ðə nˈɑːvəl ɪz dᵻvˈaɪdᵻd ˌɪntʊ θɹˈiː pˈɑːɹts, wɪð ɐ dʒˈɛnɚɹəl ˈɛpɪɡɹˌæf ʌvðə lˈæst tˈuː lˈaɪnz fɹʌmðə pˈoʊᵻm “ðɪ ˈoʊld ɐstɹˈɑːnəmɚ tə hɪz pjˈuːpəl,” baɪ sˈɛɹə wˈɪljəmz sˈɛt, ɪnðɪ ˈɛpɪɡɹˌæf, æz ɐ kwˈætɹeɪn; ðɪs ˈɛpɪɡɹˌæf pɹəvˈaɪdz ðə bˈʊks tˈaɪɾəl, ænd ðɪ ˌɑːptɪmˈɪstɪk hˈoʊp ðˈæt “maɪ sˈoʊl wɪl ɹˈaɪz ɪn lˈaɪt.”
The novel is divided into three parts, with a general epigraph of the last two lines from the poem “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil,” by Sarah Williams (set, in the epigraph, as a quatrain); this epigraph provides the book's title, and the optimistic hope that “my soul will rise in light.”