Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Fierce Radiance

I've been having some pretty good luck with my summer reading picks so far. I came to this realization recently when I got completely sucked in to A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer.

A historical mystery very loosely in the vein of The Alienist, it drops you into the middle of 1940's New York, just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and follows a female photojournalist for Life magazine as she become embroiled in a murder mystery involving the development of penicillin.

This isn't a perfect book. I found myself noticing some flaws as I read it, like some rapid and frequent shifts in point of view that didn't always work. That didn't keep me from fully enjoying it, though. There was just too much else to like about it. I loved traveling through the different neighborhoods of historical Manhattan. I loved all of the photography details (all the more so in light of my own recent fledgling attempts). I was fascinated by the facts about the early days of penicillin. And the mystery itself wasn't too bad, either.

Do I dare risk jinxing myself by declaring this book another great summer read?


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