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”[Radioactive] is a deeply unusual and forceful thing to have in your hands. Ms. Redniss’s text is long, literate and supple. The electricity…derives from the friction between Ms. Redniss’s text and her ambitious and spooky art. Her text runs across and over these freewheeling pages, the boundaries between word and image constantly blurring. Her drawings are both vivid and ethereal. Her people have elongated faces and pale forms; they’re etiolated Modiglianis. They populate a Paris that’s become a dream city…Radioactive is serious science and brisk storytelling. The word ‘luminous’ is a critic’s cliché, to be avoided at all costs, but it fits Ms. Redniss’s book pretty snugly.”
New York Times Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2011
“An unlikely tale of love, discovery and loss…. It is difficult to compare Radioactive to other works from any written or visual tradition, except perhaps another book of Redniss’s own.”
Malcolm Gladwell on the New Yorker.com
“Original and brilliant.”
Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) in the NY Post
“Brilliant and gorgeous…one of the most beautiful books-as-object that I’ve ever seen.”
“With my first glance at Radioactive — the physical book — I was enchanted. Its textured cover, luminescent colors and oversize dimensions generated a feeling that I hadn’t felt since I was a child: that anticipatory thrill as you prepare to turn the pages of a new book and savor each picture and its accompanying text. Writer and artist Lauren Redniss has created a unique work difficult to categorize. A blend of original art, photographs, graphics and text, Radioactive — the first visual book to be named a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction — is meant to be both read and experienced…. My wonder never ceased as I turned these pages.”
“Fascinating, heartbreaking and indisputably original… stunningly beautiful…There’s never been a book quite like this before.”
All Things Considered (NPR) audio and slideshow
The Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC) audio
Science Friday (NPR)
“Redniss unfolds plot and content with skill and kindness. She introduces suspense and selects affectionate, unforgettable details. The concepts of radioactivity, half-life and nuclear fission are delivered with poetic ease, and used as metaphors to parallel steps in the protagonists’ lives. The result is linguistically rich and visually captivating…. Radioactive is romance, history, art and poetry woven together into a unique style of biography. Redniss introduces us to the intense and sometimes frail lives of brilliant devoted scientists, displaying her enchantment with the lyrical aspects of science.”
“Redniss…injects the often-told story of the Curies with a vibrant new energy….One does not read the book, one enters into it—an experience somewhere between walking into a cutting-edge museum exhibition and seeing into the mind of an artist’s imaginings.”
“The story of Marie and Pierre Curie…finds new life in the hands of writer and artist Lauren Redniss, who weaves together deft narrative and vivid illustrations to create a thoroughly modern account of the scientific and romantic passions of the Curies, as well as the repercussions of their discoveries.”
“Utterly original.”
“A book truly that is out of the ordinary, and it is well worth reading and contemplating.”
“Sumptuously illustrated visual biography…Radioactive is a look at science’s greatest partnership…. Even the cover glows in the dark.”
“Stunningly beautiful in both concept and execution, Radioactive is a rare cross-pollination of art and science, the kind of storytelling that makes us care about stories.”
“No praise is too glowing for Redniss’ brilliant ‘Radioactive’ bio of the Curies.”
“Gorgeous.”
Slate’s Culture Gabfest (audio)
“[Redniss] continues to defy the usual categories.”
“Lauren Redniss has revived [Marie and Pierre Curie’s story] with astounding creativity and beauty….a tender and haunting tribute to the scientists who fell in love while conducting research that led to their discovery of radium and polonium.”
New York Magazine Approval Matrix
“Brilliant/Highbrow”
“In this poignant tale of discovery and passion, Lauren Redniss… examines the greater question of nuclear proliferation.”
“Art and story become one. The reader leaves with a sense of wonder about the work of a singular woman and her exhilarating era.”
“Amazing multilayered look at the Curies and the world their research has helped to create.”
“Excellent…Exciting.”
San Francisco Chronicle Top 10 Books of 2011
Physics World Top 10 Books of 2011
The Progressive 5 Favorite Books of 2011
“Lauren Redniss’s brilliant biography-in-collage is an astounding portrait of Marie and Pierre Curie…as visually stunning as it is factually rich.… Through her moody, evocative collages, [Redniss] captures the drama of the Curies’ lives and their contributions to science and medicine, sending the reader on a one-of-a-kind historical and biographical journey that any curious mind will appreciate.”