‘Magnificent … melds sharp insight with great heart’ NICOLE DINAN
‘A thoughtful and compelling exploration of human ambition’ ALICE WINN
‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic’ JO HAMYA
A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls.
January 28, 1986: moments after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls from the sky. At the same time, in a small English village, Oliver Ines is born.
Ollie spends his childhood in a bedroom covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper, bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire approaches him to lead a landmark, ten-year mission to the distant moon, Europa, Ollie cannot resist the call of history.
As the mission advances deeper into uncharted territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his school days and years in the navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns?
Celestial Lights is a breathtaking story of fate, love, and sacrifice, that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones, when our ambitions and loyalties collide.
‘Incredibly beautiful … deeply moving’ ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS, author of The Three of Us
‘I found myself unable to put it down or look away. A wonderful and singular reading experience’ JENNY MUSTARD, author of What A Time To Be Alive
‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful … has you captivated long after the last page’ ELA LEE, author of Minbak
‘This stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable journey through time and space will stay with me always’ ELIANA RAMAGE, author of To the Moon and Back
About the Author :
Cecile Pin is a London-based writer. Her debut novel Wandering Souls was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Prix Femina Etranger, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. She has won the Fragonard Prize for Foreign Literature, a Somerset Maugham Award, and a London Writers' Award. In 2025, she was selected as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe.
Review :
Praise for Celestial Lights:
‘Pin’s sophomore novel is a masterful meditation on ambition and the vanity of legacy. Celestial Lights melds sharp insight with great heart’ Nicole Dinan, author of Disappoint Me
‘A thoughtful and compelling exploration of human ambition, perfect for fans of Interstellar’ Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam
‘With this incredibly beautiful and emotive second novel, Cecile Pin has proved once again that she truly knows every corner of what it is to be human. Celestial Lights is a deeply moving story about the cost of the lives we live that I will be thinking about for a very long time’ Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us
‘Truly lovely … Celestial Lights has the scope of an epic, but subtly rendered’ Jo Hamya, author of The Hypocrite
‘Strangely addictive … I found myself unable to put it down or look away. A wonderful and singular reading experience’ Jenny Mustard, author of What A Time To Be Alive
‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful, Celestial Lights is an incredible story of ambition, sacrifice and the pursuit of renown. Pin writes with compassion and tenderness about the depths of the human soul, that has you captivated long after the last page’ Ela Lee, author of Minbak
‘An exquisitely human story … Cecile Pin is an enormous talent. This stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable journey through time and space will stay with me always’ Eliana Ramage, author of To the Moon and Back
