First published 1995
Bennett has always found refuge in the clean logic of physics. His homemade rockets gave way to complex equations, transforming chaos into mathematical beauty. But the numbers fail him when he confronts the contradictions surrounding him. The black maid who raised him with love keeps him from her own home. His father remains mentally absent, wishing he had died heroically in World War II instead of surviving. His wife destroys herself while drawing out Bennett's worst impulses. As his scientific worldview crumbles, Bennett faces a choice between the rigid order he has constructed and the messy reality of human connection. He must learn whether the imperfections he has spent his career eliminating might actually expand his understanding of both the world and himself.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
224 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury Publishing
Content warnings: mental-illness