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lifepluspreston's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein--Touching and reflective, this book explores the life of an evolutionary biologist and his deeply religious student. Grodstein writes with significant empathy for relevant characters, those with deeply held religious convictions, those challenged with the emptiness of the universe, those struggling with alcoholism. It's a story about flawed characters, written with a lot of heart. Thumbs up.
kanejim57's review against another edition
3.0
“He had barely started reading the Lewis but already he’d found something he liked: “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
Set in a small New Jersey college town, Lauren Grodstein’s newest work The Explanation for Everything explores the tension, the hopes, the fears, of those who are grieving and those who are seeking.
The story revolves around a small college biology professor, Andy Waite, a widower and father of two younger girls, and the relationship he develops with one of his students, Melissa Potter, a transfer student who seeks Waite’s help with an independent study. But Waite is an avowed evolutionist and Potter, an evangelical who believes in intelligent design.
But the relationship between the two takes an unexpected turn as Potter’s increasing presence in Waite’s professional and personal life creates an inner climate change in Waite’s heart regarding the possibility of faith, the unresolved grief of his wife’s death, the anger he holds toward the drunk driver, a former neighbor, who killed his wife, and the loneliness that he has kept at bay since her death. The result is a well written maelstrom of emotions – pain, love, lust, anger, fear, grief- along with two people holding two strongly opposite views, as they navigate the intellectual, spiritual, and personal potholes and issues in their own lives.
Alongside this main relationship are several others - Waite and Oliver McGee, the man who killed Waite’s wife; Waite and his two daughters, Rachel and Belle; Waite and his neighbor, Sheila Humphreys; Waite and student Lionel Shell with whom he spars intellectually yet seeks to help when it becomes necessary; and Waite and his mentor, the brilliant and controversial Hank Rosenblum, told in flashback segments – which are woven into the story that parallel the main story and its themes about human need, human hope, and the reason for living in the first place.
The Explanation for Everything does not resort to a simplistic formula in which every loose end in the story is neatly tied together in a ‘happily ever after’ package. Rather it is a gritty, and at times unsettling, journey filled with humanity who are seeking truth as Waite does in his alcoholic mice experiments to understand the death of his wife from an alcohol related accident. The result is a book that addresses one of the biggest issues in our time – the origins of the universe – against the backdrop of the human need for love and meaning while navigating a world of grief, pain, unanswered questions – intellectual, scientific, and spiritual – and the challenge of faith and trust.
I liked this book for the very human characters and the willingness to address the conflict raised between evolution and intelligent design in a manner in which the humanity of both sides is respected while also opening the door to the possibility of faith against the backdrop of doubt, grief, loss, and hope.
bellygames's review against another edition
2.0
"See?" she whispered again, his overweight seductress.
And that is the moment where I almost put the book down for good.
Here's the thing, I read The Explanation for Everything in a single evening. But it was with intermittent breaks to look up and call out to my poor partner, "What the hell, man!"
Lauren Grodstein set up a compelling plot with good enough writing to keep me hooked to get through the thing. But this was still a struggle to get through.
Why does our protagonist Andy, a 41 year old widower biology professor with a proud atheist streak, require only a reading of a book entitled "God is a Rainbow" and some very basic level human kindness from his pudgy, plain transfer student, Melissa, to decide he is now a believer? Oh, and never fear, we are reminded of just how "overweight, wide, linebacker-esque" she is every time we see her, just in case it wasn't made clear the first few times.
If you come to this book hoping for compelling discussion on the debate between evolution and intelligent design presented in an interesting and character driven way, you will be disappointed. In fact for all the talk of believing or not believing, we never really hear from any of the characters about the "why" behind their choices. If you come to this book hoping for well thought out characters who you become attached to, care about, or get to see grow over the course of the book, then you will surely be let down.
The book suggests tackling the deeply ingrained and controversial never ending discussion on atheism versus religion, only to skim over it to instead be more focused on its characters. Fine.
But then it suggests taking a look at the power of grief, family ghosts, and alcoholism, only to skim the surface of that ugly behemoth, so perhaps it is more a romance?
