Recent Reads: The Half Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson

The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson
Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew, Francesca Faridany
Length: 1 hr and 19 mins 
Performance
Release date: 12-05-19
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Original
Categories: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

 

Format: Audible Audiobook
Source: Audible Freebie, December 2019

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

In 1912, scientist Marie Curie spent two months on the British seaside at the home of Hertha Ayrton, an accomplished mathematician, inventor, and suffragette. At the time, Curie was in the throes of a scandal in France over her affair with Paul Langevin, which threatened to overshadow the accomplishment of her second Nobel Prize.

Performed by Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany, this play by Lauren Gunderson is an ode to two remarkable women who, despite tremendous personal and professional obstacles, continued to devote their lives to scientific innovation and social change.

Playwright Lauren Gunderson was awarded a commission through the Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund, an initiative dedicated to developing innovative original plays driven by language and voice. As an Audible commissioned playwright, she received funding and creative support to develop The Half-Life of Marie Curie.

Directed by Gaye Taylor UpchurchSound design by Darron L West

Review: 
Audible Original offerings every month give me a way to venture outside of my normal Youth-YA readings, which is nice and I have learned a lot in doing so. I fully expected this book about Marie Curie to be about the science, it was not, but I am completely ok with that because I know about the science, I did not realize that she was involved in a scandal. 

This dramatic reading is about Marie Curie in the aftermath of her affair with a married man. She is vulnerable in a new way, but also so angry with society and the double standards that existed then as they do now. The overall narration was so well done and the play between the characters was enthralling and I didn't want to stop listening. 

While the audiobook was short it painted a new picture of a woman that I thought I knew a good deal about. She was human, upset, dying, and so mad at the world around her, but also brilliant in so many ways even in this short tale. I really enjoyed this book even though it was not what I expected.

If you are looking for a new point of view on this very well known scientist and Nobel Prize (x2) winner, this is a very well dramatized book in which to learn more about the woman.