“Refreshing…. Asks urgent questions about female ambition. Fans of Lab Girl have found a worthy successor.”—Real SimpleA powerful debut novel—a wonderfully engaging infusion of Lab Girl, The Assistants, and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine—that pits the ambition of scientific discovery against the siren call of love.Emily Apell arrives in Justin McKinnon’s renowned research lab with the … love.
Emily Apell arrives in Justin McKinnon’s renowned research lab with the single-minded goal of making a breakthrough discovery. But a colleague in the lab, Aeden Doherty, has been working on a similar topic, and his findings threaten to compete with her research.
To Emily’s surprise, her rational mind is unsettled by Aeden, and when they end up working together their animosity turns to physical passion, followed by love. Emily eventually allows herself to envision a future with Aeden, but when he decides to leave the lab it becomes clear to her that she must make a choice. It is only years later, when she is about to receive a prestigious award for the work they did together, that Emily is able to unravel everything that happened between them.
A sharp, relevant novel that speaks to the ambitions and desires of modern women, The DNA of You and Me explores the evergreen question of career versus family, the irrational sensibility of love, and whether one can be a loner without a diagnostic label.
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Ahhh…… the sweet smell of a book. There is nothing else like it. Old books, new books, leather bound books, books found hidden away in someones attic. Gives me chills just thinking about it. Like most bibliophiles, the smell of a book is right there at the top of my favorites list. (Next to coffee, of course).
Have you ever given any thought to the sense of smell? Why we smell things the way we do, how the sense of smell registers in our brain, and what kind of emotions a smell can evoke? I can honestly tell you that as a nurse, I’ve thought about these things, but never really put much time into it. More like a fleeting “I wonder how…” and then it dissolves, like the scent of cologne as someone passes you by. (This is well before social distancing was a thing).
Andrea Rothman’s debut novel THE DNA OF YOU AND ME centers around the study of smell. But don’t get me wrong, smell is not what this book is all about. Rothman herself states in an interview that her use of the sense of smell is a metaphor for choice and identity, the main themes of the book, and let me tell you, she pulls this off spectacularly.
Emily Apell, an introverted bookish loner is researching the pathways to the sense of smell. When she takes on an appointment in a renowned research lab, she never expected to end up working with another colleague researching her same topic. As Emily and Aeden start to get to know each other, their relationship becomes more than professional and they enter into a physical affair, gradually making way to a more emotional connection that neither of them wanted or expected. As the project nears its potential “make or break” moment, Aeden decides to leave the project and lab, asking Emily to leave with him, walking away from all their work. Emily is at a crossroad and must make a decision that could change her life forever. Years later, when Emily is about to win an award, she finally reflects on her past, the decisions made, and the path she chose.
The ability to mix science, DNA, and the sense of smell into a novel about relationships and ambition, and make it an absolute page turner is a fine art, and let me tell you Andrea Rothman nailed it. The well written intricate details between the science of smell, intermixed with the challenges of relationships makes it hard to believe that this is Rothman’s freshman work. The emotional heartbreak you feel for Emily as she struggles with her acceptance in the world is palpable throughout the book, and her character is written so fervidly that it makes you wonder if the author is writing almost first hand. The story line is so interesting and well paced that I promise you will finish this book in one sitting. And the ending….. well, the best word I can use without spoiling…. bittersweet. Oh so bittersweet. You will find yourself thinking about this book, the decisions made, and questioning what you yourself would have done long after you close the last page. Highly recommend this one, its a very deep and powerful read. Don’t pass it up. (It is also available on audio, for the listeners out there).
Thank you to @andrearothmanauthor, @williammorrowbooks and @tlcbooktours for the gifted copy of this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.
This book had me at “Hello.” I’ve always had a soft spot for books about women in science. Favorites of the past few years include State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, Lab Girl by Hope Jahren and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. Also, this novel takes place at a fictional research university on the upper east side of Manhattan which is clearly Rockefeller University. Many of my med school classmates also worked toward their doctorates at this very institution. The exploration of the cutthroat world of research science harkened back to stories my friends shared from their grueling days in the lab. Even the places mentioned—Nectar diner, China Fun, The Metropolitan Museum of Art—brought me right back to my med school days. Emily Apell, the post doc scientist at the center of the story, is an intriguing character: smart, independent and single minded. When faced with a choice between climbing the steep ladder of academia and the only man she’s ever loved, she makes the only choice she feels comfortable with. Told from the vantage point of twelve years later as she is about to accept a prestigious scientific award, Emily wonders if she made the right decision and whether there’s any way to repair the damage that was done so long ago.
