3.5
Natural History
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesNatural History Reviews
3.5
“A rare collection of historical-fiction short stories completely focused on the main characters' passions and lifelong works that attract friends, colleague scientists, and admirers, while utterly devoid of falling in love in the traditional sense. I am tired of life's meaning or ultimate goal being tied to a romantic partner, or finding a romantic partner, or daydreaming about romance, or culminating in the pursuit of a suitor. I find this spin especially rare in historical fiction and unusual in fiction generally, as there seems to always be a love interest lurking in the wings. I think romantic love can lead to life's meaning, but it is so overemphasized. This is refreshing.
The thread that ties the stories together is the lasting impact & deep impression these unmarried women scientists make on their communities, families, and successors without marriage or childbearing. There is a giant interconnected family tree at the end of the collection. Many of the important characters are on it, but many are not. It made me wish Barrett had made a second chart detailing only the friendships and mentorships. It takes a village.
Felt well-researched. The prose shifted expertly to colloquial terminology/slang/vocab/lilt from various historical time periods as the story moves from the Civil War to the 1950s, which I found impressive and know is hard to do.
[A silly reminder for me that an unwedded woman might value her freedom and the pursuit of science over marriage to a man & childrearing, and not because she's hiding something about her sexuality (as I frequently enjoy assuming lol). Straight people should and can opt out of traditional wedlock to become lepidopterists. I promise I won't bat an eye.]”
About Andrea Barrett
is the author of the National Book Award–winning
,
,
,
, and other works of fiction. She has received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an NEA Fellowship, and the Rea Award for the Short Story, and been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in the Adirondacks.
Other books by Andrea Barrett
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