A luminous and enthralling story of birds and science, ambition and sacrifice, revolutions - both big and small - and the late blooming of an unforgettable woman. I first loved him because he taught me the flight of a bird. I was too young to realise that what I really yearned to know was why birds take flight - and why, sometimes, they refuse. Meridian Wallace has lived through the Second World War, the atomic age, the Vietnam War and the dawn of the new millennium - ...
Read More
A luminous and enthralling story of birds and science, ambition and sacrifice, revolutions - both big and small - and the late blooming of an unforgettable woman. I first loved him because he taught me the flight of a bird. I was too young to realise that what I really yearned to know was why birds take flight - and why, sometimes, they refuse. Meridian Wallace has lived through the Second World War, the atomic age, the Vietnam War and the dawn of the new millennium - yet she has always been torn between who she is and who circumstances demand her to be. In 1941, spirited, ambitious and determined to prove worthy of the sacrifices her mother made for her, Meridian won a place at the University of Chicago to study ornithology. The last thing she expected was to fall in love with a man two decades older: her brilliant physics professor, Alden Whetstone - or for him to be recruited to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to take part in a mysterious wartime project. When Meridian defers her plans to join him, she agrees to give Alden a year of her life. But this is a world, and a time, in which a wife cannot be a scientist and a woman cannot choose her own destiny. What begins as an electrifying intellectual partnership soon evolves into something quite different. As the decades pass, Meridian strives to resist the clipping of her wings. It is a choice that will make her enemies and bring her heartache, but it also opens up unexpected possibilities: of freedom, and friendship and transformation...
Read Less
Add this copy of The Atomic Weight of Love to cart. $12.66, good condition, Sold by BookHolders rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gambrills, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Fourth Estate Ltd.
Add this copy of The Atomic Weight of Love to cart. $20.12, very good condition, Sold by Bestsellers Returns rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Fourth Estate.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Corners bumped Slight dirty marks to cover and pages No.1 BESTSELLERS-great prices, friendly customer service-usually dispatched within 24 hrs.
Add this copy of The Atomic Weight of Love to cart. $133.09, good condition, Sold by Y-Not-Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rotherwas, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Fourth Estate.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Creased and marked cover. Bumped edges. Dirt marks to edge of pages. Next day dispatch by Royal Mail. International delivery available. 1000's of satisfied customers! Please contact us with any enquiries.
Did you ever have a teacher that had one of the monotone voices that would slowly lull you off to sleep? Well, that is this book. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church is Meridian Wallace looking back on her life. Meridian excelled in science and math. She loved birds and wanted to pursue a career in ornithology. She gets a scholarship to the University of Chicago. There, Meridian meets Professor Alden Whetstone who is twenty years older than her. His intellect intrigues Meridian. Alden has to leave college (this is during World War II) for a special, top-secret project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The two continue their relationship long-distance and eventually marry. After Meridian graduates she moves to Los Alamos. It is to be just for a year and then she will go to Cornell (she was accepted and received a scholarship) for her graduate degree (you just know that she will never get there). Read The Atomic Weight of Love to see how Meridian's life turns out.
This book was lacking. It needed some life (like a life without color). Meridian's story is one that has been written about many, many times (it is such a cliche). The difference with this book is the addition of the birds (there is information on birds interspersed throughout the novel) and Meridian's study of crows (she continued it in New Mexico). There is also some information on Alden's work on the atomic bomb. I think in order to enjoy a book you have to like the main character. I did not find Meridian or Alden (especially Alden) appealing. Alden felt he was superior to other people because of his intellect. He was controlling and self-absorbed. I give The Atomic Weight of Love 1 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of The Atomic Weight of Love from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
