A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer - a Book Review

If you, like me, begin to make your summer reading list months in advance, eagerly perusing the New York Times book review section on Sundays and building little piles on nightstands and coffee tables throughout the house, then I have a great book to suggest.



I just finished reading an advanced reader copy of A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer. Due out in June, this book is a must read, although it is certainly not your typical brainless summer fare.



A Fierce Radiance is a beautifully written epic thriller about the race by Big Pharma to mass produce penicillin during World War II. Although the topic might sound a bit dry, the novel is actually filled with Nazi spies, corporate espionage, unscrupulous businessmen, and government employees prepared to commit murder to develop what they considered a critical weapon in winning the war.



It's hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago, medicine was so limited, and an infected scratch could be a death sentence. Belfer vividly describes the passion of the scientists who grew mold in milk bottles, collected dirt samples throughout the country, and waded through sewage, all with the conviction that they held the key to saving lives. There are many scenes throughout the book that paint the desperation of the general population to get their hands on these new medications to save a child dying from a banal ailment. The scenes seem particularly terrifying when you consider the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria today.



The time period is particularly poignantly described in the scenes narrated by Claire Shipley, a Life Magazine reporter. Shipley is one of the main characters, romantically involved to a scientist closely involved in the penicillin trials and the daughter of the president of one of the New Jersey pharmaceutical firms. Through her recounting of Shipley's shoots, complete with fascinating details about her equipment and angle choices, we feel the pulse of New York, its anxiety about the imminent attack from the Nazis, and the strain of rationing and war.



"They were outside at Rockefeller Center, skyscrapers soaring around them. She'd arranged the Rockettes in the lower plaza, around the golden statue of Prometheus, pretty girls draped over the statues' arms adn shoulders, the poses outrageous and charming at once. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree rose on the upper plaza behind them, lush and colorful. Claire was shooting both black and white and kodachrome, with three leicas around her neck. On one, she put a filter with a crisscross of thin white lines to make the Christmas tree lights sparkle in starbursts of blue and green, red and yellow. The scene was guaranteed to make Life readers in Indiana and Iowa smile despite the awful war news in the front sections of the magazine."



A Fierce Radiance is a big read, not because of its length, but because of its power. It has all the elements of a great read: love, intrigue, and beautiful prose. It will transport you to wartime New York and throw you into the desperate search for a desperately needed medicine. And once you finish reading it for plot, its beautiful images will linger.