The DNA of You and Me is Andrea Rothman’s debut novel that looks at what happens when romantic love conflicts with a woman’s chosen career. Emily, the main character, is the rational, somewhat cold, introverted-to-a-fault scientist. She feels she was born to be alone and has pretty much accepted that—until she meets Aeden, a fellow scientist who works in the same lab. She becomes somewhat obsessed with him before he ever notices here. Then, there is a very slow build of a romantic relationship between them.
I enjoyed the research aspect of Emily’s work on the sense of smell and the fairly accurate portrait of a woman working in STEM. As a physician, Rothman has enough scientific facts for me to suspend disbelief.
Emily at times fears she is missing something, that her introversion is keeping her from experiencing all she could. At the end, she does reconcile to a certain extent, her life. Her journey to self-acceptance is quiet but significant.
Write what you know. As a long time reader that has been a phrase I’ve heard many times (as if I’d ever contemplate writing novel). The DNA of You and Me is clearly a case where this has been skillfully applied. Andrea Rothmans’ first novel might very well be embodiment of the phrase and the author. I imagine there are pieces of Rothman in Emily and perhaps discoveries in her very own research. All in all in is a well written story intersecting science and love.
In the DNA of You and Me are introduced to Emily Apell when she’ reflecting on being contacted about winning an prestigious award for her scientific studies on DNA and smell. Then we are taken a dozen years or so back to how she arrived at this place in time. This is not an easy or exciting road to be on but Rothman does an exquisite job showing us the ins and outs of working in a lab. But it’s really about the people involving a team of people. However when Emily begins her work at the MacKinnon Laboratory she finds herself on the outside of the research she believes she would be conducting, leaving her co-workers under the impression she’s working on another project. All while she’s focused on finding something that may show her how the genes are mapped to the ability and strength in the sense of smell. Possibly usurping their work.
I’ll admit the science went over my head, but I appreciate the details and how science is what makes our main character Emily who she is. This is a story about her relationships; with science, her father, with co-workers, and with art. Our quirky main character has a problem maintaining relationships. Hers are all complicated, especially the one with herself.
Her isolation stands out and I felt so sad for her but she’s also resigned to it. The most important relationship she forms is one that starts with curiosity, turns contentious ( at moments making me uncomfortable), then into an altogether unique love. It’s romantic but there is something else there; friendship, respect, admiration. When we are brought back to the present we are made aware of the choices that Emily has made, all for her work. While I shouldn’t have been, I was surprised by the ending. It left me feeling, well, a bit at odds and deflated. But I wouldn’t have missed the reading experience and the getting to know Emily. Early on in the book there was a thought of Emily’s that stood out to me and I think that in the end, that says so much about her journey – a journey I’d recommend you take with her.
“My father once said to me, shortly before he died, that a discovery is nothing but a moment, the moment when a truth, otherwise obscured, reveals itself, and your eyes are the only pair of eyes in the world that see it, and your mind the only mind to comprehend the truth and certainly of what you see”.
Emily has never really known anything other than Science, being raised by her scientist father she really had no choice in the matter. Before long his passion, became her passion as well. And that passion lead her to become a leading scientist in the world of genetics. Being a woman in this field is quite a challenging feat, it requires complete dedication to her craft, which leaves little to no time at all for a social life. But for Emily living a solitary life is preferred, it’s how she grew up, and how she has always thought her thought would be, just her and the lab.
But then she meets a fellow scientist named Aeden, and as they begin to work on a special project together, they start to spend copious amounts of time with one another. Which leads them down a path that neither expected, and for the first time in her life Emily begins to wonder if her life has room for more than just science.
The DNA of You and Me is a uniquely designed tale that centers around the life of a heroine in the genetics field, and the man that enters her solitary world and opens her eyes to the possibility of love. This well crafted tale was truly different than anything else I have ever read, the story line was heavy on science with touches of heartfelt emotion and romance. I found it to be enjoyable read, one that was fascinating, educational, and engaging. Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
The DNA of You And Me is a gorgeous novel exploring the intersection of love and science.