Not good. Basically, the author robbed Tesla of his name and painted him with sort of a malice. The guy was a crazy good scientist, and if he had issues with other things, then, well it's nothing to gloat at.

Let me put it simply: if someone is a good manager, no one will berate them for not being genius mathematician, great poet, polyglot or stellar scientist. But if a scientist demonstrates even some issues (, not succeding in become the next great mogul or just not being lucky enough), they immediately are painted as some kind of losers. I say: we all have our strenghths and weaknesses. Be it so and good luck to everyone in their field!

And Tesla... he deservered a much better lot in life than he got. This book could have shown that in more depth than what we got.43 s George K.2,545 344

??????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???????, ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??????????? "14", "?????? ???????" ??? "?????? ???????????", ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????????. ??? ????, ????? ? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ??? ???????, ? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????????????? ??? ????????, ?? ?????? ?????????????, ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????, ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????. ?? ???????????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ?? ?? "?????? ???????" -??? ??????????????? ????????? ??? ???? ???????-, ???? ??? ??? ? ?????????? ?????????? ?? ??? ???? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????????? ????????, ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????, ??? ??? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????????. ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ? ????? ?????????? ?? ???????????? ?? ???????? ??? ??????????? ??? ????????? ??????? ?????, ?? ???? ?????????? ?? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??????????, ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????????? ???. ? ????? ??? ??????????? ???? ????????, ?? ???????????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????, ???? ??? ?????????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??? ????????? ????????, ?? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????. ?? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????, ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???????????? ?????????, ???? ???? ??? ????????? ???????. ??????, ???? ?????? ?????????? ????? ? ?????.21st-century15 s Hakan713 562

Echenoz okumak büyük bir keyif. Üç k?sa biyografik roman?ndan besteci Ravel ve atlet Zapotek hakk?ndakileri daha önce okumu?tum. Bu da ünlü mucit Nikola Tesla'n?n s?rad??? ama hüzünlü hayat hikayesi. Echenoz'nun rahat, ak?c? ve de nüktedan üslubu, anlat?lan konunun ilginçli?inin ötesinde bir tad veriyor. Adeta kar??n?zda sizinle sohbet eden biri var hissi uyand?r?yor. Tesla'n?n yarat?c? oldu?u kadar saplant?l?, antisosyal, aseksüel, paraya önem vermeyen, dolay?s?yla icatlar?n? maddi kazanca dönü?türemeyen bir ki?i oldu?unu anl?yoruz. Ayr?ca, me?hur Edison'un ne kadar ac?mas?z, kötü bir karakter oldu?unu da ö?reniyoruz. Tabii bu bir roman, bunu da unutmuyoruz. Ama s?k? bir roman...13 s Jeanette3,546 691

This encapsulates Tesla within a short novella length of pages.

It's translated from French and the writing style, tensing and tone are peculiar. Maybe true to the form, motives, core of the man?

You know Tesla after reading this. His quirks unto a mental illness and his life's journey following his original and genus eyes, brain, cognition.

It's a sad read. Satire at points doesn't tend to enthrall me. And the humor is slanted in style to a place just next to sarcasm. Just not my cup of tea. So suffice it to record, he was often duped and more often he was a prisoner of his own cages, IMHO. The potential and ideas are legend.

I love history and biography but this one was under my normal enjoyment for such a read. OCD handicaps are often mighty.9 s Jonfaith1,950 1,578

Terse and yet as frenetic as the currents of Tesla's imagination with all the luminous contradictions.This is a stunning portrait of a harvester of nature, yet one shipwrecked on a human mound which was nearly incomprehensible. Tactile and oblivious--Tesla floundered and flourished in turns until fate shoved him aside and just before he initiated negotiations with the Martians.

