Universe of Two
Fiction
HarperCollins
August 4, 2020
Advanced reader copy
448
Borrowed
Graduating from Harvard at the height of World War II, brilliant mathematician Charlie Fish is assigned to the Manhattan Project. Working with some of the age’s greatest scientific minds, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and Leo Szilard, Charlie is assigned the task of designing and building the detonator of the atomic bomb.
As he performs that work Charlie suffers a crisis of conscience, which his wife, Brenda—unaware of the true nature of Charlie’s top-secret task—mistakes as self-doubt. She urges him to set aside his qualms and continue. Once the bombs strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the feelings of culpability devastate him and Brenda.
At the war’s end, Charlie receives a scholarship to pursue a PhD in physics at Stanford—an opportunity he and Brenda hope will allow them a fresh start. But the past proves inescapable. All any of his new colleagues can talk about is the bomb, and what greater atomic weapons might be on the horizon. Haunted by guilt, Charlie and Brenda leave Stanford and decide to dedicate the rest of their lives to making amends for the evil he helped to birth into the world.
Based on the life of the actual mathematician Charles B. Fisk, Universe of Two combines riveting historical drama with a poignant love story. Stephen Kiernan has conjured a remarkable account of two people struggling to heal their consciences and find peace in a world forever changed.
My review:
3.5 stars
Such an interesting historical fiction account of one man's part in the making of the Atomic bomb. Based on the life of a real mathematician, the book alternates chapters between Charlie's work life, and his eventual wife Brenda. Starting out in Chicago, then moving to Los Alamos, we are given a fascinating look at how each person building the bomb was given a task to complete, all the while none of them was privy to what they were actually creating. Charlie eventually has his theories, and they begin to tear him apart emotionally. Brenda, who starts off as not the most likable person, follows Charlie to New Mexico where she waits patiently for letters and once weekly visits from Charlie. Music has always played an important role in her life, and she continues along this path as she tries to assuage Charlie's fears and misgivings. The writing was fluid, the research impeccable, and the characters relatable. I would have liked to see a faster progression to the bomb detonation, and a bit more time spent on how the couple dealt with the aftermath, but I guess that shows how invested I was in what happened to this couple. Taking it too far out from the end of the war would have made the author have to take way more liberties in not keeping the historical perspective which was likely not his aim.
A fascinating look at the making of the atomic bomb from one man's perspective, and an unusual love story which is probably way more common in that time period than we think. A different twist on WWII that I think most readers will enjoy.
I've read each of Kiernan's previous novels, so I'm really looking forward to reading this one. He has such a knack for combining real history into his fiction.
I'm sure if you have enjoyed his previous novels (I've read them all too!), that you will find this one equally as fascinating. Enjoy it!