Well, I promise you, this was not a romance novel. And these characters are one dimensional at best.
This book is easy to read. It would be a good book to pick up if you are looking for a guilty pleasure read without delving into anything too uncomfortable or challenging that in the end spits you back out just about right where it began.
It felt like a cop out. An overweight cop out.
jesassa's review against another edition
1.0
I trudged through this ARC. The characters did not convince me of their genuineness at all. The best part was Rosenblum and Anita, but even that failed to make sense for me. I had wanted to love this too. Disappointing.
ldv's review against another edition
3.0
Before I started reading this book, I had low (or no) expectations for it. When it introduced the debate between Intelligent Design and Darwinian Evolution, I was very intrigued, for it seemed to give both sides of the debate an equal voice. That so rarely happens in any book, fiction or not, that I was actually excited. Discussion about genetics too!
This was my kind of book.
Except that I should have noticed it was not very long. A book of this length can't do justice to genetics or origins. In the end, it was bit of a let down.
To be fair, the book doesn't come down too hard on other side, nor does it really set out to sway a reader one way or the other (though not unexpectedly, Darwin seems to be more fit at the end.) The let down was that the book did not really allow the debate to surface. Just as Melissa and Andy never actually have the discussions and she does not actually convince him with scientific evidence, the book shies away from it also.
So this is not a book about genetics or evolution or creation. It's a book about a man who has two daughters, a dead wife, a grad student (or was she undergrad?), a female neighbour, and a research project. He's struggling to keep it together and looking for meaning to life. Does he find it? Hard to say, really.
The book is likeable but not profound. It's not pop lit, but it's not cerebral, either. Easy reading for someone who wants a bit of substance even if they're reading on the beach.
I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
This was my kind of book.
Except that I should have noticed it was not very long. A book of this length can't do justice to genetics or origins. In the end, it was bit of a let down.
To be fair, the book doesn't come down too hard on other side, nor does it really set out to sway a reader one way or the other (though not unexpectedly, Darwin seems to be more fit at the end.) The let down was that the book did not really allow the debate to surface. Just as Melissa and Andy never actually have the discussions and she does not actually convince him with scientific evidence, the book shies away from it also.
So this is not a book about genetics or evolution or creation. It's a book about a man who has two daughters, a dead wife, a grad student (or was she undergrad?), a female neighbour, and a research project. He's struggling to keep it together and looking for meaning to life. Does he find it? Hard to say, really.
The book is likeable but not profound. It's not pop lit, but it's not cerebral, either. Easy reading for someone who wants a bit of substance even if they're reading on the beach.
I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
nicolebonia's review against another edition
3.0
The Explanation of Everything proves why Grodstein’s work is lauded by readers and critics alike. Her writing is lovely and well-considered. I loved the details that supported the intimate portrait of Andy’s relationships with his daughters, his neighbor, Sheila, and his place among the faculty and staff. Grodstein made it easy to see why Andy arrived at some of his conclusions, and how he could have wandered so far off track.
Still, there was something missing (a lack of urgency, too much apathy from the characters?), that was hard to pinpoint and bogged the story down. While I was happy enough while reading it, I didn’t find particularly compelling reasons to go back to it once I had set it aside. While Andy and his daughters were fully realized (and maybe even Lionel, whose character I really enjoyed), the revolving female characters would have benefited the novel had they been fleshed out a little more. I also would have liked to have more cohesion in the way certain story lines were linked. Halfway through, a story that was before only mentioned in passing, takes center stage in a way that is rather jarring, even though it’s also one of the more fascinating aspects of the book. As carefully paced as it is the ending is rather abrupt and vaguely unsatisfying.
Ultimately, The Explanation for Everything didn’t work for me as fully as I had hoped, but Grodstein is an author whose work I will continue to look forward to.
