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Smithsonian Institution : A Novel by Gore Vidal (1999, Trade Paperback)
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ISBN: 0156006480. Author: Vidal, Gore. The Smithsonian Institution: A Novel. Condition: New. Qty Available: 1.
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarperCollins
ISBN-100156006480
ISBN-139780156006484
eBay Product ID (ePID)1069178
Product Key Features
Book TitleSmithsonian Institution : a Novel
Number of Pages272 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicScience Fiction / Military, Literary, Historical, Alternative History
Publication Year1999
GenreFiction
AuthorGore Vidal
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.7 in
Item Weight9 Oz
Item Length8 in
Item Width5.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN99-015151
ReviewsHaving astutely explored several historical periods in his fiction (Lincoln, etc.), Vidal has now produced an eccentric novel about a literal time machine and a boy who uses it to save the world (or one version of the world) from within the headquarters of Washington, D.C.'s public museum complex. On Good Friday, 1939, 13-year-old T. is summoned from his D.C. boarding school to the Mall for a mysterious meeting. It seems the outwardly average (if unusually attractive) young man has scribbled, in the margins of a math test, an equation that may be essential to the upcoming war effort. Cloistered with Oppenheimer, Einstein, Charles Lindbergh, the Founding Fathers and other historical personages who have been kept alive in the Smithsonian's magical exhibits, T. struggles to solve the mysteries of space-time, prevent the coming war (in which he is doomed to die) and hold on to cradle-robbing Frankie Cleveland, the immortal 22-year-old version of Grover's First Lady. Part Alice in Wonderland, part Twain's Mysterious Stranger, part fictionalized autobiography, this bagatelle reintroduces many of the characters and themes already treated in Vidal's historical novels and memoirs. T. bears at least enough resemblance to Vidal's well-publicized great love 'a St. Albans classmate who died at Iwo Jima' to explain the novelist's obvious affection for him. If the tale of T. remains a mostly private, somewhat rueful joke, it will no doubt charm Vidal's most devoted readers., YA-T. is 13 in 1939 and possesses, albeit unknowingly, the secret formula that will complement Einstein's theory and possibly alter the outcome of history as we know it. Because of his doodles on an algebra exam, the powers that beAand readers are never quite sure until the end who the powers areAarrange for him to be deposited at the doors of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Once inside, he is seduced in the Native American exhibit by a charming young thing he calls Squaw, but who turns out to be Frankie Cleveland, one of the womenAa very young oneAfrom the First Ladies exhibit. He soon realizes that the Institution contains many exhibits that come alive when the doors close, as well as laboratories for secret experiments. In his travels, he soon understands that he can visualize mathematical possibilities and respond to Einstein, Oppenheimer, and other scientists who are closed up in the museum along with a lobotomized Abraham Lincoln and even a statue representing T., killed in action during World War II. Obviously, much belief must be suspended and the time-travel episodes and glances at history both as it was and might have been are convoluted, but Vidal does know his American history. Through this disjointed, lightweight page-turner, readers pick up a historical awareness, especially of the presidents, almost painlessly. T.'s coming of age and subsequent romps with Frankie are risqu?, but all in fun and might be a further inducement to read on. An intriguing introduction to Vidal as well as enjoyable historical fiction. Susan H. Woodcock, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA, "Vidal is in fine form here. The Smithsonian Institution, perhaps because it frees him from having to write realistically, is a masterpiece of frenzied invention.-Chicago Tribune "Phantasmagoric."-The New York Times "A high-spirited tour of American history, romance and Washington politics interpreted by Vidal's unique brand of social commentary. The Smithsonian Institution wins the literary lion a small victory in his running battle with Washington's pomposity by proving that humor is mightier than the sword."-The Denver Post --, "Vidal is in fine form here. The Smithsonian Institution, perhaps because it frees him from having to write realistically, is a masterpiece of frenzied invention.-Chicago Tribune "Phantasmagoric."-The New York Times "A high-spirited tour of American history, romance and Washington politics interpreted by Vidal's unique brand of social commentary. The Smithsonian Institution wins the literary lion a small victory in his running battle with Washington's pomposity by proving that humor is mightier than the sword."-The Denver Post
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Edition21
Dewey Decimal813/.54
SynopsisIt's 1939, and a teenage math genius is mysteriously summoned to the Smithsonian Institution, where a crash program to develop the atomic bomb is being conducted in the basement. The boy turns out to hold the key to both the secrets of nuclear fission and breakthroughs in the time continuum. As he brainstorms with Robert Oppenheimer, he catches a glimpse of the coming war and becomes determined to ward off the cataclysm. In a race against time-and surrounded by figures from American history past and present, including Albert Einstein, Grover Cleveland, and Abraham Lincoln-he battles to save not just himself, but humanity. Gore Vidal has written some of the finest and most inventive novels in modern times. Readers of such bestsellers as Burr, Lincoln, Duluth, and 1876 will revel in this, his latest foray into the American scene. A brilliant and vividly imaginative tale about some of the key events of the twentieth century, The Smithsonian Institution is a dramatic masterwork of comedy and allusion.
LC Classification NumberPS3543.I26S65 1999
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