With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Half Life by Jillian Cantor was the first book I have read by this author and I was not disappointed. I’ll definitely be reading more of her work in the future!

Told as a Sliding Doors “what if?” book this novel follows the true life of Marie Curie versus the fictional life of Marya Zorawska as she would have been if she stayed in Poland and married her sweetheart, instead of travelling to Paris where she studied and met Pierre.

One choice. One decision. Catch the train or stay? This was a fascinating read made more so by the fact that it’s truth and fiction woven together. The story is well researched and well written with seamless interweaving of the Marie/Marya chapters throughout her life. How her one decision might have changed the lives of those around her and how her family life was/could have been with each choice.

A question I found particularly interesting asked in a Marya chapter - are there people we’re fated to meet no matter the choices we make?

A fascinating, highly recommended four star read.

Thank you to everyone for this arc. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I didn't know anything about Marie Curie, except the legend, at all so reading this brought her very close to me. The book is divided into a Sliding Doors scenario, what Marie did, and what Marie might've done if she had chosen another path. The decisions Marie really made led her to a Nobel Prize and fame that she probably could've done without. Set in Poland and France, an interesting novel

Half Life is Marie Curie's 'Slidng doors' - what if she hadn't moved to Paris?

I think the division between fictional Marie (Marya) and fictional (but based on real-life) Marie was just a little too much to have going on in one novel. It's almost like you're fighting between three Marie's (real, fictional, and sliding doors fictional) and that's a lot to juggle.

I have no doubt that the historical information regarding Marie was well researched - but the premise of a half fictional/half based in truth Marie Curie makes it difficult to figure out if this is meant to be fantasy or informative.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. – Robert Frost.

Half Life is the story of Marie Curie / Marya Sklodowska.

What would of happened if she had never got on the train to study in Paris, and never married Pierre Curie, instead staying and marrying Kazimierz Zorawski.

Jillian Cantor wrote an inspiring, well researched, well written book on Marie Curie and the what could of been. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and didn't get lost in the multiple arcs which can sometimes happen when you read two books in one.

How different would the world of been if Marie and Pierre never got married and teamed up. This book shows how one ripple can change the course (in this case) of history and science.

This book is worth picking up and reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me a free copy of this wonderful book in exchange for a review.

‘I wanted to go to Paris, wanted to continue my studies, but I wanted to be with the man I loved, too. And then I made a choice.’

What a fascinating twist on historical fiction: what if Marie Curie had married Kazimierz Żorawski, her first love, rather than going to the Sorbonne in Paris.

“They are enamored of you,” Pierre says with a chuckle, as if it tickles him. “The first woman to win a Nobel Prize.”

Not really knowing that much about this famous historical figure, it proved to be a very interesting read. With a ‘Sliding Doors’ approach, it is like two books in one with alternating chapters between Marie’s real life and a fictionalised alternative had she not studied in Paris. There is the Marie Curie we know - her life, love, work. Then there is the fictionalised Marya Sklodowska who did not get on the train that day and instead married her first love and stayed in Poland to become a wife and mother.

“... It is hard for me to understand a life where having children would force a woman to give up on her own work.” “She can’t do both?”

Both stories were well written, with the parallels being cleverly replicated and/or imagined. It was good to learn of the real Marie Curie and the life she led with husband Pierre. The imagined life of Marya was likewise engaging, however, the goal here I imagine was to demonstrate the frustrations this highly intelligent woman faced in Russian controlled Poland with restrictive educational opportunities for women. Written in such a way, it invites the reader to consider how some decisions can be life changing. There are many challenges and sorrows in this read.

‘Could I have accomplished all that Hela had by now? And if I had, would I feel happier, be more fulfilled?’

This tale - both real and imagined - would be for those interested in the status of women at this period of history.

‘There was a choice. There was always a choice. Had I made the wrong one?’




This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

I struggled to get into this. I love the idea of a sliding doors moment (It something I think about in my own life) but for some reason I just never was able to get sucked into the story.