Still, there was something missing (a lack of urgency, too much apathy from the characters?), that was hard to pinpoint and bogged the story down. While I was happy enough while reading it, I didn’t find particularly compelling reasons to go back to it once I had set it aside. While Andy and his daughters were fully realized (and maybe even Lionel, whose character I really enjoyed), the revolving female characters would have benefited the novel had they been fleshed out a little more. I also would have liked to have more cohesion in the way certain story lines were linked. Halfway through, a story that was before only mentioned in passing, takes center stage in a way that is rather jarring, even though it’s also one of the more fascinating aspects of the book. As carefully paced as it is the ending is rather abrupt and vaguely unsatisfying.
Ultimately, The Explanation for Everything didn’t work for me as fully as I had hoped, but Grodstein is an author whose work I will continue to look forward to.
sde's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed the first half of this book. A student approaches a biology professor to be her advisor on an independent study on intelligent design. The professor takes her on even though he is an ardent atheist. (He kind of wants to believe, though, and he does see his dead wife's ghost often.) The student uses some not-very-academic sources, but she is intelligent and questioning. If the story continued to focus on the tension and interplay between the student and the professor as they begin to influence each other's ideas on G-d and evolution, it would have been a better story. Instead, about halfway through it veers off into the professor's own personal life and demons unrelated to the first question at hand. At some point, the story abandons the intelligent design debate all together, and that's when it gets more boring.
jtlars7's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe deserved a three. The writing was good and I kept wanting to read more, but overall not completely satisfying; I can't think of anyone I'd recommend it to.
eclectictales's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this novel through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/08/04/review-the-explanation-for-everything/
For a book that addresses a very loaded topic, it was quite easy to get into the story and into Andy Waite’s life. The reader quickly gains a sense of his mourning over his dead wife, and his struggles to maintain his position at the university faculty and his role as a single father. It’s sweet and sad how the ghost and memory of his dead wife is haunting him throughout the novel as he struggles to move on and face all of these challenges before him.
I think the author did a good job in presenting both sides of the argument, that of religious/spiritual belief and that of science/evolution/atheism. Some might feel that this novel sides more with the argument for religion in one’s life, especially given Andy’s journey over the course of the novel, but I think characters like Rosenblum and Lionel balance the argument out a bit and provide more representation for the evolution/non-religious element of the argument. But there are no simple answers; I think if there’s anything to take out of the novel, it’s that you need to keep an open mind and be considerate towards others, especially with people who don’t share your beliefs.
I would have rated this novel a little higher save for a few things about the story:
Overall, The Explanation for Everything was an interesting read and kept me invested. This novel is not for everyone–I can see how this novel might he leaning towards one or the other depending on your own values and beliefs–but it was one that raised a lot of food for thought.
Final rating: 3.5/5
For a book that addresses a very loaded topic, it was quite easy to get into the story and into Andy Waite’s life. The reader quickly gains a sense of his mourning over his dead wife, and his struggles to maintain his position at the university faculty and his role as a single father. It’s sweet and sad how the ghost and memory of his dead wife is haunting him throughout the novel as he struggles to move on and face all of these challenges before him.
I think the author did a good job in presenting both sides of the argument, that of religious/spiritual belief and that of science/evolution/atheism. Some might feel that this novel sides more with the argument for religion in one’s life, especially given Andy’s journey over the course of the novel, but I think characters like Rosenblum and Lionel balance the argument out a bit and provide more representation for the evolution/non-religious element of the argument. But there are no simple answers; I think if there’s anything to take out of the novel, it’s that you need to keep an open mind and be considerate towards others, especially with people who don’t share your beliefs.
I would have rated this novel a little higher save for a few things about the story:
Spoiler
I could’ve used one more scene to show Andy’s gradual process from being a staunch Darwinist/atheist to considering God and spirituality in his life (I say consideration because it’s an ongoing process that I will explain further in a little bit), just to link the progression up more tightly. Also, I was a bit more dismayed was the handling of Andy and Melissa’s relationship, especially at the end. Andy was at fault for stepping over the line, but Melissa was expecting too much from him all at once.Overall, The Explanation for Everything was an interesting read and kept me invested. This novel is not for everyone–I can see how this novel might he leaning towards one or the other depending on your own values and beliefs–but it was one that raised a lot of food for thought.
Final rating: 3.5/5
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
Not for me. I don't think there was any real depth to this one.