Rating: 
Summary: A book filled with sad but wonderful moments...brilliant!
Review: Having read all the reviews I don't feel there's much I can add in terms of the content but whatI can say is that it is a book that everyone MUST read! I HAD to read as part of a book club and was dreading it as it just didn't seem my kind of book, but I was hooked and thoroughly enjoyed the way the story interwove through the two lives and at the same time helping me to undestand a bit more about genes. Thank you Simon Mawer for giving me a new avenue of literature to explore.
Rating: 
Summary: An Invitingly Pedantic Tale of Feelings and Science
Review: I appreciated the style of this text. It flowed well and really maintained my interest. The juxtaposition between the scientists past and present was accomplished with great mastery. The love story component of the text was at times heart-wrenching and yet embarrassingly honest. It had been so long since I have read a good novel, I was elated to read such a well-written and well-concieved novel.
Rating:
Summary: An Invitingly Pedantic Tale of Feelings and Science
Review: I appreciated the style of this text. It flowed well and really maintained my interest. The juxtaposition between the scientists past and present was accomplished with great mastery. The love story component of the text was at times heart-wrenching and yet embarrassingly honest. It had been so long since I have read a good novel, I was elated to read such a well-written and well-concieved novel.
Rating:
Summary: DISTURBING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING
Review: I found Simon Mawer's novel of a modern geneticist afflicted with achondroplasia -- dwarfism -- to be a well-written, compelling read. The book is filled with information on the theories of genetics that were pioneered by Georg Mendel 150 years ago -- a man whose genius was unrecognized in his own day. The scientific content is very relevant to the story told, and, to Mawer's credit, does not present an obstacle to the enjoyment of this novel -- on the contrary, it allows the reader a glimpse deep into the character of Ben Lambert, a man with an understandably intent mission: the isolation and identification of the gene responsible for his own mutation.Lambert is an intelligent, acerbic, somewhat bitter character -- he has learned through his life to endure the polite and not-so-polite stares, the prejudices, the patronizing smiles of so-called 'normal' people. He has even learned to use his all-too-obvious condition in his studies and lectures -- making self-effacing jokes to lull his audience into a sense of relaxed cameraderie and submission, only to turn around and make a stabbing point with the determination and aim of Captain Ahab going after Moby Dick. There is a love story here as well, in Lambert's relationship with Jean Piercey Miller. It is told very movingly -- it allows us to see fondness and emotion flourish in the heart of one who has been hardened by the treatment he has received at the hands of the world. There is also a purely erotic side, darker. It is tinged with a definite sadness, for we can see other, less healthy emotional undercurrents in both characters as well -- there is joy and sorrow in the cup from which they drink. The book is written to include a series of flashnacks, allowing us a glimpse into the life of Georg Mendel, the Austrian friar who is also by chance (or by fate?) a distant relative of Dr. Lambert -- his great great great uncle. The difficulties encountered by Mendel in his day in gaining deserved attention for his pioneering work present an apt parallel to Lambert's modern-day struggles. Near the book's climax, Lambert delivers a lecture on eugenics that is worth reading over several times -- given the current level of progress in the Human Genome Project, he presents some thoughts that we would do well to consider. The novel presents an intelligently conceived, relevant story in an entertaining, engrossing way -- the book picks up its pace distinctly as it moves along, and the characters are well-drawn and compelling, making it difficult to put down.
