, I was really interested in this unique sci-fi story about love, life and death, and the ultimate question of can we live our story a second time but in a different way. I liked the author’s authentic descriptions of grief, trauma, love, and loss. I felt gutted for the main characters throughout their journey. The story had good bones and a fascinating concept. Unfortunately, the first half was incredibly slow with an over abundance of backstory that didn’t feel central to the point. The author’s descriptions for some of the scientific processes were excessive when it wasn’t entirely part of the plot but rather filler.
I liked but didn’t love. Could have been condensed to a place where the concept was still there but you don’t get lost in the weeds of all the unneeded detail.
Reading the synopsis, I was really interested in this unique sci-fi story about love, life and death, and the ultimate question of can we live our story a second time but in a different way. I liked the author’s authentic descriptions of grief, trauma, love, and loss. I felt gutted for the main characters throughout their journey. The story had good bones and a fascinating concept. Unfortunately, the first half was incredibly slow with an over abundance of backstory that didn’t feel central to the point. The author’s descriptions for some of the scientific processes were excessive when it wasn’t entirely part of the plot but rather filler.
I liked but didn’t love. Could have been condensed to a place where the concept was still there but you don’t get lost in the weeds of all the unneeded detail.
September 8, 2026
Early copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.
Review to follow.
Review to follow.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
UNDER STORY by Chloe Benjamin
🎉This book! It’s been living inside my head since the day I finished. In so many different ways Under Story left me completely awed. It’s stunning to me that one book can do so much, so beautifully. Now, putting into words why I love this book? There is the challenge. I went into it with little idea of what the story was about and that was perfect for me. While I’m not going to share any real spoilers, if you want to know nothing, skip to the last paragraph.
Under Story is many things, but at its core there’s love. Laurel and Eli are wholly in love, but they’re also divorced, forced apart by a tragedy neither could fully face. Their relationship ebbs and flows throughout, but to be clear this is decidedly NOT a traditional romance.
Both Laurel and Eli are scientists. She’s a mycologist (fungi🍄🟫) and he’s a physicist. After their divorce, Laurel flees to Antarctica to work in food services at McMurdo Station, a research base there. A curious anomaly has sprung up near the base, capturing Laurel’s attention. Eli ends up at McMurdo as part of a team to investigate this anomaly. Together, the two make a discovery that could change the paths of both their lives.
That’s all I can say, but there’s a whole lot more to the story! For those of you wondering, there IS a lot of science in this book, both real and imagined, but I was always locked in, never feeling like it was too much. The writing was exquisite, even when focused on science or leaning into sci-fi. The story itself could not have been more thoughtfully put together, and the characters feel absolutely beloved to me. Though the two books are very different, Under Story left me with the same tingly feelings as did Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Both are wholly unique books I’ll never forget. Without any doubt Chloe Benjamin’s incredible third novel will be among my very best of 2026. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📕Thanks to @putnambooks for an e-galley of this book.
🎉This book! It’s been living inside my head since the day I finished. In so many different ways Under Story left me completely awed. It’s stunning to me that one book can do so much, so beautifully. Now, putting into words why I love this book? There is the challenge. I went into it with little idea of what the story was about and that was perfect for me. While I’m not going to share any real spoilers, if you want to know nothing, skip to the last paragraph.
Under Story is many things, but at its core there’s love. Laurel and Eli are wholly in love, but they’re also divorced, forced apart by a tragedy neither could fully face. Their relationship ebbs and flows throughout, but to be clear this is decidedly NOT a traditional romance.
Both Laurel and Eli are scientists. She’s a mycologist (fungi🍄🟫) and he’s a physicist. After their divorce, Laurel flees to Antarctica to work in food services at McMurdo Station, a research base there. A curious anomaly has sprung up near the base, capturing Laurel’s attention. Eli ends up at McMurdo as part of a team to investigate this anomaly. Together, the two make a discovery that could change the paths of both their lives.
That’s all I can say, but there’s a whole lot more to the story! For those of you wondering, there IS a lot of science in this book, both real and imagined, but I was always locked in, never feeling like it was too much. The writing was exquisite, even when focused on science or leaning into sci-fi. The story itself could not have been more thoughtfully put together, and the characters feel absolutely beloved to me. Though the two books are very different, Under Story left me with the same tingly feelings as did Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Both are wholly unique books I’ll never forget. Without any doubt Chloe Benjamin’s incredible third novel will be among my very best of 2026. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📕Thanks to @putnambooks for an e-galley of this book.
October 2, 2026
What an immersive, strange experience! Laurel, a biologist who studies fungi, escapes a tragedy in her life by taking a job in Antarctica, where she discovers a way to cross into a parallel universe. There is a heavy dose of physics and biology in this novel that I could not fully make sense of but I went with the flow. This novel made my head spin but also touched me deeply. I am still thinking about it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a book for readers who enjoy stories built on scientific ideas. The physics is demanding and will lose part of the audience, but Benjamin trusts her reader to be intelligent enough to handle it, and that trust is a large part of why I loved it. The protagonists are Laurel, a mycologist, and Eli, a physicist. After a devastating tragedy and the divorce that follows, Laurel takes a job at McMurdo research station in Antarctica. There she becomes obsessed with an environmental phenomenon the researchers call "The Arc," a source of light no one can explain. Then Eli arrives, intending to test a theory he had described to Laurel years earlier.
