Emily left two more books behind when she flew back to Texas from her first visit north of the Carolinas. We graciously were able to provide a mini-blizzard for her snow-angel enjoyment. And for my enjoyment, I finished The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt, a fictionalized biography of the last few months in the life of Nikola Tesla.
Why bother recapping the facts of Tesla's life when they are exhaustively available on Wiki. Hunt holds true to that chronology, introducing supporting characters who really were Tesla's friends and acquaintances, including Mark Twain who for chapters here is the mysterious "Sam." So the question is why does Hunt write a novel instead of a biography? She contrasts Tesla's science and hobby interests with an invented character Louisa, a maid at the Hotel New Yorker in 1943 where Tesla lived his last years. Like Tesla, she has a father prone to invention and raising homing pigeons. I suppose a lot of the plot intentionally plays the famous against the wanna-be scientist and how people relate to them. A time machine created by her father and his best friend on Long Island is as fantastic as Tesla's death machine.
Despite this contrasting interplay, I find it difficult to conclude why a fictionalized rendition is better than a true life story. Maybe Hunt is hoping to reach a different audience. Nevertheless, she writes engagingly and I have reserved her other novel to pursue her style and voice.
I have moved on to the other book passed on to me: Ahab's Wife which I am loving, never having actually sat down to read Moby Dick even though Herman Melville graduated from Albany Academy. Guess I have another gap in my knowledge of literature. Anyway, thanks again to Em for a good read.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment