Austin Taylor's sharp, insightful debut novel, Notes on Infinity, charts the meteoric rise of a pair of Harvard students, Zoe and Jack, who 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. 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. 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. 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