It is fitting that I finished this book on August 6, 2020 – 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima. This historical fiction book is based on Charles Fisk, a mathematician who played a strategic role in creating the detonators for the atomic bombs.

This was a fascinating dive into history and the Manhattan Project. I didn’t realize that for many of the people involved the exact nature of what they were doing remained a mystery. The work they did was in isolation and it was by design that the bigger nature of the project wasn’t widely known. In the book, the character is named Charlie Fish, and the author includes many familiar names Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer, just to name a few. There are plenty of other people involved that history has mostly forgotten.

The book also features the character Brenda as Charlie’s love interest. She meets Charlie in Chicago at her family’s organ store and eventually follows him to New Mexico.

One thing I found interesting to think about is how the people involved in this project viewed their role. In the book, Charlie is wracked with guilt about the part he played. He dwelled much more on the Japanese people killed and found it harder to focus on the number of lives it saved and bringing about the end of the war. Once the war was over, Charlie was recruited to a PhD program at Stanford, but efforts there were mostly focused on continuing to build future weapons of war.

Charlie eventually left science to focus on his real love – organs. He built a highly successful organ company. I found it interesting that if you look up Charles B. Fisk, he comes up first as an organ builder and it’s more of a footnote that he was involved in the Manhattan Project. I enjoyed this one and it was good to learn more about this important time in our history. This was my second book by this author, I also liked "The Baker's Secret."

I just finished Universe of Two by Stephen Kierman. I enjoy WWII historical fiction, and this was the first book I have read based around The Manhattan Project. I really enjoyed the first 35% of the book. I liked how the author alternated chapters with Charles Fisk, a young man working on arc projections and then soldering pieces together to have multiple detonators. Charlie does not seem to have much confidence in himself, and he tries to prove himself to his Uncle. He is socially immature. He meets Brenda who narrates her chapters as an older woman looking back on her life with Charlie and her mother. She also seems to be trying to figure out life with Charlie and her mother. I felt the writing was very good and captured the characters.

The middle part of the book became too much about the details of the Manhattan Project development. I wanted to see more about the personal relationships. It took me quite awhile to read this section. I found myself wandering.

The book then picked up after the war when Charlie is trying to work out his part of The Manhattan project and his life with Brenda. Thebook was interesting and would have been 4 stars for me if the middle would have been edited. Thank you Harper Collins, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars

This was a very different story about World War II. Charlie Fish is a quiet, considerate young man. Brenda is a young lady who often speaks before thinking, and takes her time in realizing Charlie’s good traits. Follow them on their WWII journey. It was a little slow, but good!

What a wonderful, historically accurate novel about the Manhattan Project. This book is beautifully told, well researched, and a fabulous read. I loved reading about the beginning of Los Alamos and the project.

A beautiful love story, but so much more. This was a deep reflection on the ethics of war, and evaluation of our most human moments...

This is a story about two people who find the love of their life just as World War II breaks out. They meet, experience the awkwardness of first love, the separation, the longing, and struggle to find a way back to each other as war changes them in unspeakable ways.

While a good, propulsive book, I wanted to throw Brenda’s part across the room. She grows from a spoiled, self-indulged girl to a strong, selfless woman. And during her tantrums, my heart broke for Charlie. Be sure to pick this up if you’d like a different take on World War II, Los Alamos, and Project Y.

For historical fiction readers and beyond!! A love story engulfs the epic moral quandary experienced by those who were kept in the dark while following orders that culminated in the creation of the atomic bomb. The emotional impact of their contribution to catastrophic loss of life will rattle you to the core. A tale based on a real couple, expertly told with wit, humor and depth that reveals the controversy behind world-changing decisions. If you enjoy Marie Benedict or Stephanie Dray you'll thoroughly enjoy this book!

At the height of World War II, mathematician Charlie Fish is pulled from Harvard University immediately after graduation and assigned to the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago. For security purposes, each scientist is assigned a single task and forbidden to share his assignment with the others working on the project. Charlie finds himself assigned first to figuring out complex arcs, and later to soldering complicated components. After a few months, he is reassigned to Los Alamos in New Mexico. While in Chicago, he meets a girl named Brenda who he falls in love with (for the life of me, I can't figure out why - she is selfish and spoiled and more concerned with the soldiers on leave than she is about Charlie or the war). Although the reader knows almost immediately what Charlie is working on, he doesn't find out until late in the project, and when he realizes that he has been making the detonator for a weapon of mass destruction, he is overwhelmed with guilt and remorse over his part in the project.

