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A Fierce Radiance: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,191 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year
An NPR Best Mystery of the Year
This suspenseful novel from the New York Times bestselling author of City of Light follows a photojournalist as she takes on an assignment that will involve blackmail, espionage, and murder—all in the early days of America’s involvement in World War II.
In the anxious and uncertain days after Pearl Harbor, beautiful, talented Life magazine photojournalist Claire Shipley is assigned to cover the clinical testing of a new medication at the renowned Rockefeller Institute in New York. Still grieving the death of her young daughter from an infection, Claire is shocked by what she finds there: the doctors and researchers are attempting to cure fatal infections with a little-known, temperamental medicine made from green mold, which they’re calling penicillin—and that may be just the beginning of their breakthroughs.
As the nation plunges into war, Claire begins an intense love affair with James Stanton, an Institute physician given the difficult, top-secret task of coordinating penicillin research for the military. Meanwhile Claire’s long-estranged father, a self-made millionaire entrepreneur, is realizing the potential of the new mold-derived medications to transform the very nature of human existence.
When James’s sister and colleague dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes involved in the antibiotic breakthrough become starkly clear. Caught between the extremes of war and greed, Claire finds her new relationship challenged in ways she could never have predicted.
At once a thriller, a love story, a family saga, and a window into the tumultuous home front during World War II, A FIERCE RADIANCE will captivate readers.
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"I'd give this book an A for concept, a B- for plot, and C+ for editing. The book never pulled me in enough to make me anxious to get back to it. The various plot line seemed to interfere with each other rather than weave together. However, I would recommend it and it would make an very good choice for a book group. As a matter of fact I read this because I a member of the Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle."
— Alice (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Lauren Belfer’s story of love in the time of penicillin is enthralling. A Fierce Radiance shines with fascinating detail about a moment in American history we have mostly forgotten, when penicillin was new, miraculous, and in short supply. Belfer’s powerful portrayal of how people are changed in pursuit of a miracle makes this book an especially compelling read.”
— Nancy Horan, New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank -
“Ambitious, combining medical and military history with commercial rivalry, espionage, and thwarted love. Belfer clearly knows her scientific material. She also knows how to turn esoteric information into an adventure story, and how to tell that story well.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Belfer’s panoramic new novel is a love story wrapped around a spy story with a pivotal medical breakthrough at its center.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Belfer is adept at writing historical fiction that sizzles. Sex, spies, murder, big money, family betrayals, doomed romance, and exotic travel are smoothly braided into her main narrative about the wartime race to make large quantities of penicillin…A Fierce Radiance vividly brings back that time of both terror and eventual triumph.”
— Washington Post -
“Penicillin operates as the source of romance, murder, and melodrama in Belfer’s evocative WWII-era novel…Belfer handily exploits Claire’s photo shoots to add historical texture to the book, and the well-researched scenes bring war-time New York City to life, capturing the anxiety-ridden period.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Belfer combines life-and-death scenarios, romance, murder, and wartime reality at home and abroad, while satirizing industrialists who profit by dubious means and salve their consciences through philanthropy…An engrossing and ambitious novel that vividly portrays a critical time in American history.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“[An] artful composition…captures the fragility and anxiety of life in wartime New York in crisply developed shades of black, white, and gray.”
— Barnes & Noble, editorial review
Awards
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Selected for the July 2010 Indie Next List
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A 2010 Washington Post Best Book for Fiction
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A 2010 NPR Best Book: Mystery
A Fierce Radiance Listener Reviews
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" Great book, awesome look into the development of a drug that is so commonplace now. I love the development of sympathetic characters in a real time. "
— Sarah, 2/13/2014 -
" I wanted to like this but the style is too much like what I imagine a romance novel to be like. "
— Megwil, 1/27/2014 -
" Meh. Read it out of allegiance to "City of Light," which, in my memory from 10+ years ago, is still wonderful. "
— Kristen, 1/26/2014 -
" Loved this rich and complicated story of the government's Manhattan Project-like effort to perfect and mass-produce penicillin during WWII. It is written by the same author who wrote "City of Light" about the electrification of the city of Buffalo, one of my all-time favorites. "
— Sheila, 1/20/2014 -
" It was a decent read. Not the most exciting but the writing flowed well. I probably enjoyed it more for the medical aspect and the relationship between the main character and her father. "
— Sandra, 1/9/2014 -
" Gripping! A "How far would you go to make your dreams come true, for love, and to protect those that you love" sort of novel. "
— Jessica, 12/20/2013 -
" This was a really long and overdramatic story which couldn't decide if it was a romance or a mystery. However, the history in here about the development of penicillin (and the way people dropped off like flies before it) was fascinating. "
— Jana, 11/9/2013 -
" I really liked the information about penacillen and the setting of ww2 new york. the love story/writing was tedious in places. But, I didn't put it down. "
— Dana, 9/3/2013 -
" It was an interesting topic, but it dragged a little. Liked it, but didn't love it. "
— Diana, 7/1/2013 -
" I have no idea how historically accurate this book is, but it was engrossing. "
— Cverboon, 10/21/2012 -
" Such a great book! It had drama, romance, historical elements, and mystery! "
— Megan, 10/12/2012 -
" Belfer has again crafted a believable historical novel, mixing romance and mystery into her characters lives. Impressive. "
— Dan, 7/27/2012 -
" Learned a lot about drug research "
— Cathy, 2/20/2012 -
" I REALLY liked this book. Not one I'd probably read again, but I loved the story, as well as the historical information about the birth of penicillin. I not one to read 'thriller's, but the author kept me captivated right up until the last sentence. Great characters. "
— Kkop12, 1/17/2012 -
" Interesting story about the development of penicillin and its cousins. "
— Lynda, 6/19/2011 -
" A good not-too-absorbing read. "
— Tiffany, 5/22/2011 -
" An over-long disappointing read. It does have some interesting historical facts concerning the development of penicillin during World War II. "
— Toni, 5/9/2011 -
" Another WWII story, this is the tale of a photojournalist for "Life" magazine, who stumbles into the turmoil around the discovery of pincillin & its uses for wounded troops ahead of ordinary citizens. "
— Mary, 5/3/2011 -
" Just an awesome story!!! Great mix of history and fiction. Great characters and the perfect amount of human drama. "
— Leah, 4/26/2011 -
" Historical novel involving the development of penicillin and WWII. So far, fascinating. "
— Barbara, 4/3/2011
About Lauren Belfer
Lauren Belfer was born in Rochester, New York, and attended Swarthmore College, where she majored in medieval studies. She also has an MFA from Columbia University. Lauren Belfer’s most recent novel, A Fierce Radiance, was named a Washington Post Best Novel and an NPR Best Mystery. Her debut novel, City of Light, was a New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book. She lives in New York City.
About Paula Christensen
Paula Christensen was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the suburbs of New York City. She studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Michael Howard Studios in New York City, and the Antaeus Company. Christensen is a graduate of Amherst College, where she received her BA with honors in theater, dance, and anthropology. She currently resides in Los Angeles, where she teaches dance and continues to work on both stage and screen.