This is a screaming quick novel, punctuated, oh-so-strangely by a reflection on the nature of pigeons.9 s ???????? ????????206 101

??? ????? :p

https://pepperlines.blogspot.com/2019...8 s Dina594 364

No me ha gustado en absoluto. Me esperaba una biografía novelada de Tesla y me he encontrado a una especie de Sheldon Cooper del que el autor se ríe constantemente hasta convertirlo en alguien ridículo. Una completa decepción...7 s Monica Carter75 11

It's also evident, by the way, that Gregor prefers to be alone and live alone in general, and to look at himself in mirrors rather than at other people, and to do without women even though they find him very attractive: he's quite handsome, quite tall, brilliant, has a way with words, he's not yet forty, and he's available. Even though he's certainly not indifferent, given that he's not any fonder of men, the the fact that women cluster discreetly around him, so far Gregor apparently prefers that they keep a certain distance. But this is in part due to various specific parts of his personality.

Lightning is the third in a trio of Jean Echenoz's fictionalized biographies - the two previous being Ravel and Running - and for the third, he chose to base it on the life of Nikola Tesla. In this book, Tesla is simply named Gregor and his life is told to us by an unnamed narrator, which feels akin to a literary voice over. Given the exciting life of the subject, Tesla, the discovery of the wonders of electricity, and the pacing and ease of Echenoz's wry style, it's a small wonder that this is a quick and fun read.

From the time he is born, Gregor is different. Brilliant, but not entirely likable. Even as a child, he is "stormy, contemptuous, touchy, abrupt." What saves him from life of loneliness and misery is his prodigious mind for here is a boy who learns to dismantle clocks and rebuild them blindfolded and masters at least half-dozen languages before he learns how to drive. After quickly obtaining his degree from a local university, he is soon on his way to America with a letter of introduction to Thomas Edison. This is where his real trouble begins.

His life in America brings him fame, wealth and betrayal. He works for Edison, but all the while he is dreaming of his large concept projects. He slaves away for Edison and creates a new and improved generator based on the idea of alternating currents. Edison shorts him the money he promised if Gregor succeeded in creating this generator. Gregor quits.

What follows is a life in which opportunities arise, Gregor takes advantage and Gregor triumphs. Then, Gregor is betrayed. After Edison, he is able to gather a group of investors to help support his inventions an arc light, but things go awry:

In the time it takes to invent an arc lamp immediately patented, offered to consumers, and quickly lucrative, time enough for his partners to see a nice little return on their investment and handsome profit, Gregor finds himself promptly fired from his own business, which his associates take over, happy to celebrate their success, leaving him cleaned out. That's how he winds up back in the street--a porter, an excavation laborer, an unskilled construction worker riddled with debts--for four years.

This pattern continues throughout his career with the stakes getting higher and the rewards getting larger. He winds up living at the Waldorf and mixing with the finest of society. He becomes a famous scientist who puts on shows for the general public. But he has no concept of money or the nefarious motivations of others. Finding no time or desire to be involved with a woman, the only woman he pines for is Mrs. Ethel Axelrod. The feeling is reciprocal but their love remains silent over the years. His passion for her doesn't not go unnoticed by the Axelrod's servant, Angus Napier, who also is in love with Ethel. Gregor is completely unaware of his nemesis who brings on Gregor's demise.

The is an odd twist in this story--Gregor loves pigeons. Despite his phobia of germs, he feeds them everyday. Near the end, when he is running out of money and considered a crackpot by everyone, he starts to take injured pigeons back to his room so he can nurse them. He actually falls in love with a pigeon. Upon studying one particular pigeon, he ponders her beauty and it's affect on him:

It's an attentive ravishment, a marveling; it's pleasing and rejuvenating, a steady, pure current that he has never experienced until now with anyone, and at the end of the day he finds himself wondering if it might not be an emotion he has only heard about and never paid attention to before, a feeling difficult to define, hard to put into words. A state--let's take the plunge: let's call it love.

Linda Coverdale's translation reads fluidly and honestly. Her translation combined with Echenoz's conversational prose and pacing, you will want more. But that in itself is a slight problem. At times it feels so lighthearted, so fast-paced that there is a lack of depth. Not that depth is his goal, but perhaps some missed opportunities to divulge a bit more about what Gregor feels. He seems to dismiss the "dirty tricks" or betrayals without much of a thought. Having read Chopin's Move, I can't help but feel more sated because it did have more depth to it's characters. In a fictionalized bio, that should definitely be the case.

