Long ago, inexplicable astronomic events like eclipses were thought to be bad omens — hey, imagine how unsettling it would be to see the moon or sun suddenly disappear from view, with no warning or understanding of how it happened. Today, an eclipse causes more joy than worry: Eclipse chasers swear they feel a spiritual reaction that goes way beyond a merely overwhelming sense of awe … perhaps because eclipses remind us that no matter how much we now understand about the universe, our knowledge is not yet enough to overshadow mystery; mystery continues to flare out from the edges of what we know, inviting wild, mythlike narratives.
So long as we continue to create and enjoy these narratives, we are connected to our ancient selves, our most possible selves. Perhaps, an eclipse suggests, we do not yet know how the story will go. How our story, as a species, will go.
On 9/19, Nick Offerman comes back to perform Mark Twain's beloved, wryly funny novel about a regular Joe from — you know, Connecticut — who, after some blunt force trauma, suddenly finds himself in King Arthur's sixth-century England. When he's sentenced to burn at the stake, he threatens to blot out the sun, knowing that, quite luckily, a solar eclipse is due. We all kind of fantasize about something like this, right? At any rate, Offerman doing several different British voices makes rediscovering this classic a complete and total delight. (Available for pre-order now.)
Acclaimed author John Banville evokes that ancient idea of eclipse as bad omen. Alexander Cleave, actor, has left his career and his family behind and banished himself to his childhood home. He wants to retire from life, but finds this impossible in a house brimming with presences, some ghostly, some undeniably human. This humane and beautifully written story tells the tragic tale of a man, intelligent, preposterous, and vulnerable, who in attempting to bring the performance to a close, finds himself traveling inevitably toward a devastating denouement. Much like a ... total eclipse?
On the mountainous border of China and Tibet in 1708, travelers, soldiers, and merchants have gathered to witness an eclipse of the sun commanded by the emperor himself. Exiled Imperial librarian Li Du is passing through on his way to the Tibetan border, when a Jesuit astronomer is found murdered in the home of the local magistrate. Blame is hastily placed on Tibetan bandits, but Li Du suspects this was no random killing. Beyond the sloping roofs and festival banners, Li Du can see the mountain pass that will take him out of China forever. He must choose whether to leave and embrace his exile, or to stay and investigate a murder that the town seems all too willing to forget.
A somewhat recent, actual eclipse gets a cameo appearance in this sci-fi mystery by Canadian novelist Robert J. Sawyer. When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. They are even treated to a world tour in which they are impressed by the August 11, 1999 total eclipse of the sun. (Who wouldn't be?) Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law — and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.