Marcia Mercer
Editor’s note: Marcia Mercer is a shelver at GCPL’s Bainbridge Branch – and a voracious reader! Following is her review of The Other Einstein.
The Other Einstein
By Marie Benedict
Book Club members do not have the pleasure of choosing their preferred genre of reading and often read books they don’t find enjoyable or interesting. This is not the case with The Other Einstein.
This historical fiction tells the story of Mileva Maric who in 1896, goes off to college to study at the University of Zurich. A brilliant mathematician, she aspires to have a career in science during a time when few women went to university to pursue a career outside of marriage and raising a family.
Shortly after starting her studies, she meets and falls in love with Albert Einstein, and this is a turning point in her life. Mileva has a daughter (who is raised by her family) out of wedlock with Albert. They eventually marry which forces her to take a backseat to his career. The daughter dies at the age of 2, and Mileva is heartbroken. Longing to once again be a part of the world of science, she helps Einstein with his work but never receives recognition for her contributions.
This book looks at the hardships women faced during a time when women were not expected to seek higher education or have a career and when having a child outside of marriage was completely unacceptable.
This book is a very good read that stimulated an interesting book club discussion.
Marcia, a shelver at GCPL’s Bainbridge Branch, is currently reading Becoming by Michelle Obama.