Ultimately, Lightning is a fantastic fictionalized bio that entertains with seeming ease. And any book that makes you want to read more is a book worth reading. june-20116 s Miray B Y36 1 follower

Nikola Tesla'n?n enteresan hayat? konu al?nm??. Çok tarz bir anlat?m ?ekli var, tabii çevirmeni de tebrik etmek laz?m. 6 s Kostas Kanellopoulos544 29

Poor Nicola Tesla even after death still defamed by that imbecile Musk5 s Emre290 39

3.55 s TBV (on hiatus)308 73 Read

In a scant 143 pages Jean Echenoz captures and conveys the essence of a genius (as perceived by mere mortals) in this larger than life portrayal of a larger than life man. Serbian American Nikola Tesla appears in the guise of Gregor, which of course immediately reminded me of KafkaÂ’s Gregor Samsa*, and I couldnÂ’t help but visualise a large insect with a bowler hat beetling away at his inventions. But this is a very tall, very handsome Gregor who, washing his hand before, after and in-between, dresses in exquisite clothing (almost always with a bowler hat), lives at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, preens himself in whatever mirror is close by, knows without any doubt whatsoever that he is a superior being, causes the ladies' hearts to flutter (pointlessly, as Gregor is not actually interested in people), counts everything in sight (and is delighted when a result is divisible by 3) and thinks of future projects, imaging them in both 3-D and in the finest detail. A pity that he doesn't spend the time to bring all his brilliant ideas to full fruition (somehow Leonardo da Vinci comes to mind); a pity that he allows others to steal his ideas.

I loved the writing - the wit, the sarcasm and the satire. The tale is both humorous and sad.

As tempting as it is to flood this review with quotable quotes, I'll bravely resist and refrain as there are after all only 143 pages in this book.

*Metamorphosis by Franz Kafkaautobio-bio-memoirs fiction historical5 s Papatya ?ENOLAuthor 1 book60

Jean Echenoz gelmi?, kar??n?za oturmu?, tesla'y? anlat?yor: alternatif ak?m?n mucidi, radyo, radar, röntgen ve hatta internetin fikren sahibi. siz de sanki eliniz çenenizde dinliyorsunuz onu. yazar?n biyografiye yakla??m? çok iyi, çok insanc?l. dünyan?n en büyük icatlar?n? yapm?? ki?inin zay?fl?klar?n?, yanl??lar?n?, u?rad??? haks?zl?klar? ve aldat?lmalar?n? o kadar güzel anlat?yor ki, hem bir mesafe koyuyorsunuz araya tesla'n?n kendini be?enmi?, tak?nt?l? ve sinir bozucu hallerinden ötürü, hem de "hadi tesla, bu sefer ak?ll? dü?ün, ?u patent ba?vurular?n? düzgün yap, art?k dünya k?ymetini bilsin" diyerek sar?lmak istiyorsunuz kendisine. dönem ya?ant?lar?na dair bir fon da yarat?yor tabii yazar, hem de ba?ar?yla. roman?n da tesla'n?n da sonu ise gerçekten vurucu. herkese tavsiye.

bonus: belgrad'da tesla müzesine giderseniz ?im?ekleri siz de görebilirsiniz.5 s Argos1,115 365

Nicola Tesla'y? ba?ka bir gözle anlat?yor, ilginç...5 s Romain792 45

Je clos avec Des éclairs ma lecture de la trilogie des Vies imaginaires. Il est donc l’heure de faire un bilan et de considérer l’oeuvre dans son ensemble.

