When We Cease to Understand the World
One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2021
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger--these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger--these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.
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Community Reviews
The quote by Jean Rostand says it all. "Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being human."
You don’t have to know anything about quantum theory to start reading this book, a deeply researched, exquisitely imagined group portrait of tormented geniuses. By the end, you’ll know enough to be terrified. Labatut is interested in how the pursuit of scientific certainty can lead to, or arise from, states of extreme psychological and spiritual upheaval. His characters — Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, among others — discover a universe that defies rational comprehension. After them, “scientific method and its object could no longer be prised apart.” That may sound abstract, but in Labatut’s hands the story of quantum physics is violent, suspenseful and finally heartbreaking. — A.O. Scott
https://nytimes.com/2021/09/24/books/review/benjamin-labatut-cease-understand-world.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Interesting blend of nonfiction biographies & fictional character profiles of a handful of the most influential, world-changing physicists and mathematicians of the 20th century. I would not read this if you’re trying to learn about the real lives of these figures, but if you’re already somewhat familiar with them and so able to pick out the facts from the entertainment this is a pretty fun one. The discussions of scientific terms & concepts can get slightly dense but I know next to nothing about physics & math and I was able to follow almost all of it.
The reason for 3 stars instead of 4 comes down to the formatting. I found the way that the book is split — into several different parts, some with numbered chapters and others with named chapters, and with some of those not even containing chapters but one long, self-contained, uninterrupted story — disorienting. It’s the little things that can ruin your reading experience. Maybe it’s harsh but my confusion about the formatting distracted me way too many times throughout the book.
Have to say that the very last part, that bit of fiction from the narrator’s point of view, is outstanding. If this author’s published fully-fiction books I need to read them because from just that little bit of writing I can tell they are skilled at crafting dark, grim scenes.
The reason for 3 stars instead of 4 comes down to the formatting. I found the way that the book is split — into several different parts, some with numbered chapters and others with named chapters, and with some of those not even containing chapters but one long, self-contained, uninterrupted story — disorienting. It’s the little things that can ruin your reading experience. Maybe it’s harsh but my confusion about the formatting distracted me way too many times throughout the book.
Have to say that the very last part, that bit of fiction from the narrator’s point of view, is outstanding. If this author’s published fully-fiction books I need to read them because from just that little bit of writing I can tell they are skilled at crafting dark, grim scenes.
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