I am a fan of historical fiction, especially about little known aspects of history, but I didn't love this one. The story is based on real-life mathematician Charles Fisk who worked on the Manhattan Project. Unfortunately the story drags with too much repetition (did we really have to hear about all 23 times that Charlie tried to make the detonator, until someone else waltzed in and finally told him how to do it?). There are also characters who serve no purpose - one character in particular, Mather, seems to be in the story just to ridicule Charlie. There is no other reason for him to be in the story and there is no resolution to their "conflict" - Charlie just leaves New Mexico with Brenda. I didn't connect at all with Brenda, and I don't think the author did a very good job of writing his female characters or having Brenda grow at all. There is a also great deal of discussion about their sex life rather late in the novel that adds nothing to the story. I personally could have lived with out hearing how many times and places Brenda and Charlie had sex after they got married, and what kind of underwear Brenda wore.

Overall, disappointing.

3.5 stars

Such an interesting historical fiction account of one man's part in the making of the Atomic bomb. Based on the life of a real mathematician, the book alternates chapters between Charlie's work life, and his eventual wife Brenda. Starting out in Chicago, then moving to Los Alamos, we are given a fascinating look at how each person building the bomb was given a task to complete, all the while none of them was privy to what they were actually creating. Charlie eventually has his theories, and they begin to tear him apart emotionally. Brenda, who starts off as not the most likable person, follows Charlie to New Mexico where she waits patiently for letters and once weekly visits from Charlie. Music has always played an important role in her life, and she continues along this path as she tries to assuage Charlie's fears and misgivings. The writing was fluid, the research impeccable, and the characters relatable. I would have liked to see a faster progression to the bomb detonation, and a bit more time spent on how the couple dealt with the aftermath, but I guess that shows how invested I was in what happened to this couple. Taking it too far out from the end of the war would have made the author have to take way more liberties in not keeping the historical perspective which was likely not his aim. 

A fascinating look at the making of the atomic bomb from one man's perspective, and an unusual love story which is probably way more common in that time period than we think. A different twist on WWII that I think most readers will enjoy.

A thoughtful look at following one’s conscience while possibly doing the right thing. Based on the life of an historical person, book clubs will find lots to talk about - no easy answers!

This is a phenomenal story because it delves into a piece of WWII history that I, personally, have not encountered in recent fiction. Most of this novel is set at Los Alamos, New Mexico where young mathematician Charlie Fish proves to be invaluable with his ability to create the detonator for the atomic bomb. But rather than be excited about his skill, Charlie struggles with the moral implication of helping to create this weapon of mass destruction.

At the same time he begins a romance with a fellow organ playing young woman in Chicago. She later joins him in the desert although her immaturity may prove to be their undoing.

This story is a fascinating account of the homefront during the war along with the added element of the Manhattan Project. This fictional story is well-researched and based on the life of a real mathematician who did similar work during the war.

I'm very excited about this novel, have already told people about it and can't wait to recommend it to readers at my library.

I have a fascination with Los Alamos and the work that went on in New Mexico during the Trinity project. I have visited the museum and town there several times and read books about the war effort and community that developed around it. I also am a big fan of author Stephen Kiernan’s previous work; he has an ability to build worlds and create characters that live long in my thoughts after I have finished his books. Having acknowledged all of these things, I thought that his new book UNIVERSE OF TWO would be a sure fire hit for me; a book I would dive into and adore. That was not quite my experience and I have struggled to understand my lack of enthusiasm for it. There are two protagonists and the book is told in first person for one of them: Brenda, a naive and spoiled teenager and told in the third person for Charlie, a math whiz, awkward but sincere, teenage college freshman. Brenda is meant to grow through the book but honestly we take this on faith; mostly she is petulant and grating. Charlie is meant to be kind beyond his years, mostly this seems heartsick and painful. Somehow these very young immature people are expected to have deep philosophical thoughts about life and death when they still cannot discuss what to do when they get together in the evening. They fuss about silly things and then understand death on a huge scale. I would have liked some indication of their abilities to handle anything else in life on a larger scale as well. The characters just weren’t well enough developed for the central plot. Frankly the adults barely could have handled it. Kiernan needed to bring more to the story. This was a huge idea that was worthy of his talents but wasn’t fully executed. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Great writing, very readable, and really interesting as it has a different focus and location from most WW2 fiction that I’ve read. Very compelling story!