Half Life fascinated me. I didn't know much about Marie Curie so only picked up the book as the blurb sounded interesting. The fact I was interested to learn more and more about Marie Curie tells me the book was well written and engaging. I really enjoyed the 2 storylines, Marie's real life and Marya's fictional 'what if' life. I loved how people from both stories interacted, but differently depending on that first decision made at that train station.

Well worth the read.

I’m not sure what it means when the best thing about a book is its title. Half Life combines a first person fictionalised biography of famous Polish scientist Marie Curie, with a speculative look at how her life would’ve turned out had she followed her heart not her head, and married her first love instead of moving to Paris for her career. I wanted to like this, I really did, but the Sliding Doors approach did not work for me and this was a slog from start to finish, and had it not been a NetGalley read I would’ve abandoned it.

In 1891, young governess Marya Sklodowska, the youngest daughter of a widowed scholar who has fallen on hard times, faces a choice. Standing on a station platform in Russian-controlled Poland, is handsome would-be mathematician Kazimierz Zorawski, who pulled out of their engagement because his parents’ disapproval, but has now changed his mind. Will she follow her dream of becoming a scientist in France, or stay behind for love? Half Life explores the consequences of both choices in alternating chapters. Marie goes on to meet Pierre Curie, discover radioactivity and win Nobel prizes, while Marya, longing for education herself, gets to watch family members succeed while she devotes her life to raising her daughter.

This was an interesting idea, and I welcomed the chance to learn about the world’s most famous female scientist, but to be honest I would’ve been better off just reading Wikipedia (as did the author, it would seem.) The dual timelines just got really confusing as Marie & Marya meet people who are often quite different, and not just because of her role in their lives, like Pierre - dashing successful scientist in one life, kindly dreamer in the other. Characters die in one life, but survive in the other, and I had to keep checking whose story it was, and reminding myself who was married to whom, to keep their stories straight. The narration varies between present and past tense for both voices, infuriatingly inconsistently, and in both timelines our protagonist is deeply unpleasant - self-absorbed, arrogant, judgemental and careless of others’ feelings, so I found it hard to see what attracted any of the various men who fall in love with her.

I wanted to read about Curie’s scientific discoveries, the main appeal of the book for me, but these are glossed over, with a leap forward in time any time something interesting happens, in favour of more angst about her romantic and family relationships. The sexism and misogyny that both versions had to overcome were an important part of the story and reminded me of how much we now take for granted. The effects of radiation on both Marie and Pierre’s health, obvious with modern knowledge, were sad to read about, although her wilful blindness to the dangers in pursuit of her obsession with her discovery despite warnings from various sources meant I lost sympathy. I also got tired of the massive chips she carried on both shoulders about the way she was treated, by Kazimierz’s parents, then by the friend she betrays, and then by the press. I didn’t need her to be all sweetness and light but she behaves as if she’s the only one to experience devastating losses.

At the time of writing this has mostly 4 and 5 star reviews, so I’m clearly an outlier and if the synopsis appeals then I would definitely still try it - it’s well written (apart from the tense issues). I did learn something about the history of Poland and a little about the discovery of Radium, but it took me a long time to finish because I was so bored so it might depend what kind of books you prefer. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Half Life is published today.

My rating:

Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Writing: 5 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Historical Fiction

Review:

This is a unique story written over a dual time line, the first time line tells the story of how Marya Zorawska’s became Marie Curie. The second time line is an alternate outcome. It tells the story of what might have happened if Marya Zorawska had stayed in Poland to marry her fiancée Kazimierz Zorawski, thus giving up science and education for love. And how this would have changed the scientific landscape. The historical insight into the life of Marie Curie was fascinating and made the story one of its kind.

Overall:
This is a well written book with complex and interesting characters. It raises questions such us; how do our choices affect the lives we live and how the course of history can potentially be altered with one different decision we make. The book is captivating and stays with you for a while after you finish.

Review copy provided by NetGalley at no cost to me

This is an interesting and thought provoking story, that makes you think what if.
It tells a tale of two different lives of Marie Curie. The one where history tells us she moved to Paris and studied at the Sorbonne, married another scientist and together they discovered radium leading to a noble prize.
Or a life the author imagined she lived if instead of moving to Paris she stayed in Poland and married a local boy.

