Picture an introverted, Average Joe couple in 2003: reference librarian Ann and her gentle gardener husband Ben. Insert into their halcyon suburban existence (via time travel) three scientists pivotal in creating the A-bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945: elegant J. Robert Oppenheimer (“Oppie”) in his gentrified porkpie hat, wary Enrico Fermi who prefers solitary walks to companionship, and megalomaniac Leo Szilard, whose assimilation to 21st century living includes hip-hop slang and harnessing the multi-media machine to spread what he concludes is the purpose of their reincarnation, a massive peace movement.
Tackling such big-gun topics as nuclear (dis)armament and religious zealotry’s place within a secular society, Lydia Millet’s Oh Pure And Radiant Heart is not so much a mere read as an epic philosophical journey through the absurdities of modern life.
This novel is in turns comical and disturbing, as the demure couple encounter a suicide in the library, a journey to Japan, and being bankrolled by an eccentric marijuana-smoking heir as the peace movement expands to include fundamentalists with their own intention: to preach the end times through the conviction that Oppie is the second-coming of Christ.
All my life, I held up the ideal of learning, but I was wrong….It is not learning we need at all. Individuals need learning but the culture needs something else, the pulse of light on the sea, the warm urge of huddling together to keep out the cold. We need empathy, we need the eyes that still can weep.
So muses “Oppie.” Not the summation you would expect for a book whose protagonists are staunch academics. Then again, this is not your average work of fiction. Interspersed with anecdotal asides and facts pertaining to the policies and practices of the US government, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart challenges the (mis)perceptions of its readers. While the anecdotes can come across as overly opinionated, the overall narrative is highly effective, whichever way the reader leans on the issue of nuclear weaponry.
I had every intention of disliking this book. Like many readers, my idea of a scintillating read does not extend into the realms of militaristic political analysis. Yet, what saves the reader from becoming bogged down in the complex themes is Millet’s poetic prose style, which forges identification with the protagonists’ indecision and yearning, despite the fantastical circumstances:
Arrangement in a confined space, say a garden bordered by road, brought with it a sad thrill, because as soon as he saw the beginning of the perfect he always also sees the end. The perfect was not even perfect at all, but invaded by its opposite.
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart raises crucial issues: who is responsible for the past, and furthermore who is responsible for future decisions of government? Is a group mentality more helpful or harmful for causes? Does intellectualism or faith impact society’s development more? Despite these weighty inquiries, the reader doesn’t feel overly-burdened by the questions raised because the book is so well-written that even the wildly implausible (think: three reincarnated scientists on a peace mission) seems relevant. This is not a book to take to the beach, but avid readers seeking an innovative and unpredictable story will not be disappointed.
- Melanie Faith