Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance

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Wry, off-beat and subversive - a Jewish family memoir like no other, from the author of the cult classic novel Submarine Joe Dunthorne's great-grandfather was a family legend- the eccentric pre-war inventor of radioactive toothpaste and the Jewish refugee from the Nazis who returned to Germany under cover of the Berlin Olympics to pull off a heist on his own home. Joe always knew he would write a book about this one day. The only problem was that the old man had already written the book of his life - an unpublished memoir so dense and rambling that none of his living descendants had attempted to read it. And, as it turned out when Joe finally cracked open the manuscript, it told a very different story from the one he thought he knew...

Reviews

The best book Ive read in the past year . . . Dunthorne brings distinction and finesse to every sentence, such as when he speaks of the old mans depression, washing dishes as if trying to drown them. A masterpiece . . . It will be huge * Financial Times *
Finely and gently crafted, an extraordinary and unexpected journey -- Philippe Sands
Wry, elliptical, hair-raising... A gripping story of family secrets and chemical warfare, it is also a tale of one writers search for a reliable past. Deep in these pages you discover a travelogue of lucid suspicions, brilliantly pursued, where historical truths are finally brought into the light. The first-rate poet and novelist is ever-present, bringing images and psychic dimensions to the book that are simply unforgettable. Joe Dunthorne has written a contemporary classic -- Andrew OHagan
Devastating and brilliant. A complex but hugely readable story that ranges across the lingering half-life of twentieth century European history, all told with Joe Dunthornes trademark dry wit. Its a cracker -- Jon McGregor
An investigative memoir like no other. Written with such clear-eyed intelligence, it's by turns wryly entertaining, morally complex and, ultimately, profoundly moving. A remarkable achievement from a writer who is consistently at the top of his game -- Nathan Filer
Beautifully crafted and deeply moving, a work of searching intelligence, unstinting honesty and disarming wit. Somehow Joe Dunthorne manages to wrest compassion and human connection from some of the bleakest moments of modern history. This is a revelatory book -- Ekow Eshun
A deft, brilliant, deceptive book, somehow both devastating and hilarious. Dunthorne's family story is the best kind: both personal and universal, told with the darkest comedy and deep humanity. It is also a version of history at its most slippery, shaped by the flawed memories of the people we love and our own wayward attempts to make sense of them -- Sophie Elmhirst
Moving, funny, disturbing and deeply surprising, an action-packed meditation and a moral adventure story, full of the kinds of intimate and historical contradictions we all live with in one way or another. Like Primo Levis Gray Zone, the territory this book explores is defined by its ambiguity and complexity, and we are lucky to have a writer of Dunthornes enormous gifts to lead us on the trail -- Sam Lipsyte
Brave, beautiful and incisive, an adventure that spans countries and resonates across generations. I have read many memoirs of the war and have never encountered anything like this. Lyrical but unflinching, this is an extraordinary book -- Ariana Neumann
Children of Radium is an exhilarating exploration of legacy. Unburying family secretsespecially secrets this big, this profoundis painstaking & heartbreaking work. In the hands of a lesser writer, a story like this would collapse, become just a mush of uncertainty. But Dunthorne is a masterful guide, surefooted and diligent and honest and funny. We are with him, enthralled, every step of the way -- Menachem Kaiser

Author Bio

Joe Dunthorne was born and brought up in Swansea. He is the author of three novels and one collection of poetry, including Submarine, which has been translated into fifteen languages and made into an acclaimed film directed by Richard Ayoade, and Wild Abandon, which won the 2012 Encore Award. Children of Radium is his first work of non-fiction. He lives in London. www.joedunthorne.com