When We Stopped Understanding the World

In popular science books, the wonderful achievements of science in the fields of applied mathematics, theoretical physics, chemistry, space exploration, and more broadly, scientific knowledge of the world are usually celebrated. Benjamín Labatut, a Chilean writer born in Rotterdam and who spent his youth in Buenos Aires, chooses a completely different perspective. His innovative "work of art based on real events" (although it would be better to call this text a non-fiction novel, since most characters, including Fritz Haber, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Alexander Grothendieck, Erwin Schrödinger, and others, are historical figures, and a significant part of the narrative is based on historical facts) rather celebrates the feeling of anxiety that accompanies great scientific discoveries, and addresses the dark side of rationality. The novel, translated into twenty-two languages, was shortlisted for the International Booker in 2021 and has become a notable literary event.