Archive for the ‘physics’ Tag
Imagine receiving texts or missed calls from a deceased friend. MIT tenured physics professor Helen is initially baffled, if not quite haunted, when she finds herself in this situation in Nell Freudenberger’s Lost and Wanted.
Helen’s friend Charlotte (aka Charlie) has recently died, but they had ceased being close long ago. Nonetheless, Helen is saddened to learn her best friend from college is dead. Charlie’s husband, Terrence, and their daughter, Simmi, move to Boston from California to be near his in-laws. Consequently, Helen becomes involved with them, which is familiar yet different. Helen is a single parent by choice. Her young son and Simmi become friends.
Helen is a respected physicist. Her books on physics are well received for their accessibility on the subject. Thus, her scientific background is what keeps her from considering that the texts are supernatural.
While the novel may initially seem to have roots in the paranormal, it’s not the case. Rather, friendship and grief are the themes driven by the loss of someone’s friend, daughter, wife and mother.
The texts are a mystery, Charlie’s husband is a potential love interest — or is he — and Helen’s memories of Charlie during their Harvard days are all intriguing.
However, because of Helen’s career, there are a lot, as in too many, references to physics. Freudenberger did her homework, but it’s questionable whether so many details are necessary.
The title was initially puzzling to, but the deeper I got into the novel, the more I appreciated it.
Lost and Wanted
Three-and-three-quarter stars
Alfred A. Knopf, 2019
315 pages
Thanks to National Geographic’s limited TV series, “Genius,” several years ago, I knew of Albert and Mileva Einstein’s marriage and his dismissal of her. Marie Benedict’s fictionalized account of her life in The Other Einstein adds nothing new.
It does, however, reinforce my negative perception of Albert. More disappointing is the portrayal of Mileva. Although her brilliance is never underplayed, she’s rendered as a weak, indecisive woman where Albert is concerned.
The narrative focuses on their courtship, which begins at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich where she and Albert are studying physics. It soon becomes evident that she is an excellent student, despite being scorned by her professor because she is a woman.
Her gender is a constant obstacle to her ability to make a name for herself as a scientist. Benedict gives credence to Mileva’s contributions to numerous theories, particularly that of relativity for which Albert is, perhaps, most well-known. Although. her name is never included in any of the studies.
In Benedict’s hands, Albert is a selfish, insensitive man. Mileva recognizes this, yet she still falls for him. The relationship distracts from her ability to obtain her degree. She becomes pregnant, something Albert comes to view as an impediment to his own future. When their daughter is born, he has nothing to do with her.
I have enjoyed Benedict’s other novels about interesting, strong women in men’s shadows. However, this is the most unsatisfying. Mileva is pathetic in her vulnerability to what she mistakenly sees as Albert’s charms.
The Other Einstein
Two Bookmarks
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2016
304 pages
Relativity, an impending war, Jewish struggles and romance collide in A Bend in the Stars, Rachel Barenbaum’s remarkable debut novel.
It’s 1914 Russia. The czar has placed restrictions on Jewish communities, and most males older than 12 are conscripted to fight in the war against Germany. Initially, Miri, her brother Vanya and their grandmother maintain their comfortable lifestyle. In part, thanks to bribes but also, despite his religion, Vanya is recognized as a brilliant physicist at the university. Miri is one of the only female surgeons in the country.
Vanya is certain Einstein’s theory of relativity is inaccurate. He knows proof will provide his family the opportunity to leave Russia for America. Photos of an upcoming solar eclipse will help Vanya demonstrate his theory. Thus begins first a race to meet an American scientist before the eclipse occurs while also avoiding capture as a deserter.
Vanya’s mind holds the key to his family’s freedom. Miri’s chance encounter with a wounded solder leads the two to risk their lives as they go in search of her brother and his companion: her fiancé .
Short chapters, vivid descriptions and well-developed characters drive the narrative. The fear of capture, the threat of firing squads and the rapidly diminishing ability to trust anyone keep the reader entranced.
Barenbaum has crafted a beautiful work of fiction based on a skeleton of actual events. Readers know Miri’s journey will reach some kind of destination; still, it’s sad when it ends.
A Bend in the Stars
Four-and-a-half Bookmarks!
Grand Central Publishing, 2019
456 pages
The Blue Page Special 