This book is told from Marie’s point of view and the two lives alternate chapter by chapter.
It is quite sad to read how education for women in some parts of the world at that time was restricted.
How hard it was for Marie to find that work life balance. How sexist the scientific community was towards Marie even after she won the Noble prize.
It is also very sad to here of their experiments with radium and how it effected their health.

This was an excellent book and was written beautifully.

Absolutely Brilliant

Now normally I would not have picked this book up if I had come across it, it’s not my normal genre. Thanks to Simon and Schuster publications for an auto approval to read this eARC story on Netgalley.
I am so glad I got the opportunity to read this amazing story of Marie Curie ( the first woman to receive a Noble Prize), Marie accomplishes so much in her working life as a scientist and is destined to discover one of our most useful treatments for a deadly disease. ( I had to google Marie Curie, wow).
This is a remarkably written story of Marie’s factual life, and one of Marya’s (the name she was born with) fictional one. One decision could change the course of history, and we see how.
When I started reading, and we were reading the beginning of Marya’s story, I thought wouldn’t it be better to know how Marie’s story already went? I was wrong to think that, as the Author has written both story’s side by side in the same time era, and there was no better way to write it, or read it in any other form than the way the Author wrote this, seriously at one stage I thought they were going to run into each other.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Superbly written and well worth reading.
Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Publishers Simon and Schuster for this advanced electronic copy to review and comment on.

1934 Marie is an old woman with failing eyesight and physicality, now bedridden, with her daughters, Ìrene and Ève her carers. With nothing much else to do she reminisces and daydreams.

Within only a few pages the reader will know who this remarkable woman is that forms the main character of this book. The author however, to give a special twist has created a "sliding doors" or alter ego effect for which gives an alternate story to the actual life led, that runs in parallel, a story of a choice that many women make, love over a career. The actual historical woman did the opposite, she chose learning, discovery and a career over love, that did happen and with her husband, together they made remarkable discoveries with Marie becoming one of the most famous women in history.

A visitor from her youth arrives and with this the story goes back to 1891, Marya Żórawska (Skłodowska), a young woman.

Poland, a country until relatively modern times, has had a pretty checkered past and has been ruled by many different countries and it is at this time that Warsaw is under Russian rule. Marya's parents have been well off but due to their political dissent their fortunes are now limited. Her father teaches mathematics and physics for which Marya follows in his footsteps. Sadly, at only a young age Marya's mother dies leaving her father with five children to raise. Władysław Żórawska (Skłodowska) for his era and probably due to the fact that he was well educated encouraged his children to pursue higher learning. However, under Russian rule a university education for women was against the law, fiercely enforced. Not to be outdone, women formed what was called a "flying university" for which small classes were held by like minded young women in secret and at different locations for each class.

In order to help support the family and to save money to go to Paris where she can attend university Marya becomes a governess to a wealthy family, the Żorawskis. She falls in love with their son Kazimierz but with strong objections from his parents and the threat of being disinherited, he calls off his relationship with Marya. Broken hearted and with lingering depression, her father drags her out of bed and informs her that he is sending her to Paris to start university.

Standing on the train making her farewells Kazimierz rushes through the crowd and tells Marya of his regret and change of mind and pleads with her to stay with him and not go to Paris.

From here on the two stories are told, Marya who goes to Paris where she becomes known as Marie and Marya, who gets off the train to be with Kazimierz.

The two stories are equally beautiful and as comprehensive as each other.

Marya and Kazimierz marry, he is disinherited and life is a struggle for them. Their first child dies but later a daughter is born for which Marya devotes her life to. Along with like minded young women, they form the "flying university" where Marya makes life long friends, one, a talented pianist, Kadi being held back by her father. She will betray Marya by having an affair with Kaz but she will also take her artistic daughter under her wing to further her music career. Marya and Kaz get through their struggles with Kaz taking up a good position through Kadi's influence with her father, a prominent mathematician who gives Kaz a job as his assistant eventually taking over Hipolit's research on his death and Marya able to pursue a scientific career be it different to the alternate Marie in France.