Jean Echenoz a voulu évoquer le destin de trois hommes qui ont marqué leur époque dans trois domaines distincts: l’art (la musique avec Maurice Ravel), le sport (la course à pied avec Emil Zátopek) et la science (la physique avec Nikola Tesla). Pour quelle raison a-t-il fait ce choix là ? Peut-être a-t-il souhaité mettre en avant le contraste entre leur réussite dans la sphère professionnelle et l’échec – ou le relatif échec – de leur vie privée. Il semblerait que les trois personnages soient si spécialisés dans leur domaine de compétences qu’ils soient complètement inadaptés à la vie. On ne peut pas tout faire.

Je ne sais pas si le procédé employé par Echenoz m’a lassé à la longue, mais ce n’est pas le volume que j’ai préféré – loin de là. Le ton habituellement ironique qu’il emploie devient ici sarcastique et moqueur. Le pauvre Gregor n’est pas épargné et je trouve que c’est un peu dommage. L’énorme créativité et le génie de cet homme sont complètement occultés par le côté grand-guignol, il est tout simplement tourné en ridicule. A la décharge de l’auteur, on peut souligner que Nikola Tesla, puisque c’est de lui qu’il s’agit, n’est pas la seule victime, Thomas Edison et J. P. Morgan prennent aussi une volée de bois vert. J’aime beaucoup le style sec et très original d’Echenoz, mais il faut bien avouer qu’il peut être énervant si l’on ne se trouve pas dans de bonnes dispositions. Peut-être ai-je tout simplement été victime d’une lassitude du procédé ?

Je suis donc déçu de finir sur une impression aussi mitigée une trilogie – écrite par un auteur que j’apprécie – qui avait si bien démarrée. Si j’ai un conseil à vous donner, commencez par le début et lisez Ravel, sans hésitation. Puis, si vous avez aimé, continuez avec Courir, vous verrez alors si vous arriverez jusqu’au dernier.

P.-S.: Depuis quand les très respectables éditions de Minuit impriment-elles des extraits des critiques des journalistes directement sur la quatrième de couverture de leurs livres ?

Également publié sur mon blog.roman4 s Will E208 15

I had no idea Edison was such an asshole!contemporary french4 s Nandes260 51

4,5/5

Ratllant l'excel·lència. A vegades no fan falta grans floritures, és el cas d'aquest llibre, d'aquest autor. Molt ben escrit i molt ben traduït.4 s Hussam137 53

????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????? 4 s Zeynep6

Echenoz'dan okudu?um ilk, ama asla son olmayacak bir kitap: ?im?ekler. ?nsanlar?n bu kitab? bu kadar sevmesinde Mehmet Emin Özcan'?n çok büyük bir katk?s? oldu?unu dü?ünüyorum, gerçekten iyi bir çevirisi vard? kitab?n. Zaten Echenoz öyle bir dil kullanm?? ki, kar??n?za geçmi? Tesla'n?n hayat?n? sohbet edermi?çesine anlat?yor gibi. Tabii kitapta Tesla ad?n? hiç görmüyoruz, o de?ilmi? gibi yap?yoruz. Hayat?n? okudu?umuzda ise kimi yerde "al ?u patenti art?k, doymad?n m? kaz?klanmaya!" derken, kimi yerde de Edison'a nefret besliyoruz. Bu tarz kitaplarla ilgilenenler kesinlikle bakmal?, pi?man olmayaca??n?z? dü?ünüyorum.3 s Jordi Sellarès293 29

Ha complert amb les expectatives que en tenia. Aquesta suposada vida d'en Nikola Tesla, encara que amb el nom canviat, és un prodigi de la concisió narrativa i de la economia de paraules per a construir una història que enganxa, que a voltes fa emprenyar i que també et fa entendre més coses del nostre món del que no pas explica.

