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A review by barefootmegz
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church
5.0
Huh. It's rare for me to read the typical "book club" picks, and rarer for me to enjoy them. But there is something about well-written books featuring scientific women in a time before women in STEM was encouraged. (I liked [b:The Signature of All Things|17465453|The Signature of All Things|Elizabeth Gilbert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364277893s/17465453.jpg|21889418] by Elizabeth Gilbert in the same way.)
I guess my feminism and my love of science is my bias, so maybe people who don't share that won't share my views on the book. I don't know if this is a literary masterpiece, but I enjoyed the book so much that I definitely didn't know any possible issues in the writing.
I will say that I expected maybe a LITTLE more ornithology, but I did enjoy the start of each chapter, and the fact that Meridian finds the crows in Los Alamos and so could continue her observations.
I was sad for her, and Belle and Clay's arrival made me really happy. I feel they really provided growth for Meri.
At the same time I felt a little disappointed that Meri's views on the nuclear bombs and the fallout remained fairly rigid and that she insisted on separating herself from the young people she met. But maybe this is purposeful because I don't think Church intended to write a political statement and maybe Meri should be fallible, especially as she remained a product of her era.
What REALLY satisfied me was near the end, when Meridian addresses the lives of her peers directly, and impresses the fact that scientific women who gave up their careers are not less fully-formed for it. The kind of empathy expressed for women in an age who were so pressured by their communities, and sometimes gave in, is something I haven't seen before in a work of fiction. These women weren't made out to be weak for the decisions they made.
I loved this book. I did. I loved Marvella and Wingspan too, and I was left inspired.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC via NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I guess my feminism and my love of science is my bias, so maybe people who don't share that won't share my views on the book. I don't know if this is a literary masterpiece, but I enjoyed the book so much that I definitely didn't know any possible issues in the writing.
I will say that I expected maybe a LITTLE more ornithology, but I did enjoy the start of each chapter, and the fact that Meridian finds the crows in Los Alamos and so could continue her observations.
I was sad for her, and Belle and Clay's arrival made me really happy. I feel they really provided growth for Meri.
At the same time I felt a little disappointed that Meri's views on the nuclear bombs and the fallout remained fairly rigid and that she insisted on separating herself from the young people she met. But maybe this is purposeful because I don't think Church intended to write a political statement and maybe Meri should be fallible, especially as she remained a product of her era.
What REALLY satisfied me was near the end, when Meridian addresses the lives of her peers directly, and impresses the fact that scientific women who gave up their careers are not less fully-formed for it. The kind of empathy expressed for women in an age who were so pressured by their communities, and sometimes gave in, is something I haven't seen before in a work of fiction. These women weren't made out to be weak for the decisions they made.
I loved this book. I did. I loved Marvella and Wingspan too, and I was left inspired.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC via NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.