What begins as a novel of grief expands into something stranger and more ambitious. Benjamin has clearly thought hard about her physics, and she folds it into an emotionally tense storyline. It requires some suspension of disbelief, and it is not one to rush. There were places where I had to stop and sit with what I had just read, and I enjoyed working out the logic of it.
At around 500 pages it occasionally feels long, but the length is justified. The story needs room for both the scientific groundwork and the histories of its two protagonists. I wanted to understand Laurel and Eli, their motivations and their choices, and I stayed fully immersed throughout.
I came to this after loving The Immortalists, and the two share a core. Neither is really about its premise. This one is about how people process grief and regret. On the strength of both books, Benjamin is now on my list of favorite authors, and I will read whatever she writes next.
It is a novel for readers who want to lose themselves in a story without knowing where it leads. I doubt many will guess where it is headed. I certainly didn't.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy.
This book was just released. Highly recommended!
What begins as a novel of grief expands into something stranger and more ambitious. Benjamin has clearly thought hard about her physics, and she folds it into an emotionally tense storyline. It requires some suspension of disbelief, and it is not one to rush. There were places where I had to stop and sit with what I had just read, and I enjoyed working out the logic of it.
At around 500 pages it occasionally feels long, but the length is justified. The story needs room for both the scientific groundwork and the histories of its two protagonists. I wanted to understand Laurel and Eli, their motivations and their choices, and I stayed fully immersed throughout.
I came to this after loving The Immortalists, and the two share a core. Neither is really about its premise. This one is about how people process grief and regret. On the strength of both books, Benjamin is now on my list of favorite authors, and I will read whatever she writes next.
It is a novel for readers who want to lose themselves in a story without knowing where it leads. I doubt many will guess where it is headed. I certainly didn't.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy.
This book was just released. Highly recommended!
August 26, 2026
I really, really wanted to love Under Story, which is billed as a kind of time travel-esque "second chance at love" love story but I felt underwhelmed.
Lauren and Eli discover the Arc, where they believe another universe might exist where they can travel for a second chance of life and love.
There were parts I liked (Lauren and Eli worked particularly well together, despite their problems in their relationship) and the writing flows well, even when I lost track of what was happening in the last 100 pages or so. However, the way the other universe worked really didn’t work for me and there were elements of it that felt odd and uncomfortable. It’s very difficult to be more elaborate without spoiling the story. I also didn't really feel the love story and romance in it either.
It's a shame as I absolutely loved The Immortalists and was really looking forward to this. I wouldn't put people off buying it because it's getting great reviews elsewhere and you have to form your own opinion but it missed the mark for me.
Lauren and Eli discover the Arc, where they believe another universe might exist where they can travel for a second chance of life and love.
There were parts I liked (Lauren and Eli worked particularly well together, despite their problems in their relationship) and the writing flows well, even when I lost track of what was happening in the last 100 pages or so. However, the way the other universe worked really didn’t work for me and there were elements of it that felt odd and uncomfortable. It’s very difficult to be more elaborate without spoiling the story. I also didn't really feel the love story and romance in it either.
It's a shame as I absolutely loved The Immortalists and was really looking forward to this. I wouldn't put people off buying it because it's getting great reviews elsewhere and you have to form your own opinion but it missed the mark for me.
September 14, 2026
Beautiful, trippy, intense. The beginning of the second section literally gave me nightmares, but Benjamin is so incredibly gifted at creating an expansive world: from the Midwest to San Francisco to Antarctica twice over, her love for the natural world is palpable. This is a story of trees and mushrooms, of air and electricity, of love and forgiveness and kindness and daring. I was blown away by the construction and scope of it, and just couldn't believe what I was reading in the best ways. A true achievement.
October 10, 2026
Not for me.
From the description I was expecting a kind of Counter-Clock World SF story, but instead this was more “sad literary”, which is not a genre I’m generally drawn to.
I’m sure lots of people want to read about self discovery and learning to value the time we have to live, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that kind of story, but that is not what I thought I was signing up for based on the book summary, or at least, not only that.
It’s hard for me to rate fairly because while I am so mixed on the story the writing is really lovely.
Note: I read this on my ereader but happened to see the hardcover in the bookstore, and I have to comment on what an absolutely beautifully designed book it is. The dots on the cover are all silver and the effect was so soft and dreamy in contrast with the matte blue.
From the description I was expecting a kind of Counter-Clock World SF story, but instead this was more “sad literary”, which is not a genre I’m generally drawn to.
I’m sure lots of people want to read about self discovery and learning to value the time we have to live, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that kind of story, but that is not what I thought I was signing up for based on the book summary, or at least, not only that.
It’s hard for me to rate fairly because while I am so mixed on the story the writing is really lovely.
Note: I read this on my ereader but happened to see the hardcover in the bookstore, and I have to comment on what an absolutely beautifully designed book it is. The dots on the cover are all silver and the effect was so soft and dreamy in contrast with the matte blue.
September 4, 2026
This book started off so promising, but the second they get to the duo-verse, it starts a long stupid slide it never recovers.
The idea has potential but the execution is just so dumb that I struggled to get through the last half.
The idea has potential but the execution is just so dumb that I struggled to get through the last half.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is the most imaginative, unusual, and creative storytelling I’ve read in a long time! I knew I was reading something very special! 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! I would have given it 5 Stars, however, I personally like my endings to be a little more tightened up!
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