Oh Pure and Radiant Heart
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Price:
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$22.95
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On Sale:
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13/07/2006
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Formats:
Trade PB
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At the moment of history’s first nuclear explosion, physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer,
Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard are displaced to contemporary America where they are taken in by Ann, a reference librarian, and her husband, Ben.
Stunned by the evidence of their legacy, the scientists begin a ramshackle pilgrimage for nuclear disarmament while Ann and Ben struggle with the strain on their marriage, threatened by the ghostly men of the Manhattan Project. Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is heroic and mischievious, a sweeping apocalyptic fable marrying the personal to the political and confronting the longing for immortality with the desire for redemption.
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Author Extras
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Critical Praise for
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart
"Possesses the nervy irreverence of Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller…capturing the essence of these geniuses in a way that can only be described as, well, genius."
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Vanity Fair
"Possesses the nervy irreverence of Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller…capturing the essence of these geniuses in a way that can only be described as, well, genius."
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Booklist (starred review)
"Excellent. . . . Millet gives a whimsical conceit real depth, and the result…is a superb, memorable novel."
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In its smallest moments and its most expansive ideas, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is a beautiful and fiercely intelligent novel."
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Ottawa Citizen
"A dazzling, mushroom-shaped satire…. Elegiac, savage, funny. Oppenheimer's voice here is exactly right."
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The Globe and Mail (A Globe 100 Book of the Year)
Reader Reviews from First Look
"Oh Pure and Radiant Heart" offers a unique storyline, a strange, but compelling, meld of the era of World War 11, and the world of today. Seen through the bewilderment of Oppenheimer, Fermi, and Szilard, a view of today's world offers an amazingly disappointing mixture of advance and failure. Lydia Millet uses a novel approach to character and plot development, drawing us deeper into the story by small but revealing bits and bytes. These scientists from the past become dear acquaintances...their quirks and incredible talents amaze. But the real focus is the imminent threat ever lurking about their awesome 1940's discovery--that the present has become blithely indifferent to its ever present threat. This then is a story of three displaced scientists and their attempt to defuse the atomic bomb and it is the story of Ann, and of her husband, Ben, who set out to help them in their quest.
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Diana (Spruce View, AB)
"Oh Pure and Radiant Heart" offers a unique storyline, a strange, but compelling, meld of the era of World War 11, and the world of today. Seen through the bewilderment of Oppenheimer, Fermi, and Szilard, a view of today's world offers an amazingly disappointing mixture of advance and failure. Lydia Millet uses a novel approach to character and plot development, drawing us deeper into the story by small but revealing bits and bytes. These scientists from the past become dear acquaintances...their quirks and incredible talents amaze. But the real focus is the imminent threat ever lurking about their awesome 1940's discovery--that the present has become blithely indifferent to its ever present threat. This then is a story of three displaced scientists and their attempt to defuse the atomic bomb and it is the story of Ann, and of her husband, Ben, who set out to help them in their quest.
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Diana (Spruce View, AB)
A moving and eloquent depiction of the loss and despair that permeates 21st-century society. Punctuated by an aching sadness and a longing for a world that exists on some other intangible plane, this is an ambitious and engrossing book which judges humanity harshly and without sentiment. Millet's depiction of the three displaced physicists is deeply affectionate and realistic, and the bewilderment endured by Ann and Ben makes the reader struggle to comprehend their own place in an uncertain world growing unsteadier by the minute. Unique and memorable.
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Tracy (Toronto, ON)
This book is filled with imagination and satire. One will be very amused as the pages keep turning and the senses are hightened! Great book!
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Kristine (Goulds, NF)
What a fantastic read. Lydia Millet's imagery is captivating and I couldn't put this book down. Her creativity is established in this book through the personality of her characters. They are great fun and you can really imagine what it would be like to bring back these scientists.
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Christal (Orleans, ON)
In Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, Lydia Millet brings together a cast of captivating characters in a way that make comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. inescapable. The circumstances surrounding the 'return' of the physicists responsible for the bomb that ended WWII, is unbelievable in the extreme, yet humorous in its making and eventually heartbreaking in its consequence. The journey through time is worthwhile as Millet covers all possible aspects of a very difficult history. Including and especially the present. A personal and original work, I found this to be an exceptional read.
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Linda (Vancouver, BC)
Now here is a book with a very interesting concept!
I enjoyed the mixture of real (and scary!) information about the dangerous political game the US is playing with atomic weapons and the almost dreamlike story of the three physicists The metamorphosis of the scientists and their adaptation to the new and certainly not very improved world was at times really funny.
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Maya (Mississauga, ON)
This book was quite fascinating. I learned a great deal about the history of the atomic bomb. I really enjoyed the book, and the opportunity to get an insight into the some of the greatest minds of the last century. The alliance of the peace march with the religious "fanatics" was an interesting touch, especially as the military-like approach of the church group began to reveal itself. Anyway, a great book. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.
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Pat (Guelph, ON)
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is a beautifully written and haunting novel. Anne's life is forever changed after witnessing a suicide at her job. While at her neighborhood bar she meets three scientists. These men are the "fathers of the atom bomb" and, according to history, have long since been dead. As she becomes engrossed in their lives, Anne is forced to question her marriage, love, and her place in the world.
Lydia Millet has created an engaging story that haunts the reader.
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Rebeca (Regina, SK)
Before anything else is said, let it be said that Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet is a wonderful book. Although the plots centres on three long dead physicists, the creators of the first atomic bomb, who show up in the present day, the book is more about people and relationships than science fiction and time travel. With the exception of the unbelievable means of incorporating three of the main characters, the book is close to home and easy to relate to. Advising without being too preachy, beautifully written without being too flowery, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is sensational. Intelligent, imaginative, and stunningly impressive, parts of the story will come back to the reader at unexpected times for a long time after finishing it. It is a compelling read without being overly suspenseful.
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Elizabeth (Toronto, ON)
A brilliantly creative novel with a profound ability of questioning all that is stable and real in the world. Lydia Millet has great strength as both a storyteller and a philosopher as she intertwines morsels of wisdom shared through the thoughts of richly developed characters. Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is a novel that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.
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Regan (Sanford, MD)
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart is a captivating read. Millet’s writing entertains and amuses. At the same time, the story prods, suggests and questions in subtle and complex ways. The characters are palpable and the images real and sometimes haunting. You will laugh out load more than once; you will shed more than one tear for the mistakes of the well-intentioned; you will remember this book long after turning the last page.
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Laura (Collingwood, ON)
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