Ebook Lost and Wanted A novel Nell Freudenberger 9780385352680 Books
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New York Times Best Seller
"Freudenberger's brilliant and compassionate novel takes on the big questions of the universe and proves, again, that she is one of America's greatest writers." --Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less
An emotionally engaging, suspenseful new novel from the best-selling author, told in the voice of a renowned physicist an exploration of female friendship, romantic love, and parenthood--bonds that show their power in surprising ways.
Helen Clapp's breakthrough work on five-dimensional spacetime landed her a tenured professorship at MIT; her popular books explain physics in plain terms. Helen disdains notions of the supernatural in favor of rational thought and proven ideas. So it's perhaps especially vexing for her when, on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday in June, she gets a phone call from a friend who has just died.
That friend was Charlotte Boyce, Helen's roommate at Harvard. The two women had once confided in each other about everything--in college, the unwanted advances Charlie received from a star literature professor; after graduation, Helen's struggles as a young woman in science, Charlie's as a black screenwriter in Hollywood, their shared challenges as parents. But as the years passed, Charlie became more elusive, and her calls came less and less often. And now she's permanently, tragically gone.
As Helen is drawn back into Charlie's orbit, and also into the web of feelings she once had for Neel Jonnal--a former college classmate now an acclaimed physicist on the verge of a Nobel Prize-winning discovery--she is forced to question the laws of the universe that had always steadied her mind and heart.
Suspenseful, perceptive, deeply affecting, Lost and Wanted is a story of friends and lovers, lost and found, at the most defining moments of their lives.
Ebook Lost and Wanted A novel Nell Freudenberger 9780385352680 Books
"This is a gorgeously written novel, and a rare example of an author exploring "big ideas" without sacrifice the depth and nuance of her characters. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I put it down, nor have I picked up any fiction since finishing it for fear that I will be disappointed by comparison. It's the kind of book that leaves you asking questions long after finishing it, and realizing that the answers are right there in the pages you've just read. The best book I've read in the past year."
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Lost and Wanted A novel Nell Freudenberger 9780385352680 Books Reviews :
Lost and Wanted A novel Nell Freudenberger 9780385352680 Books Reviews
- “Lost and Wantedâ€, by Nell Freudenberger, is unlike any novel I’ve ever read, but ultimately, I just couldn’t get into it.
Single mother and theoretical physicist, Helen Clapp, narrates tale. Helen’s Harvard roommate and once dear friend, Charlotte (Charlie), has died and her phone has been stolen…or has it? Why is Helen getting new messages from Charlie?
I read science articles for my work, so I’m not especially confounded by astrophysics, quantum cosmology or black holes; but for a story that is supposed to be primarily about friendship, grief, race, women in male-dominated fields, and more, all the science “explanations†just bogged it down. - This is a gorgeously written novel, and a rare example of an author exploring "big ideas" without sacrifice the depth and nuance of her characters. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I put it down, nor have I picked up any fiction since finishing it for fear that I will be disappointed by comparison. It's the kind of book that leaves you asking questions long after finishing it, and realizing that the answers are right there in the pages you've just read. The best book I've read in the past year.
- A major work, a singular compelling read. It opens up worlds, illuminates lives, stretches understanding ... and is a total page turner I couldn't put down. Thrilling. Unforgettable.
- Beautiful book - so well written and moving. Couldn’t recommend it enough.
- My notion of a review is that it’s a buyer’s guide, so here goes
1. I wasn’t sure why she described in almost obsessive detail the rooms, clothing, offices at Harvard, clothing worn by children and adults. Slowed things down a lot for me. You may like this kind of detail. This is your novel!
2. Along similar lines, you may not (or you may) want to go into detail about the physical theories preoccupying the narrator. The author is not a physicist, but apparently used a well-known female physicist as a model here (see appendix where this woman is thanked). If you love not just physics, but explanation of physical theories, this is the book for you. Full disclosure in my Ph.D. I read a lot of philosophy of science, and what was talked about here was pretty technical.
3. OK,what hooked me was the idea of getting emails from the dead. But the problem is this once introduced, this juicy idea was pretty much gone until way ‘til the end of this 500 pages (large type) book. OK, semi-spoiler here it’s a let down.
4. And by the way, what IS this book about? Is it about the friendship with her dead friend? Why not focus on that, instead of going on and on about issues like women in academia, women in science, black women in Hollywood, single mother parenting, snobbery, sexual harassment, and more that’s only tangential to the main story.
5. Having plowed my way through this, I went back and read the five story reviews. Don’t know what to say, except I strongly suspect some of these were written by friends. They sound THAT over the top.
Good luck! - Sorry, but this novel just is not worth the effort.Yes it is well written, almost lyrical at times. And the protagonist is a fully formed person, sometimes difficult, often frustrating, but yet a woman you'd like to get to know. Finally, the view into the world of the academy , especially for a woman, is golden as is the portrait of a sexually predatory tenured professor. But the novel veers off into obtuse descriptions of physics ( all we need to know is that objects influence the path of other objects) ; a silly "mystery" on being contacted by the dead; and her and an old boyfriend. Bits and pieces of clarity but never a unified whole with a transcedant message.
- Is it possible to communicate with the dead? Or more accurately, do deceased love ones try to communicate with us? Many people have experienced such an event. To those people it feels completely different than a dream or random thought. It feels like the deceased loved one is actually sending us a message. Yet most dismiss it as impossible.
This novel deals with the topic in a unique way by having the narrator be a Harvard graduate, MIT Professor of Physics. The story is about the narrator's past relationship with the deceased and their relationship not only with each, but other important people related to them. The novel and story is unique and has unexpected plot twists. I was hooked right from the beginning. The Physics topics are advanced concepts, but did not get in the way of the novel. The important point is that even the people - the 'geniuses" - who understand those advanced topics wonder if communicating with the dead is possible.
There are a few "hiccups" in the story that I feel weren't resolved. I almost gave this novel 4 stars instead of 5, but I decided to leave it as a 5 because the way the author depicts the narrator/physicist is completely accurate - an introverted person who can make complicated math and physics seem easy and yet the same person makes human connections hard. - It is unusual and exciting to encounter such a complex protagonist as this sophisticated woman scientist -- who is extremely successful in her career, but also -- like author Nell Freudenberger -- dedicated to explaining complex scientific principles in ways that non-scientists can understand and find inspiring. Helen's identify as a physicist is intimately woven into her experiences as a mother, friend, lover, and colleague as the novel explores parent-child relationships, adult separations and loving connections with poignancy and insight. I loved the insights into the relationships between parents and their children -- especially the curious school-age children who are just entering the stage of loss of innocence and grappling with the deepest questions of invisible forces, time and space, love and death. The communications between these children and the astrophysicist mom are only one of the trajectories of the novel that illuminate human collision, conflict, and intimate bonding. This novel is a fascinating reading adventure -- filled with humor, affection, longing, and searching. It had a memorable impact on me long after I finished reading.