**Full review to be posted to my blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and NetGalley closer to publication!**

Universe of Two is a fascinating look at Charlie Fisk, one of the makers of the atomic bomb, as he struggles with his morals in relation to the building of such a deadly device. I thought Kiernan did an excellent job of portraying such a complicated and compelling story, and I fully intend to check out more of Kiernan's books in the future after reading and enjoying this book so much.

THE UNIVERSE OF TWO by Stephen P. Kiernan was completely unexpected for me. This historical novel takes place mainly during WW II and is told in alternating viewpoints. We have Charlie, told from the third-person point of view, who stole my heart immediately. Brenda, told in the first-person point of view, took a lot longer to grow on me, as she was so self-centered, I wanted to strangle her at some points.
The novel is based on the life of the man who created the detonator for the atomic bomb and Kiernan does an amazingly thorough job of describing not only the process, but delving into the emotions and conflict Charlie has as he realizes what exactly he is involved in. His relationship with Brenda was the positive in his life and he relied on her and her advice, despite not being able to really tell her what he was doing. Both the characters were young and living in a time that forced them to grow up quickly.
This was an extremely well-written novel and the amount of research Kiernan did is amazing. I knew so little about that subject, so this was a revelation to me and I thoroughly enjoyed the way Kiernan developed this novel.
I received an advanced copy of this novel via a GoodReads giveaway. All opinions are my own.
#UniverseofTwo #StephenPKiernan #WilliamMorrow #TheBookClubGirls #BookClubGirl #GoodReadsFirsttoRead

This historical fiction pick is loosely based on the life of Charles Fisk, a scientist with the Manhattan Project.

A young Fisk is fresh out of Harvard, living in Chicago, and working on mathematical equations for a military project he knows no details on. On his lunch break, he meets Brenda, a musician working in her family's store. Their relationship develops, as Fisk's skills become more in demand and he eventually is transferred to the main Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Fisk begins to question his involvement in the project and the project itself, while not being able to share the nature of his work with Brenda.

A compelling look into the ideas that fueled the atomic bomb project and what the end result had on the scientists involved, once they knew the magnitude of the actual project. How did they go on after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, once they knew what their contributions meant?

Publisher sent opportunity and a teaser,
sounded very interesting - I had to read it.

I am also trying to locate his 3 previous books - hard to locate.

Two meeting, realizing 1st impressions are incorrect
some hide their true strengths

Working at Metallurgic Lab at U. of Chicago as mathematician, when learn
jobs are changing to top security, so court-martial if talk.
He believes he is only doing math!

Modern warfare becomes a race, aiming for victory,
ringside at history of the human race.

Coded messages -- if two are bonded shouldn't they understand
Mis- communication causes many feelings in ripple effect.

Back story of book should not be missed - this is one to read!!

I’m not sure I can express exactly how much I loved this book! Is it a WWII novel masqueraded as a love story or a love story masqueraded as a WWII novel? Whatever you decide it is for you, I hope you love it as much as I did.

I also learned about the Manhattan Project, which led me down the rabbit hole of googling. How did I not learn about that in high school history??

I received an advanced copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I finally was able to set up my kindle email correctly to download this book and was able to finally read. This is the story of Charlie Fish, based on the life of Charlie Fisk who helped design the detanator for the atomic bomb. The book is told from 2 perspective s, Charlie s, and his wife Brenda, for who he meets when he walks into her family organ store. Charlie's point of you is the present where Brenda is when she is older. Lovely relationship . You will see lots of guilt in this book. Author presents a great imagery and feel of the times. Did not hate book but a little slow for me.

Universe of Two by Stephen Kiernan is a masterpiece that goes deep and thought provoking! Read this book and discuss it with your book club, your faith groups and anyone who wants to read a masterpiece and go deep!