What’s It About?tag=linsbla-20 (From the back cover) From the moment Louisa first catches sight of the strange man who occupies a forbidden room on the thirty-third floor, she is determined to befriend him. Unbeknownst to Louisa, he is Nikola Tesla—inventor of AC electricity and wireless communication—and he is living out his last days at the Hotel New Yorker. Winning his attention through a shared love of pigeons, she eventually uncovers the story of Tesla’s life as a Serbian immigrant and a visionary genius: as a boy he built engines powered by June bugs, as a man he dreamed of pulling electricity from the sky. The mystery deepens when Louisa reunites with an enigmatic former classmate and faces the loss of her father as he attempts to travel to the past to meet up with his beloved late wife. Before the week is out, Louisa must come to terms with her own understanding of love, death, and the power of invention.
Why This? I love to have the opportunity to explore historical figures through fictional works. Most often the authors have pored over lots and lots of information in order to uncover the juiciest and most interesting facts. I get a good story and also a starting point for my own research. Usually if a book is really good I am curious to know what turned out to be the true facts, and also to explore alternate versions of the facts. A lot of times historians have interesting and competing theories. I first heard about Nikola Tesla in high school, and there have not been that many novels floating around about the man that gave us AC electricity and wireless communication, so I was particularly interested when I came across this one. I also love it when a good mystery is woven into the fabric of the story, so I am looking forward to reading this.
About the Author: Samantha Hunt is the author of the acclaimed first novel The Seas, which in 2006 won a National Book Foundation award for writers under the age of thirty-five. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker and McSweeney’s. She lives in New York.
Sounds great doesn’t it?!
I’m afraid I didn’t like it at all. I will be interested to see what you think of it as this book does seem to divide people.
.-= Jackie (Farm Lane Books)´s last blog ..Kill-Grief – Caroline Rance =-.
I must admit to being a sucker for historical figures being portrayed in fiction. I loved Interpretation of Murder with Sigmund Freud, purely because of that.
.-= vivienne´s last blog ..Saturday Scrapping =-.
I love HF and history, but I’m sure this would be for me. I’ll wait for your review!
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Challenge: Random Reading =-.
Oh, I’ll definitely be looking for your review on this. I’ve been waiting for window to read it since it came out on the Orange Short List. Enjoy!
.-= Pam´s last blog ..BTT: Which do you prefer? =-.
I’ve been meaning to read this ever since a couple of bloggers reviewed it last year. It sounds like one I’d enjoy.
.-= Nymeth´s last blog ..Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson =-.
Hey, stop by my blog, I gave you an award.
http://bibliofreakblog.com/memes/kreativ-award/
.-= J.T. Oldfield´s last blog ..The Kreativ Award =-.
I just got this one, too! I hope it’s as good as it sounds.
.-= Bookfool, aka Nancy´s last blog ..Random prattle, pigs and chickens and a wahoo =-.
I look forward to hearing what you thought about this one for sure. I was going to be cheeky and say that the only Tesla I’ve heard about is the hair band from the 80′s but I’m sure you’re wayyyyy younger than me!!
I too enjoy reading fictionalized books about real people with real facts thrown in here and there. Enjoy!!
.-= Staci´s last blog ..Six Sentence Saturday =-.
I was so disappointed by this one. There’s a fair amount about Tesla but still I felt almost as if he were a bit player in the story.
.-= Lisa´s last blog .."I Capture The Castle" =-.