Williams expertly builds tension between Paul and Nat as the story progresses towards the inevitable nuclear tragedy in this utterly absorbing and richly rewarding novel. Left behind with two young children and pregnant with a third, Nat tries to make friends with the prim-and-proper army wives, but she finds her deepest friendship with a handsome young Mormon cowboy who proves to be both a help and a bright spot in Nat’s life, as well as a temptation. Paul quickly realizes that his buffoonish supervisor has no interest in his concerns about the reactor, and a clash between them turns violent, resulting in Paul getting shipped off to another assignment for six months. Paul is dismayed to learn that the CR-1, the nuclear reactor he and several other men are in charge of, is in poor shape: the core is failing, and one of the reactor’s rods is sticking, making adjustments not only difficult but perilous. Neither Paul Collier nor Nat fits in very well in their new home. Inspired by a real-life nuclear accident in Idaho Falls in 1961, Williams’ luminous debut explores the lead-up to the tragedy through the eyes of a young army specialist and his beautiful wife. The characters in The Longest Night are realistic, their behavior and emotions are honest, the story is riveting and the drama comes as much from the minutiae of daily life as the threat posed by a prototype nuclear reactor fifty miles from town.
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