The Invention Of Everything Else: Bard Fiction Prize Winner – A Lyrical Tale of Nikola Tesla, Love, and Wonder

This is the best book I’ve read so far this year. An excellent read and a story that will keep you thinking about it long after it’s finished.

I first learned about Tesla last July, at the age of 62. Why were we not taught about this important inventor in grade school? Ever since I learned about him, it became an obsession...I read a bunch of biographies, and then I wanted to read every fictional book about him. This was not a very long list: Tesla is still almost unknown. Others have summarized the plot of this book, so I won't go into that. This writer's style reminds me of Anne Tyler, with her portrayals of unusual characters and their off-kilter family lives. The surrealism is heightened by the author's unusual structural choices. Occasionally the storyline jumps into the past, and segues into Tesla's journalistic recollections of his own life. Further surreal touches are brought in with a section describing Edison's electrocution of animals and his invention of the electric chair. (Yes, Edison really was an evil and unscrupulous fellow, but TIME Magazine still sells the Edison special, and they have never done a Tesla special...go figure.) The sections written from Tesla's viewpoint are in first-person, while all the rest is third. Certainly not how they tell you to structure a novel in 'writers workshop'! Louisa was an engaging character, but the entire subplot about Louisa's father, Azor and Arthur, and the "time machine" weren't that interesting to me. Louisa's relationship with Arthur just didn't come alive. Other reviewers said "he may have come from the future", I didn't pick up on that. He was just a sort of wooden, blank character. I wish the entire book had been about Louisa's conversations and interactions with Tesla and his pigeons. Those scenes are marvelous. Tesla is wonderfully portrayed as eccentric, a bit scary yet fascinating, mysterious, wise, witty, sad and a little bitter, yet noble and resigned. I have read descriptions of the elder Tesla as physically frail, yet possessing a presence and a dignity that dominated any gathering. This novel captured that quality for me! Oh, if only I had that Time Machine, so I could go back and meet Tesla!

It was five stars all the way, until the very last chapter or so. I LOVED the story up til then. Obviously I was fairly certain that Tesla would die toward the end given the book opens on New Years 1943. However, the whole side plot with the "time machine" and the death of Walter and Azor was an unnecessary complication and just left the book with a more depressing tone than necessary. I did very much enjoy the parts written from Tesla's POV, some of the author's insights and thought processes were brilliant, and the relationship with Samuel Clemens, as well as Robert and Katharine Johnson, were excellent. Overall, I would recommend this book, but not with the same enthusiasm I had before finishing it...

The more I read, the more I found that the brilliant mind of Nikola Tesla, his patents and inventions had been lost to other historical names we've all learned about as brilliant inventors or wealthy philanthropists. Names like Morgan, Edison and Marconi for example, have all exploited Tesla and benefitted greatly in fame and monitary rewards at Tesla's expense. This book brings to light Tesla's brilliance and achievements, most of which many never knew about. I believe that anyone wondering how we got to where we are and where we got the technologies we now take for granted, owes it to themselves to read this book and any other books on the man, as well watch the Tesla episode on the History Channel.

Great subject matter. Intrigue and poetry. I appreciated the descriptions mixed with human emotion. Cleverly crafted, cleverly written, great read.

Firstly, this is a wonderful novel Secondly, it came packaged in cardboard and paper. No wasted space or materials all recyclable or compostable, which ever you prefer I appreciate this effort very much

Enjoyed the book once I finally got into it but it took some time. The beginning of the book did not impress me as much as the rest of it. I still feel it's a worthwhile read.

The author is able to blend enchantment with realism and history in a book that is a pure delight to read. The story provides a rare, fascinating and highly entertaining glimpse into the life and times of someone who is perhaps the most misunderstood genius of all time. What more can I say? Hunt seems to be talented and wise beyond her years. I can only add a resounding 'Bravo' for such a small gem of a book.

話が分かりづらすぎます。テスラーの人となりを、もっと盛り込んで欲しかった。

A good addition to the writings concerning Tesla. His was a talent that could have come from "the stars". I hope the truth is finally realized about his ideas of free electricity

so good i am giving copies to friends as well. a favourite. anyone who got into the Current War movie may enjoy this too.

A real discovery for me. Despite the huge amount of books written on the subject: Nikola Tesla this book enlightens hidden shadows on the inventor. As a consequence it helps to understand a lot about this enigmatic man and his enormous legacy to the modern world. Definitely interesting for whom is in interested to catch the hystory of science at the beginning of 20 century.

The Invention of Everything Else, by Samantha Hunt, provides a kind of biography of the inventer Nikola Tesla, a genius obsessed with electricity, as seen through the eyes of a nosey hotel cleaner, Louisa. The main story is set in 1943, when Louisa comes across the eccentric 86 yr old Tesla who is permenantly resident at the hotel where she works. Largely forgotten by the world and viewed with suspicion by others for suspected anti-American views, Tesla is befriended by Louisa and we slowly learn his life-story through her eyes. Just like its subject, the book itself is also quirky and written in a somewhat non-linear way. Also, the book devotes just as much space to Louisa interacting with her eccentric father and his friend when you want it to be telling more about Tesla. But I enjoyed the style as it makes a subject that could be for enthusiasts only into something interesting and entertaining. And from a research point of view, a quick check on wikipedia supports much of what relates to Tesla himself. Recommended.