The Downside of Genius

Well if this book wasn’t a kick in the teeth…..

Evelyn Caldwell is a brilliant geneticist with a specialty in adult human cloning.  She is married to Nathan, a rather mediocre scientist, and utter shit husband.  At the pinnacle of her scientific career, Nathan leaves Evelyn and marries another woman.  A woman who unsettles Evelyn to her core.

It would be a shame to give away any of the plot details more than that, as this was really an incredible book to go into cold.  It provides a fairly brutal glimpse into marriage when partners think they are aligned, but really perhaps don’t truly understand each other in the first instance, and all the hurt, guilt, rage and sadness that goes with growing apart.  This story ratchets up that sense of unease quite spectacularly, and with SCIENCE!

I really enjoyed the inner monologue of Evelyn, specifically her intellectual/scientific ambition, her complete dedication to the progress of her work, and her utter disappointment in the man she believed she married, and most other humans in general.  She’s a tough case: emotionally distant from people, dependent on no one, prickly to a fault, yet underneath she is wounded from both her past and present experiences.

This was not a fun jaunt into science by any stretch, but I do find myself thinking of it often during random moments in my day.  It is haunting in a way, and absolutely compelling.  Highly recommended.