2020 Book Review #32:The Other Einstein

 This book is by one of my fave authors of historical fiction.  Granted, she's only written 5 books as far as I know:  I read her first one The Only Woman in the Room and loved it! You can read the review here. I plan on reading all of her other ones, as well.

STORY SUMMARY

 

Albert Einstein was not the person the world knew.  He had many secrets....and one of them was his first wife Mileva (aka Mitza) Maric who happened to be the only female in 1896 allowed to study physics at the very elite school in Zurich, Switzerland.  In fact, it was HER mind that figured out the theory of relativity shortly after the death of their first child, Lieserl, the daughter he never laid eyes on.  (Historically, there is no known cause of death or even if Lieserl was actually adopted out.....the author took a few liberties with this part of the story.)

Science and teaching physics seems to be a more attainable goal for Mileva than marriage.  She's a very intelligent woman, but a Serb from Austro-Hungary and in those days, people from that area were frowned upon.  She also was born with a slight limp in one leg and was considered to be unmarriageable.

But...she falls in love with the fellow student with whom she helps with mathematics equations and spends time with in the local cafes talking physics.   That student is Albert Einstein.  He didn't have a good reputation as a student:  he was careless, skipped classes thinking he knew more than the teachers/professors, and had a very bad attitude...he was extremely selfish as well. Mileva is drawn to him because he accepts her as a colleague and begins to woo her into a relationship.  He promises to treat her as an equal in their upcoming marriage and in science research.

But once they are married and his fame grows, will there be room for two geniuses in one marriage??

And why didn't Mileva's name appear on the published papers of the new concept of the theory of relativity?  

MY THOUGHTS

This book really opened up my eyes to just what kind of person Albert Einstein, the very famous and considered the smartest person in the world, was. My respect for him definitely plummeted when I read this book and also did a little research on my own about their relationship and the way he treated her.

The author does point out that most of her plot is based on true happenings and also on research and papers found in the 1980s. 

Yes, Mileva got pregnant by Albert before they were married and yes, there is some kind of mystery revolving around the existance of Lieserl.  Yes, Mileva should have had her name appear on the published works that led to Albert getting a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.  Yes, he had affairs.  

This book opened up my eyes to the injustices done towards intelligent women back in the early part of the 20th century.  We probably haven't really come all that far either although here in America and in most of Europe it is certainly considered normal now for women to have a career and be a parent.

I loved Mileva right from the start.  She was an amazingly strong woman who endured a lot of emotional (and sometimes physical) abuse from her husband.  I don't want to say too much here in this review because I don't want to ruin the plot line for you.  It's such a gem of a book.

Here are some good quotes that jumped out at me:

(while waiting for the train after Lieserl's death) "Perhaps God had a rule He wanted me to find. Perhaps there was a purpose for my devastation.  After all, Romans 8:18 said "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worht comparing with the glorythat is to be revealed to us'". (and then she goes on to figure out that time is relative to space and that it's not absolute when there is motion!) (pg 212 The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict, c.2016)

"You are a genius at everything but the human heart" (after arriving back home after the death of their baby girl and Albert not understanding why she is grieving) (pg 215, The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict, c. 2016)

There were other great thoughts from Mileva who tells her story in the first person so we really get a sense of her perspective on being married to Albert and all that it entails.  They did go on to have 2 other children, both boys.....the youngest died of a mental illness (schizophrenia) according to internet research. They are only mentioned in the book as young children. 

This book is a quick read although some of the physics and math talk was slow for me as I am so not a science-minded and definitely not a math-minded person.  My oldest daughter of course loved this book. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.