The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church

TITLE:  The Atomic Weight of Love

AUTHOR:  Church, Elizabeth
GENRE:  Historical Fiction

DATES READ:  6/6/2017 - 6/8/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

This is the June choice for our standard book club. Haven't heard anything about it, but I like the periodic table of birds on the cover. Yay science!

---

Set in the time period between WWII and Vietnam, this book tells the story of Meridian Wallace. She's scientist who desires to get her PhD and become an ornithologist and instead meets and falls in love with a physicist. They move to New Mexico and she finds love with a Vietnam veteran. A novel of self-discovery, ambition, and sacrifice.

I'll admit that I had a lot of trouble with this story in the beginning. I didn't like Meridian. I thought her character was weak, flippant, and constantly unsatisfied (the grass was always greener). I have trouble went I can't find anything to like about a main character, seeing as I have to live with them the whole time.

However, I feel she was also a character of circumstance. This story was a time capsule that elegantly showcased just how trapped women were. It really encompassed a woman's 'place' during the powerful movements in the 60s as well as the invention of the atomic bomb.

To put it plainly, infidelity sucks. But in this book, I understood the root causes and her need for freedom and escape. Overall, I had trouble with most of the book, but the damn ending saved it all for me. Uplifting yet bittersweet.

Will read and write soon!

Book Cover Source