The alternate Marya called by the French name of Marie stays on the train for Paris and while living with her sister is introduced to many people, one of whom is Pierre Curie. They make a formidable couple. The rest is history. Marie Curie becomes one of the most prominent scientists in the world. The only woman to receive two Nobel Prizes for two different scientific categories. The Nobel Prize also goes to Pierre. Marie also plays a vital role in developing the first ever mobile X-ray machine that assisted doctors during WW1 in determining damage and injury done to soldiers.

The author creates the story around Marie Curie giving a loving human side to this woman who, like many with such a high intellect, probably thought on an alternate level and totally absorbed with her work, not necessarily very maternal. Pierre was the love of Marie's life and when he was killed through an horrific accident, it took a long time for her to once again pull herself out of depression. She also travelled to the United States where she was received as a celebrity and where the money was raised for her to buy Radium.

Marie and Pierre had two daughters, the eldest following in their footsteps as a scientist and was her mother's assistant after the death of their father. Her daughter Ève was not interested in science and became a concert pianist amongst her other very colourful careers and who went to live in the United States.

Half Life by Jillian Cantor is a fascinating and educational read. I very much enjoyed this book of half fiction half fact. It is a 'sliding doors' story of how Marie Curie's life may have gone, had she not boarded that train to Paris to study chemistry, and stayed for love. It was so perfectly written, with alternating chapters intertwining, and telling us both tales, the one that did happen and the one that could have happened. I give this book all the stars and I recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction/history, and if you just really love a great story!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy of Half Life to review.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT
This book is written and executed to perfection.
Life holds a lot of 'what ifs' and this book tells two completely different versions of Marie Curie's life, the life we know and an alternate version giving her a 'sliding doors' moment.
Highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction, romance and biographies

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with this copy to review.

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, and I was fascinated and intrigued when I was given the chance to read a fictionalized account of Marie Curie's life. This is one of the most unique books I've ever read, told in a "sliding doors" format alternating her real life with a "what if" version of what could have happened if she'd chosen a different path.

Overall, Half Life is very thought-provoking and cleverly written story.

What would have happened if Marya Sklodowska (Maria Curie) had not travelled to Paris in 1891 but remained in Poland? This is the question in Jillian Cantor’s ‘Half Life’.

What could easily become a mess as you cross between two different stories with the same central character is deftly handled by Cantor. By giving Curie a sliding doors moment in time allows Cantor to explore the woman and the scientist in this fictionalised account of her life. Curie in both her guises is well realised on the page and has slightly different characteristics. That makes the switch easier and engaging.

As the woman who remains in Poland and marries mathematician, Kazimierz Zorawski, Marie is still there but as Marya her ability to learn and follow her scientific pursuits is severely curtailed. You can feel her frustration ooze off the page that she knows as a woman she is there to support her husband achieve his goals. Her husband is not overly keen on Marya continuing her education and shows quite disdain when she starts a secret University for women to continue their studies.

As Marie you see the scientist but also the woman is reviled in greater detail. The focus on proving herself in a world of men is front and centre but again Cantor allows us to see a woman trying to juggle love, family and career.

I was not sure how this would given the complexities in telling two different stories but in the same time period but to Cantor's credit it does. I was never lost or confused about which historical Marya/Marie I was reading about and I found both women to be highly engaging. It is a unique twist to take a well known historical character and ask the question 'what if' they never caught the train. The question for the reader is which version of Marya/Marie's life do you prefer?

This was a surprisingly good book. Surprising because I expected a love versus career type of scenario but that’s not at all what this turned out to be. In this sliding doors like story about Marie Curie, Jillian Cantor shows that who we are, deep down inside, will always rise to the fore no matter the path we choose.

“My whole life I’ve been told no simply because I’m a woman.”

This was an empowering novel, one that emphasised the importance of education for women (it’s set in the late 19th century early 20th century). I really enjoyed it and while science often confounds me and I rarely understood the research any of the characters were working on, I still appreciated the importance of these breakthroughs. I’m in awe of people whose brains work this way (thinking on the real Marie Curie and associated people here) and the author did a magnificent job of conveying this scientific aspect of the story and giving weight to its importance.

“Grief is heavy and overbearing; it tugs me down. It fills my coat pockets with rocks and drags me to the bottom of the cold dark sea, holding me under so I can barely breathe. Days pass, seasons come and go. Time moves forward, but I feel heavier and heavier.”