Bravo per en Jean Echenoz! 3 s Baris Balcioglu342 8

Tesla est devenu fameux encore une fois pendant les années récentes peut-être à cause de ces voitures électriques nommé après lui. Il est aimé aussi par les gens qui croient à supernatural mais je ne connaissais presque rien sur lui jusqu'à lisant ce roman recommandé par ?ahika. J'ai, bien sur, dû attendre pour commencer à le lire jusqu'à Alkim a apporté l'édition française de Paris que j'ai lue en comparaison avec l'édition turque donné par ?ahika. C'était en peu démoralisant : je me rend compte que ma vocabulaire est déjà pauvre m'empêchant à comprendre beaucoup des détails. Peut-être Echenoz est connu pour son choix des mots. Tesla était plus fameux que je pensais et a réussi beaucoup mais il était bizarre. Je ne sais pas si toute les innovations attribués à lui sont vraiment à lui et l'accident à la fin était vraiment commis par son némésis. Echenoz écrit avec humeur mais comme toutes les fins avec une mort, la fin ici est aussi triste.les-français3 s Juan Nalerio543 118

En Relámpagos nos encontramos con la historia de Nikola Tesla uno de los protagonistas de la lucha por el dominio del sector eléctrico. Un nuevo mundo estaba por nacer y había fama y dinero en el medio.
Su rival, como no, Thomas Alva Edison lo difama, lo chicanea, le hace mala fama, lo destrata.
El libro es corto, bien narrado. No se puede no querer a Tesla, el inventor del “rayo de la muerte”. Un genio olvidado.
3 s Sinem309 177

Echenoz bey ta?? anlatsa dinletir kendini. Çok güçlü, dam?t?lm?? bir yaz?m tarz? var. Ko?mak'tan sonra ?im?ekler de üzmedi. yazd??? tüm kitaplar? okumak istiyorum.2018-challenge favorites tavsiye3 s Gülhan Güllü90 28

Tam da Tesla'n?n karakterine yak???r biçimde muzip, deli dolu, biraz uçar? bir dille anlat?yor Echenoz bu kez. Yine karakterin halet-i ruhiyesine bürünüyoruz sanki. Aynen Ko?mak'ta soluk solu?a kald???m?z gibi. Ravel'i okuyaca??m zaman? iple çekiyorum; kim bilir nas?l bir armoni yakalam??t?r orada...6 s Sinem A.451 257

Farkl? bir dille yaz?lm?? farkl? bir hayat3 s Tyler Jones1,661 86

I've read funnier books, and I've read sadder books, but I don't know if I've ever read a book that was sadly funny as this.french-literature science3 s EmanuelaAuthor 4 books74

Come descritto nella quarta di copertina questa è una possibile biografia di Nikola Tesla, scienziato e studioso di elettricità a cui va il merito di aver scoperto la corrente alternata che ha permesso la grande distribuzione di questa forma energetica, con le applicazioni che tutti conosciamo.
Nel romanzo non si fa mai il nome del vero studioso che viene chiamato Gregor, questo probabilmente perché buona parte delle storia, soprattutto quella terminale, si basa su sporadici documenti e testimonianze. Certo è che se Nikola assomiglia anche solo un poco a Gregor, è un personaggio fuori dal comune per capacità visionaria con soluzioni tecnologiche che sono state poi riprese e sviluppate da altri, anche attingendo ai suoi maldestri brevetti.

Il libro si legge d'un fiato, l'autore è bravo nell'indurre a parteggiare per il protagonista nonostante il suo carattere così impossibile e nevrotico, caratterizzato dall'incompatibilità fra genio ed equilibrio mentale.adelphi biografia narrativa-storica ...more2 s Yves Gounin441 55

Au risque de rompre l'unanimisme enthousiaste qui a entouré la sortie du dernier opus de Jean Echenoz, j'avoue ma déception.
J'adore Echenoz. J'ai tout lu de lui. C'est prétentieux ; mais c'est vrai ! Ça l'est d'autant qu'il excelle dans le style bref qui fait la marque des Éditions de Minuit. Une prose ciselée. Un humour froid et doux.
Mais depuis trois livres j'ai un problème avec Echenoz.
Certes son style inimitable est toujours là.
Mais ces trois biographies romancées (le pianiste Ravel, le coureur Zatopek et le scientifique Tesla) m'ont fait bailler d'ennui.
C'est aussi simple que ça : rien dans la vie de ces trois génies incompris ne m'a intéressé. 2 s Kulthoum ?????379 20 Read

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