*Originally written in 2008 based on a free copy provided by Amazon
Samantha Hunt’s debut shows an assured talent in the making, a writer unafraid to take the reader on a journey with few answers, focusing instead on fragments of history and moments of daunting emotion. Her style will clearly infuriate some readers – the time frame, the narrative, and indeed the narrator leap from one chapter to the next without warning to the extent that it may take a few paragraphs of a new chapter before you work out who is speaking; A forewarning then to anyone expecting a light read. If you are interested in the subject, in science, in biographies (even fictional ones), or in Tesla himself, then this is a no doubt intelligent and thought-provoking book which you will get enjoyment from, although much of that enjoyment will be drawn from the relief of trawling through some startling problems just to reach a passage of interest.
The Invention Of Everything Else is a semi-fictional history of Tesla, one of the greatest minds the world has ever known, and the people he comes into contact with at various points in his life. We witness his successes and failures, his emergence and withdrawal, his youth, his old age, and some sort of ending. Wrapped around this is the tale of Louisa and Walter- a father and daughter team whose own losses and inspirations have a way of mirroring Tesla’s. Most of the story is based in reality, which is always more fantastic than magic and myth as Tesla alludes to at several points, before twisting this notion on it’s head and introducing an element of time-travel towards the end. Presumably the point is that if Tesla brought the mystical and the impossible into reality via science a hundred years ago, why not in the modern age should we refuse to accept the possibility of time travel? Of course, nothing is straight-forward here as Tesla is presented as a man of limitless invention and foresight, but whose ideas sometimes failed disastrously; add to this some lesser known inventors and crazies and we get the impression that while many things may be possible in the future, a mind like Tesla’s is unique.
There are some brilliant characters here, screaming to get off the pages but unfortunately many of them are treated too sharply and shortly that we never truly get a grasp upon them, their thoughts, their motivations. We get within touching distance of these people but they are thrust away from us just before we make a genuine connection. If I was reading between the lines I might say that this was intentional, that it reflects the true nature of these characters’ lives in that they too are left cold and uncertain by the people they meet- but there isn’t enough evidence to prove that Hunt intended this.
The narrative is at times too jarring to make this as comfortable a read as it should and could have been. Like previously mentioned, we are made to work for our rewards- a fact which some readers will not respond to, while others may relish. There is an interesting tale here of the varieties and charms of human nature, of the toils and triumphs one can achieve, and of the irony that the human brain may not yet be powerful enough to house equal amounts of perfection in knowledge, humour, confidence, social skills, and that human culture may not yet be developed enough to accept brilliance readily, innocently, without envy, and as something we should all aspire to. Hunt is a reader to look out for and with a little more refinement and polish her next novel could be something to make an aspiring world proud of.
Have you read this book, or are you interested in Tesla or the genre? Let us know in the comments!
The Spac Hole 