#jenniefields

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 8/2020

Plot: 

“Rosalind Porter has always defied expectations--in her work as a physicist on the Manhattan Project and in her passionate love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver. Five years after the end of both, her guilt over the bomb and her heartbreak over Weaver are intertwined. She desperately misses her work in the lab yet has almost resigned herself to a more conventional life. Then Weaver gets back in touch--and so does the FBI. Special Agent Charlie Szydlo wants Roz to spy on Weaver, whom the FBI suspects of passing nuclear secrets to Russia. Roz helped to develop these secrets and knows better than anyone the devastating power such knowledge holds. But can she spy on a man she still loves, despite her better instincts? At the same time, something about Charlie draws her in. He's a former prisoner of war haunted by his past, just as her past haunts her. As Rosalind's feelings for each man deepen, so too does the danger she finds herself in. She will have to choose: the man who taught her how to love . . . or the man her love might save?” - Book Description 

Reflection:

Atomic Love is a quick and easy read. It’s engaging all the way through and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s full of mystery and intrigue and as a Cold War noir, I think it is successful. I liked Rosalind as a character but grew weary of her indecisiveness when it came to the two male leads. While I understood her motivations for the vacillations, there wasn’t enough substance to back up how much of the narrative was devoted to her internal relationship struggles.

SCROLL TO AVOID SPOILER: 

Both as a spy novel and a romance, the book feels resolved, but both left me feeling pretty empty and unfulfilled: the former because there is a DXM reveal akin to the air being let out of a balloon and the latter because it’s too much like real life. I’m happy that Rosalind finds love again, and can work in her field, but I so badly wanted those things to exist in harmony. I wanted Rosalind to have it all damnit! I suppose, even though I was rooting for she and Charlie to be together, I don’t feel like ultimately, they will stay that way—hence the emptiness. While I didn’t quite enjoy the ending, I sure liked getting to it.

SPOILER AVERTED: 

I noticed something interesting when I was reviewing the quotes I chose from the book. While Atomic Love is a historical fiction, some aspects feel shockingly relevant. Whether or not it was intentional, the current climate (at least in the United States, where I live) feels perfect for Cold War novels. I’m always amazed no matter how many times I witness examples of history repeating itself—and a beautiful aspect of historical fiction is authors get to make those connections especially entertaining for us to make, Atomic Love is no exception to this.