Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Jun 8, 2020
One of my favorite things about audiobooks is that they feel like a radio play to me. I loved those growing up. But it’s such a treat when the book is an actual play. With actors and sound effects. It was very much not what I was expected from this Audible Original, particularly after my recent listen to A Mind of Her Own, another Marie Curie-centric Original.
In a mere hour and a half, The Half-Life of Marie Curie focuses on so many things. Love. Regret. Passion. Friendship. Fear. Depression. Desperation. Loss. War. Pride. So many things. Lauren Gunderson’s scriptwriting is so good – there are so many small, profound statements that lit my heart up.
I am very interested in Marie Curie – she was an incredible woman who contributed so much even though it was her contributions that killed her. I thought The Half-Life of Marie Curie addressed so many aspects of her as a scientists and balanced it really well with her as a person. It’s a play I think I would enjoy actually seeing, and it’s certainly woken me to Lauren Gunderson as a playwright. In looking into her, I found that she recreated Peter Pan for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in such a way that brings both Wendy and Tiger Lily powerfully and respectfully to the spotlight, and I am here for that.
If you like plays and are interested in historical figures or womens’ contributions, 110% I recommend this quick little play. I loved it.