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A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year An NPR Mystery of the Year
In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation's most important stories. At New York City's renowned Rockefeller Institute, researchers are racing to save thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others by developing a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. For Claire, a single mother haunted by the loss of her young daughter—a death the miracle drug could have prevented—the story is cuttingly personal, especially after she unexpectedly begins to fall in love with the shy and brilliant head physician, James Stanton. But Claire isn't the only one interested in the secret cure. When a researcher dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes become starkly clear: someone understands just how profitable the new drug could be—and will stop at nothing to get it. Now, with lives and a new love hanging in the balance, Claire will throw herself into harm's way to find a killer—no matter what price she may have to pay.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Dan Durocher
reviewed A Fierce Radiance on March 06, 2011
A Fierce Radiance
This solid historical novel (and I do mean solid, it's a very satisfying brick of a paperback!) has a yank-you-out-of-your-chair awesome first line, a fascinating premise, and enough historical details to educate as well as enthrall. At times.
Sadly, I didn't love this novel as much as I wanted to. This story suffers a bit from over research, in that it felt to me like the author tried to stuff in all the interesting details she'd discovered, unable to resist all the tempting tidbits. As a result, though, every paragraph has the feel of 'name dropping' -- either literally, or metaphorically. As the novel progresses, and once the back story for Claire and James Stanton, our hero, is dispensed with, it's not as bad, but I found myself describing my reading as 'slogging' as I worked through the first 100, then 200 pages.
I found the heroine, Claire Shipley, to be a little too pretty and a little too feisty to actually be interesting. Men lusted after her; women instinctively liked her. She's both a stunning beauty that no one can miss and yet somehow is perfect at melting into the background to become forgotten as she does her staggering photography work. She lives for her work; she lives for her family. I think the author was trying to conjure up '30s glamor, say Lauren Bacall meets Martha Gellhorn, but rather than charm me or impress me, I found her off-putting.
The story beyond that of Claire and James, however, was fascinating, whether you're interested in medical history or not. The size of the novel allows for some real exploration of the science, politics, and history of both penicillin development and American pharmaceutical companies, and it offers an angle on WWII that is fascinating and new.
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Add A Fierce Radiance, A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year An NPR Mystery of the Year In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation's most important stories. At New York City's renowned Rockef, A Fierce Radiance to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add A Fierce Radiance, A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year An NPR Mystery of the Year In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation's most important stories. At New York City's renowned Rockef, A Fierce Radiance to your collection on WonderClub |
