The Brown Bagger’s discussed Academy-Award winning author Graham Moore’s second novel, The Last Days of Night on November 16. The historical-fiction centered on the light bulb rivalry between inventors George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. Of course Nikola Tesla had a role in this war of currents, but the novel followed Westinghouse’s young lawyer, Paul Cravath, and his quest to win an impossible lawsuit against Thomas Edison.
Both Westinghouse and Edison wanted their current to provide electricity to America- Edison tried to discredit Westinghouse’s Alternating Current by saying it was dangerous, so that he could supply America with his Direct Current. However, it was proven that A/C current was safer than D/C current. The story itself followed the actual war of currents, in a more compressed time frame. The characters in the story were well-developed- Edison was portrayed as a man who was only interested in name recognition, which he achieved, even at the loss of the company he started. Westinghouse was depicted in a kinder manner, and as someone who wanted to make the best products possible. And, Tesla was portrayed as an eccentric genius who just wanted to invent and did not care about money.
Paul Cravath was fresh out of law school when he took this case, and while he was smart, he was inexperienced and made some mistakes. However, by taking Westinghouse as a client he was introduced to the more glamorous side of New York and meets Agnes Huntington, an opera singer with a mysterious past. Cravath had to take continually bigger risks throughout the lawsuit but doing so meant that he would change as a person, and possibly lose those that he cared about.
The Brown Baggers overwhelmingly loved this novel! Many felt that the book provided a great background on the history of light bulbs and the nuances of patents. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter made the content even more relevant for today’s world and most agreed that the writing was very descriptive- almost as if it were a screenplay. There was a lot of legalese in the book, but not so much that it was hard to follow. Many felt that the novel was both emotional and fascinating- it was a page turner!
Reviews of the novel:
New York Times Book Review
Washington Post
Interview with the author:
NPR
Books mentioned during the discussion:
The Riverkeepers by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy
Thomas A. Edison, Young Inventor by Sue Guthridge
The Brown Baggers will meet again on December 21 at 12pm to select titles for the next 12 months- bring a treat to share and participate in the *book swap (new this year) if you want!