PITTSBURGH — The idea for Sarah James' debut novel had been around in one form or another since she was 19. All it took was more than a decade to gestate into something tangible.
The 32-year-old Forest Hills native had always been interested in World War II, specifically the Manhattan Project that led to the U.S. creating the world's first nuclear weapons. During her undergraduate days, James came across a lecture by Manhattan Project theoretical physicist Richard Feynman where he discussed a raucous celebration following the first-ever nuclear detonation — except for one person, who seemed consumed by the horror of what they had accomplished.
"That was really interesting to me, the way all these smart people could lose sight of something so big," James told the Post-Gazette. "That was definitely something I wanted to explore."
