Drawn from the life of Nikola Tesla, one of the greatest inventors of
his time,
Lightning is a captivating tale of one man's curious fascination with
the marvels of science.
Hailed by the Washington Post as "the most distinctive voice of his
generation," Echenoz traces the notable career of Gregor, a precocious
young engineer from Eastern Europe, who travels across the Atlantic at
the age of twenty-eight to work alongside Thomas Edison, with whom he
later holds a long-lasting rivalry. After his discovery of alternating
current, Gregor quickly begins to astound the world with his other
brilliant inventions, including everything from radio, radar, and
wireless communication to cellular technology, remote control, and the
electron microscope.
Echenoz gradually reveals the eccentric inner world of a solitary man
who holds
a rare gift for imagining devices well before they come into existence.
Gregor is a recluse--an odd and enigmatic intellect who avoids women and
instead prefers spending hours a day courting pigeons in Central Park.
Winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Echenoz once again
demonstrates
his astonishing abilities as a prose stylist as he vividly captures the
life of an isolated genius. A beautifully crafted portrait of a man who
prefers the company of lightning in the Colorado desert to that of other
human beings, Lightning is a dazzling new work from one of the world's
leading contemporary authors.
