Half Life - by Jillian Cantor (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The USA Today bestselling author of In
Another Time reimagines the pioneering, passionate life of Marie Curie
using a parallel structure to create two alternative timelines, one that
mirrors her real life, one that explores the consequences for Marie and for
science if she'd made a different choice.

In Poland in 1891, Marie Curie
(then Marya Sklodowska) was engaged to a budding mathematician, Kazimierz
Zorawski. But when his mother insisted she was too poor and not good enough, he
broke off the engagement. A heartbroken Marya left Poland for Paris, where she
would attend the Sorbonne to study chemistry and physics. Eventually Marie
Curie would go on to change the course of science forever and be the first
woman to win a Nobel Prize.But what if she had made a
different choice?

What if she had stayed in Poland,
married Kazimierz at the age of twenty-four, and never attended the Sorbonne or
discovered radium? What if she had chosen a life of domesticity with a constant
hunger for knowledge in Russian Poland where education for women was restricted,
instead of studying science in Paris and meeting Pierre Curie?

Entwining Marie Curie's real story
with Marya Zorawska's fictional one, Half Life explores loves lost and
destinies unfulfilled--and probes issues of loyalty and identity, gender and
class, motherhood and sisterhood, fame and anonymity, scholarship and
knowledge. Through parallel contrasting versions of Marya's life, Jillian
Cantor's unique historical novel asks what would have happened if a great
scientific mind was denied opportunity and access to education. It examines how
the lives of one remarkable woman and the people she loved - as well as the world
at large and course of science and history--might have been irrevocably changed
in ways both great and small.

Review Quotes

"Jillian Cantor's beautifully written Half Life is a poignant exploration of ambition, family, gender, and love. I couldn't put down this tender, nuanced, and inspiring novel. This is a book for anyone who's ever been torn by conflicting passions and loyalties; in other words, this is a book for all of us. A dazzling must-read." - Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and Girl in Translation

"Thought-provoking, skillfully written, and hard to put down." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Cantor has created an absorbing biographical novel and performed an engaging riff on the "what if" ponderings we all experience." - Booklist

"Cantor's details of language, customs, and how people interact in those times and places are spot on." - Historical Novel Society

"In a time when many of us are more tuned in to scientific advances than we've ever been before, this reimagining of what might happen if pioneering scientist Marie Curie had taken a different path is just what the doctor ordered." - Good Housekeeping

"A total page-turner." - New York magazine on THE LOST LETTER

"Inventive. . .Cantor's 'what-if' story combines historical fiction with mounting suspense and romance, but above all, it is an ode to the adoration and competition between sisters." - O, the Oprah Magazine on MARGOT

"In her riveting new novel, Half Life, Jillian Cantor explores not only the fascinating inner life of the famous scientist Marie Curie but also the life that might have been if she'd chosen love over science in her early years, a determination that would have irrevocably altered the face of science and history. This thoughtful, compelling story delves into issues faced by modern women, while inviting readers to ruminate on their own life choices and the domino-effect of those decisions." - Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of Lady Clementine and The Only Woman in the Room

"Cantor elevates love as a powerful force that transcends tragedy and shows how music speaks to even the cruelest hearts. [In Another Time is] a powerful story that exalts the strength of the human spirit." - Kirkus on IN ANOTHER TIME