I discovered this novel after discovering Violette Leduc. I adore this book for its fleshing out of Leduc's life. It gives a lush and warm sense of her life and her version of madness, as well as the narrator's investigation into her own Jewish heritage. In some places, Zackheim's writing mirrored Leduc's. There's so little written about Leduc, which is such a tragedy.

Albert and Mileva Einstein had premarital sex and as a result, Mileva got pregnant. She had a girl, born in 1902. This was considered a big disgrace in those days in her country, and little is known about the child and her fate. The author sets to find out what happened to Lieserl. This book is easy to read, in general, although the abundant number of people interviewed makes it a bit confusing at times. Fortunately, the author did not forget to include a genealogical tree in the first few pages, to which i referred constantly.

Just a few points:

· The author stretches facts quite a bit. For example, on page 175, Einstein is supposed to have written to his ex-wife: "But the heredity of our own children is not without blemish", and the author affirms that Einstein "was ostensibly including Lieserl". Really? People speak like this all the time and are not necessarily referring to a love child. The front cover photo is another example. Zackheim says, "This may be the only existing image of Lieserl", and the blur she is referring to can also pass as a goat, a fence post or a dahlia. There are many other examples of these might-or-might-not situations, and the problem is that the author draws too many conclusions from them.

· While i was reading this book I could not help but think that her research did not differ all that much from what journalists do when writing an exposé on a modern day celebrity. They usually do not have to travel to Central Europe to do so, and do not get financial support from the NEA, but in substance they do the same job. Zackheim speculates whether Einstein and Mileva had sex after their divorce, whether Einstein's syphilis is what caused his children's ailments and all this speculation becomes slightly sordid after a while.

· When Woody Allen became tabloid fodder a few years ago, i was very disappointed. I like what he creates but do not like him as a person. Same thing with Einstein after reading this book. He was a genius who revolutionized the way we do science today, but as a human being he was a self-centered, tyrannical, arrogant, miserly,...(and you can add your own list of pejorative adjectives here). If only half of what Zackheim says is true, he was truly evil, especially to his children.

· Zackheim spent a lot of time in Serbia, and her accounts about the war and the difficulties she observed are some of the best writing in the book. However, she writes about Serbs as an American (and who can blame her? that's what she is). There is a slight condescending tone whenever she refers to Serbian culture, especially more blatant when talking about any of the male relatives of Mileva (alive and interviewed by her, or long dead).

In summary, this is a passable book about an unsolved mystery. It is entertaining, fast, provides some good information on life in Central Europe from the late 1800's to present, but when you get to the back cover it leaves you dissatisfied. Ultimately, it did not deliver.

This book was a fascinating read .... Other problems: The book bogged down in names and is hindered by a lack of an index. So when my head was swimming with names, I couldn't check the book's first mention of that person to be reminded who it was. Zackheim was repeatedly careless with pronouns, so a "she" or "her" in a sentence could refer to more than one woman.

Zackheim speculated too much, such as who knew whom, and what motivated people. She speculated on small things, such as whether Einstein and his ex-wife resumed sexual relations. She speculated on big things - such as what happened to Lieserl.

I was originally engrossed in the book. I dreamed about it one night, and the next day, I had to read the last 100 pages to find out what happened to Lieserl. Zackheim doesn't know. I felt let down.

Well-researched, well put together. Easy, pleasant reading. Nothing stunning or dramatic. On the plus side: Voyeuristic insights give reader access to the mysterious lives of Mileva and Albert. Letters and interviews bring them to life. Engaging description of the author's tracks in the mystical Voijvodina, Yugoslavia. On the minus side, two observations: (1) Regarding Lieserl, there are no new conclusions. The infant dies of scarlet fever, removing the shame and burden of an illegitimate child from Mileva, Albert, and their families. (2) Regarding Albert, the revelations about his coldness are not new. He is a man of another world, of unparalleled genius. Rating him by our human standards is impossible. Unfortunately for Mileva, she fell in love with him.