Books: Thunderstruck, Erik Larson

I've now read THREE WHOLE BOOKS since quarantine started. This one I read solely because I’ve loved everything else I’ve ever read by Erik Larson—from his gorgeously crafted prose to his exhaustive research to the deft triangulations he creates as he weaves disparate stories closer and closer to each other until their inevitable collisions into single narratives.

That said, this book starts out a bit slow and takes a tedious amount of time to pick up steam. But along the way, it provides a nuanced, meaningful understanding of the history and culture of Edwardian England and the early rumblings of the First World War. It parallels the invention of wireless communication with a gruesome murder that was at the time the international crime of the century—all as Germany breathes down England’s neck and Western Civilization is caught up in a collective fascination with the supernatural.

Larson writes sentences that are so evocative and beautifully cast that I often stop and re-read them multiple times just to admire their balance of artistry, exposition, insight and construction. I even read this one aloud—with no helpful context—to my parents because I loved it so much: “In the great conspiratorial tradition of Englishwomen of title, she invited Marconi to the island as well, this time as a houseguest.”