false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171427521m/98781.jpg 98781 6 Dr. Benedict Lambert, the hero of <i>Mendel's Dwarf</i>, is very much a leg man, not that he has much choice in the matter. For the celebrated geneticist is a dwarf, a man resigned to being stared at for a little too long from some way up, and inured to bromides about inner beauty and outward bravery. As far as he's concerned, bravery requires choice--something he never had, since his father's sperm lacked "the command for height, for normality, for happiness and contentment." The beautiful swimmer did, however, pass on the genes for irony, sharp observation, and love, all of which Ben has in abundance in Simon Mawer's superb novel of academic twists and emotional turns. <p> A distant relative of the first geneticist, pea-pollinating Gregor Mendel, Ben has long used libraries as a refuge, and education as a way out (if not up). Still in his 20s, he's determined to identify the gene that made him "one of nature's practical jokes." Offered a post at the Royal Institute for Genetics, he immediately puts achondroplasia on the table. The director may well consider research into dwarfdom commercially unviable, but Ben knows better. His height will finally be of help: "There are lots of organizations interested," he insists. "The Little People of America, groups like that. When they see me coming they reach for their covenant forms." <p> Mawer interleaves Ben's research with the story of his affair (a "menage à une et demi") with the Institute's ill-fated assistant librarian, Jeane Piercey: "Mousy, of course. I feel that all librarians ought to be mousy. It should be a necessary (but not sufficient) qualification for the job. Mousy? Agouti? What, I wonder, is its genetic control? Perhaps it is tightly linked to the gene for tidiness." Mawer also juxtaposes Ben's passion with that of his legume-obsessed ancestor. Mendel, it turns out, pined for Frau Rotway, a married woman in the inevitable company of her own achondroplastic, a dachshund. <p> <i>Mendel's Dwarf</i> wears its considerable learning lightly--the author is a biologist--and readers will be alternately moved, charmed, and shocked by Ben's "astringent kiss of irony." Because the hero makes several difficult choices in the course of this fine novel, we admire his bravery, along with his resilience, at every turn. For Ben, the smallest gesture can become the largest (nods being "big absurd things, my head being about the same size as my body. You can't miss them. They are the gestural equivalent of screaming"). And alas, such acts are often poignantly beyond Ben's grasp: "I wanted to put my arm around her, of course, to bring her that fragile thing that we call comfort. But of course I couldn't reach." 95226 1998 Mendel's Dwarf total:97|5:12|4:36|3:36|2:8|1:5| 97 333 143 15 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:50:56 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 17:14:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 05:49:56 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 05:50:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Aug 07 13:51:12 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 13:52:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Tue Mar 10 13:58:58 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 14:19:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Tue Sep 08 00:35:37 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 00:35:37 -0700 2009 The main character is not very likeable, which may be problematic for some, but Mendel's bio is engagingly written. OK, so the poignant story of Mendel's pioneering paper found with uncut (i.e. unread) pages on Darwin'...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 25 14:57:07 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 14:58:10 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 17 11:15:45 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 15:05:55 -0700 2007
The story is about a great-grandnephew of Mendel's who also turns out to be a dwarf and also is a geneticist. He falls in love. Sounds pretty interesting, no? Well t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 19:05:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 19:05:00 -0800 2009 Sad ending]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Jul 26 12:02:58 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 21:33:36 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Aug 21 07:18:33 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 07:23:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 12 13:23:44 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 12 13:28:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 28 07:17:37 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 28 07:20:18 -0700 2007 1 0 true false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 19:00:51 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 19:01:35 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sat Nov 15 12:58:56 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 12:59:05 -0800 2008 ]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 17:57:06 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 19 09:57:19 -0800 2008 ]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 24 10:12:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 10:12:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 06 12:28:32 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 21:29:37 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 05 13:54:48 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 13:54:48 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 24 16:44:43 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 16:44:43 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 25 05:55:48 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 20:00:37 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 05:55:48 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=98781