Grief is a recurring theme throughout this novel. There was an immense amount of loss within Marie Curie’s immediate and extended family. I liked how the author didn’t make one pathway less grief stricken than the other. Structurally, this novel was crafted extremely well. The story was balanced in both pathways and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction as a reader at the novel’s conclusion. Fans of fictional biographies would really enjoy this one that offers a twist on the genre.

I will first begin by saying that this book was absolutely wonderful and it blew me away!

Marie Curie, a truly brilliant scientist, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes (Physics and Chemistry), was born in Poland in 1867. Half Life is the story of Marie Curie’s life beginning in 1891, had she chosen to marry the man she loved instead of moving to Paris to attend University. The story shifts between the life of Marie which is based on factual information* and the fictional character Marya. This story is written in the first person and alternates between the point of view of Marie and Marya at a similar point-in-time.

Jillian Cantor did an amazing job at writing the lives of both Marie and Marya in parallel as they began as the same person and then developed into very different individuals with completely different lives. The development of unique characters depending on the timeline was also seen for all other characters and I commend the author on just how well this was done. Their arcs felt extremely real and true and I felt as a reader that I got to know all the characters in the different timelines as fully-developed, separate people. I also found the romance between Piere and Marie to be superbly written.

This was a very emotional read for me, the trauma experienced by both Marie and Marya throughout the story felt very shocking and real and I was unaware of the number of traumatic events that occurred throughout Marie Curie’s life; I cannot begin to imagine the pain she must have felt. I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary throughout this narrative about the choices that a person makes having a profound impact on the direction of their life, however, in the fictional timeline, I especially appreciated how despite Marya not having studied at University in Paris, she still had the same curiosity and desire to learn as Marie.

I imagine it must have been daunting to write about one of the most well-known and renowned scientists in history, but I felt like the author did a fantastic job. As a scientist, I think that Jillian Cantor perfectly portrayed the obsession and all-consuming passion for science that many scientists feel for their work and the sheer dedication that is required to understand the fundamental workings of our world. The writing in this book is beautiful and descriptive but not flowery and the pacing of the story was perfect. I would recommend this book to anyone. It was truly brilliant!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with an ARC copy of Half Life in exchange for an honest review.

*The author does mention at the end of the book some areas of Marie Curie’s life that were altered in the story for narrative purposes.

Such a romantic yet historical read about Marie Curie. Add in a parallel life about what could have been if only she hadn't stepped onto the train, and such a different life it could have been. I love how the characters intertwine between the two lives and it made for a great read.

‘What if…’

Maria Skłodowska had married Kazimierz Zorawski and never left Poland? As Marie Curie (7 November 1867 to 4 July 1934) she was a hero of mine: a scientist, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice. I cannot imagine her life lived in any other way.

But Ms Cantor could. In this novel, Ms Cantor explores Marie Curie’s real life and imagines an alternative life which involves many of the same characters. The novel opens and closes with Marie on her deathbed, examining the choices she had made:

‘In the end, my world is dark. My bones are tired, my marrow failing. I have given my whole life to my work, but now, science brings me no comfort.’

This is ‘my’ Marie Curie: the scientist I admire. But there is always more to a life. I learned that in 1891 she had been engaged to Kazimierz Zorawski. Apparently, he broke off the engagement when his mother insisted that Maria Skłodowska was not good enough for him. Oh, the irony! What, I wonder, would Maria Zorawska have achieved?

The story shifts between the real Marie Curie and the fictional Marya Zorawska. I really enjoyed Marie Curie’s story but was less caught up in Marya Zorawska’s imagined life. I appreciated that Ms Cantor was showing some of the challenges posed within Poland (then under Russian control) for women. Educational opportunities for women were restricted, and Marya Zorawska was every bit as intelligent and driven as Marie Curie. I quite liked the alternate life imagined but I could not successfully envisage the same characters playing different roles in the different stories.

I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in Marie Curie as well as to anyone with an interest in the status of women in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

‘There was a choice. There was always a choice. Had I made the wrong one?’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith