3.0 (1 rating)
The other Einstein
a novel
There was more than one genius in this marriage.
A literary historical in the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, a novel of Albert Einstein's wife, the devoted mother of the three children they had together, and a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated and may have been inspired by her own profound and very personal insight.
A literary historical in the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, a novel of Albert Einstein's wife, the devoted mother of the three children they had together, and a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated and may have been inspired by her own profound and very personal insight.
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9781492637257
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See all editions (15)Reader Reviews
3.0
1 rating
Charlene M.
Apr 18, 2026
I kinda had trouble with this book.
So, I love physics and I needed to read a book about a historical figure but I didnt want to read one about presidents or generals so I found this one.
Women scientists? Einstein? Physics? Yes please! And I did enjoy reading the first quarter or so where shes in school and coming out of her shell and discussing science, etc.
But then it kinda fell flat for me. It sounded, from the blurb, that it would really follow Mitza and her genius and Einstein and their relationships, and I mean, it did, but it fairly quickly devolved into her subsuming herself and hiding herself away in order to bring Einstein back (girl, that never works) and she just kept having bad things happen! Child loss, loss of credit for her contributions, and then struck at the end, all the while losing everything that made her, her, which would be more tragic except that she gave it up willingly and then wondered what happened. Her best friend was gone and her other girl friends turned on her with no reason given other than jealousy maybe? It was weird.
Like I get it, we do the dumb for love, and yes, Einstein is portrayed as manipulative (which I also had an issue with. He was probably arrogant, probably a jerk, and may well have stolen ideas, but you cannot be portrayed as someone who is oblivious and manipulative at the same time. How could he have known how to manipulate her if, at the same time, he was buried in science? Idk...I think he was a lot more oblivious and arrogant than outright manipulative)but at a certain point, earlier I mean, shouldn't she have fought back more intelligently? She had people who were willing to step up and she kept repeating the same mistakes?
She didn't even leave him until he did up a ridiculous contract specifying that she was basically to be his unpaid maid after she caught him having an affair. The loss of her daughter didn't do it, the loss of credit didn't do it, the first hints of an affair didn't do it. Nope, it was a contract outlining what she'd already been doing and that is what pushed her over
So kind of a frustrating read and way too heavy in the family drama and too light on the science. Though I did find it satisfying when she left him, but I wish we had seen her after, maybe becoming a teacher or something using her genius again. We don't see her come back from all that and that made the ending kind of unsatisfactory too.
I do love historical fiction - some of my absolute favorite books are historical fiction (The Book of Longings, The Lost Apothecary, The Historian, though its more paranormal historical fiction), so Im sad this one didnt hit the mark for me.
I think I should have read Hidden Figures, on reflection.
So, I love physics and I needed to read a book about a historical figure but I didnt want to read one about presidents or generals so I found this one.
Women scientists? Einstein? Physics? Yes please! And I did enjoy reading the first quarter or so where shes in school and coming out of her shell and discussing science, etc.
But then it kinda fell flat for me. It sounded, from the blurb, that it would really follow Mitza and her genius and Einstein and their relationships, and I mean, it did, but it fairly quickly devolved into her subsuming herself and hiding herself away in order to bring Einstein back (girl, that never works) and she just kept having bad things happen! Child loss, loss of credit for her contributions, and then struck at the end, all the while losing everything that made her, her, which would be more tragic except that she gave it up willingly and then wondered what happened. Her best friend was gone and her other girl friends turned on her with no reason given other than jealousy maybe? It was weird.
Like I get it, we do the dumb for love, and yes, Einstein is portrayed as manipulative (which I also had an issue with. He was probably arrogant, probably a jerk, and may well have stolen ideas, but you cannot be portrayed as someone who is oblivious and manipulative at the same time. How could he have known how to manipulate her if, at the same time, he was buried in science? Idk...I think he was a lot more oblivious and arrogant than outright manipulative)but at a certain point, earlier I mean, shouldn't she have fought back more intelligently? She had people who were willing to step up and she kept repeating the same mistakes?
She didn't even leave him until he did up a ridiculous contract specifying that she was basically to be his unpaid maid after she caught him having an affair. The loss of her daughter didn't do it, the loss of credit didn't do it, the first hints of an affair didn't do it. Nope, it was a contract outlining what she'd already been doing and that is what pushed her over
So kind of a frustrating read and way too heavy in the family drama and too light on the science. Though I did find it satisfying when she left him, but I wish we had seen her after, maybe becoming a teacher or something using her genius again. We don't see her come back from all that and that made the ending kind of unsatisfactory too.
I do love historical fiction - some of my absolute favorite books are historical fiction (The Book of Longings, The Lost Apothecary, The Historian, though its more paranormal historical fiction), so Im sad this one didnt hit the mark for me.
I think I should have read Hidden Figures, on reflection.