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Title details for In the Field by Rachel Pastan - Available

In the Field

A Novel

by Rachel Pastan
Xe Sands
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
In 1920, having persuaded her resistant mother to send her to college, Kate Croft falls in love with science. Painfully rebuffed by a girl she longs for, and in flight from her own confusing sexuality, Kate finds refuge in the calm rationality of biology: its vision of a deeply interconnected world, and the promise that the new field of genetics can explain the way people are.
But science, too, turns out to be marred by human weakness. Despite her hard work and extraordinary gifts, Kate struggles, facing discrimination, competition, and scientific theft. At the same time, a love affair is threatened by Kate's obsession with figuring out the meaning of the puzzling changes she sees in her experiments. The novel explores what it takes to triumph in the ruthless world of mid-20th-century genetics, following Kate as she decides what she is—and is not—willing to sacrifice to succeed.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 19, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666160918
      • File size: 281523 KB
      • Duration: 09:46:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 28, 2021
      Pastan (Lady of the Snakes) delivers an inspiring story of triumph against the odds in a historical based loosely on the life of Nobel-winning scientist Barbara McClintock. Kate Croft is the black sheep of her family—she’s more interested in college than boyfriends­—and after she enrolls in a biology 101 class her freshman year, the question of “how we come to be the way we are” sets her on course for a lifetime of scientific inquiry. Guided by her vexing mentor at Cornell, she chooses to study the genetics of maize. As her career blossoms, Croft is crushed and then angered by the repeated intellectual thefts committed by her male colleagues. Nonetheless, she perseveres. Alliances and romances with other women are a balm, but they also bring conflict, as Croft confronts a choice between love and ambition. Pastan makes a spirited character study out of Croft’s doggedness and triumph, and describes various complex scientific concepts with aplomb. This swift story educates as much as it excites. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Xe Sands's low, gravelly voice shines in this historical novel inspired by the life of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barbara McClintock. Kate Croft arrives at Cornell in 1920 with a fierce love for science, but soon learns how hard it is for a queer woman to succeed as a biologist. Though she's constantly ignored and ridiculed by the men in her field, Kate persists. Xe Sands's narration is so intimate that listening sometimes feels unbearable. Sands captures the pain and injustice of every slight and every rude comment. But she also captures Kate's curiosity, her voice overflowing with wonder and excitement at each new discovery. This is a quiet, beautiful audiobook about the courage it takes to chart one's own path. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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