She relinquished her individuality and immense potential to become a wife and a mother. Lost as in directions, lost from myself, lost to him' (pg. Roughly translated from the Serbian, they meant lost. These were the only words I could think of to describe how I felt at that moment. One Serbian phrase embodies a large portion of this book: ' Izgoobio sam sye. And the reader immediately embraces her struggles - from been teased by classmates because of her hip 'deformity' and the resulting limp to her desire to please her father in his push for her to earn an advanced degree in physics all the way to her ultimate sacrifice to put her husband's ambitions above her own. The story is told from Mileva's perspective.

So many times I wanted to scream at Mileva to stand up for herself, to grow a spine, and to live up to the brilliant mind that she was.at least in the book. The Other Einstein is a beautifully written book albeit one that is tough to read. She elegantly depicts class-consciousness, sexism, anti-Semitism, strict decorum surrounding courtships, and more.

This definitely fits the bill.īenedict poignantly recreates the atmosphere in Switzerland, Serbia, and Germany during the late 1800s and early 1900s. I relish a well-researched story, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Perhaps we'll never verify those claims, but one of my favorite literary styles is to take a lesser known character or event from history and develop an entire story around it. Certain scientists and scholars assert that she was, at minimum, a sounding board off of which Einstein tested his theories some believe that it was, in fact, Mileva who performed the mathematical calculations for his theories and even others still who purport that the theories for which he is credited are actually hers. Mileva's actual role is unknown and, certainly, undocumented. And though Marie Benedict bases her novel on extensive biographical research, she admits that her narrative is largely speculative. The premise of this book is that Mileva Marić, Einstein's first wife, is actually responsible for discovering and articulating the Theory of Relativity among others of his theories. I can honestly say that I knew nothing about Albert Einstein's private life.

Reviews of the other einstein