Rating:
Summary: DISTURBING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING
Review: I found Simon Mawer's novel of a modern geneticist afflicted with achondroplasia -- dwarfism -- to be a well-written, compelling read. The book is filled with information on the theories of genetics that were pioneered by Georg Mendel 150 years ago -- a man whose genius was unrecognized in his own day. The scientific content is very relevant to the story told, and, to Mawer's credit, does not present an obstacle to the enjoyment of this novel -- on the contrary, it allows the reader a glimpse deep into the character of Ben Lambert, a man with an understandably intent mission: the isolation and identification of the gene responsible for his own mutation. Lambert is an intelligent, acerbic, somewhat bitter character -- he has learned through his life to endure the polite and not-so-polite stares, the prejudices, the patronizing smiles of so-called 'normal' people. He has even learned to use his all-too-obvious condition in his studies and lectures -- making self-effacing jokes to lull his audience into a sense of relaxed cameraderie and submission, only to turn around and make a stabbing point with the determination and aim of Captain Ahab going after Moby Dick. There is a love story here as well, in Lambert's relationship with Jean Piercey Miller. It is told very movingly -- it allows us to see fondness and emotion flourish in the heart of one who has been hardened by the treatment he has received at the hands of the world. There is also a purely erotic side, darker. It is tinged with a definite sadness, for we can see other, less healthy emotional undercurrents in both characters as well -- there is joy and sorrow in the cup from which they drink. The book is written to include a series of flashnacks, allowing us a glimpse into the life of Georg Mendel, the Austrian friar who is also by chance (or by fate?) a distant relative of Dr. Lambert -- his great great great uncle. The difficulties encountered by Mendel in his day in gaining deserved attention for his pioneering work present an apt parallel to Lambert's modern-day struggles. Near the book's climax, Lambert delivers a lecture on eugenics that is worth reading over several times -- given the current level of progress in the Human Genome Project, he presents some thoughts that we would do well to consider. The novel presents an intelligently conceived, relevant story in an entertaining, engrossing way -- the book picks up its pace distinctly as it moves along, and the characters are well-drawn and compelling, making it difficult to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I had trouble finishing this book and thought the all the pages and pages of molecular biology was contrived and boring. Some would have been fine. I also had trouble believing in or caring about Benedict Lambert. I was sorry that I believed the hype about this book that it showed that "life is what you make out of it, not what you are born with," because I expected the character to be uplifting in some way. The ending made me think of the trick endings in the sci fi books I enjoyed as a kid, but no longer find satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Very witty.....a good read
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I found Ben to be very funny, and the historical lookback at Mendel himself was interesting and truthful. I thought it was very clever with all of the genetical references (I myself am dominant eyes, hair, and recessive hand (leftie)) I thought the writing itself was philosophical and fresh. A good read Melody
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed the book, but I'm weird like that.
Review: I really got a kick out of reading this book, but I can't recommend it to anyone who isn't already very interested in genetics and dorky geek characters. Ben Lambert is a jerk and a letch and hung-up on self-pity and arrogance, but I loved him anyway. Gregor Mendel's story is amazing and well told, but hey the guy mostly just sits around counting peas. Not exactly a thriller, here, folks. Plot summary: ugly horny smart (and short, very short) megolomaniac studies history and contemplates his semen for several hundred pages. Gotta love it, right?
Rating:
Summary: Unique and dramatically satisfying
Review: I think the novel is unique in the way it presents ongoing scientific research and controversy in the context of well-wrought fiction. The "Double Helix" by Crick and Watson gave the reader a dramatic context for the discovery of DNA, but there was no attempt to create a fictional world. Mawer makes the stakes real for us by creating a real character, the geneticist, Benedict Lambert. Genetic research becomes dramatic, exhilarating and tragic in the fictional context of Ben's ethical dilemma. The geneticist's ability to select which sperm to use raises the ethical issues behind genetic research. Whenever these issues arise in public debate, there is always that latent fear that man will be punished if he attempts to "play god," that we haven't the right to attempt to control our fate with knowledge. The fear is as old as Prometheus. Mawer demonstrates that the fear is based on an illusory power. We never need to worry that our knowledge will overcome the chaos of creation. Our power is always subject to the infinite number of chances that determine the way things are. The ending perfectly coordinates the fictional drama with the real life issues raised by the discoveries Mawer has been revealing all along.
Rating:
Summary: Inescapable
Review: I was drawn in by the idea of a narrative told by a dwarf, and found the storyline compelling and irresistable. The brutal honesty and self-disclosure of the protagonist kept me riveted, though that seems to have put some readers off. Since I admittedly have only the basic layman's knowledge of genetics, the ethical issues raised by the story seemed very thoughtful to me. But don't get me wrong: the story itself is what stays primary, sticking with you between readings and drawing you back in for what happens next. I suspect much of the story will stay with me for a long time.
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