THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

by Lisa Grunwald ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 1991

Guess what? There's another Einstein out there; he's living with his girl in a Manhattan brownstone, he has a guardian angel, and he's the focus of Grunwald's marvelously daring second novel (after Summer, 1986), about science, magic, and understanding the universe. For the past three years, Alexander Simon has been working on what physicists call the Theory of Everything, which would unify quantum theory and relativity. Now, at age 30, he is about to publish the article that will make him famous; he feels both elated and scared. He is also scared by the imminent conversion into a duplex of his and loyal girlfriend Linda's separate apartments: Is he ready for the new togetherness? And there is a third cause for alarm: his mother Alice wants to see him after a 20-year absence. Though she walked out on him and husband Sam, a high-school science teacher, her influence has been profound. She once showed little Alexander a ghost; the following night an angel made the first of countless nocturnal visits (this is Alexander's secret--from everybody). Fear of the unknown (""Infinity scared him more than death"") started Alexander on a long journey of scientific inquiry, which has now ended. Grunwald's anatomization of a genius in crisis is acute, absolutely convincing; we see Alexander in a funk, running for cover from the publicity avalanche; dealing with flaky mother Alice, high on her astral plane; cheating on Linda when he sleeps with Alice's friend Cleo, a stunning blonde palm-reader; taking the latter's advice to put magic in his life by studying alchemy under a so-called Adept. Alexander realizes, after months of isolation in rural New Jersey, not that alchemy is the answer but that he can change in a way that will satisfy both his scientist's curiosity and his newfound wonder at creation. The ending is slippery; left unexamined is Alexander's inability to love (is it beyond cure?). Otherwise, Grunwald's deep feeling for character, her terrific dialogue, and her elegant accounts of physics and alchemy make for absorbing reading.

Pub Date: April 12, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: FICTION