The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

I read this book for my book group and was hesitant solely because of the cover art. I am sooooo over books about women (especially kick ass, brilliant women) being all watercolors and pastels, with a generic, faceless woman staring wistfully into the distance. Over it. But my feelings on trends in cover art aside, this book was a good read. In it, we get to learn about the famous Albert Eintein's decidedly less famous (because... vagina) first wife who was a genius in her own right and who (to my screaming at the book the entire time) gave up a promising career in science to be Mrs. Albert Einstein. The story of Mileva Maric is fascinating, even if it's painfully frustrating. Benedict's ability to give Maric a voice separate from that of her renowned husband was commendable.

This is not a book that rocked my 2018 reading list, but The Other Einstein is definitely a great book group read!

Synopsis:

In the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein's enormous shadow. It is the story of Einstein's wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated and may have been inspired by her own profound and very personal insight.

Mitza Maric has always been a little different from other girls. Most twenty-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. And then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.

My Rating:

3 cups!

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