"The Invention of Everything Else" - Samantha Hunt

A fascinating and beautiful novel, at least partially about the later days of Nikola Tesla as he lives in poverty in a Manhattan hotel. Louisa, a chambermaid at the hotel, strikes up a friendship with Tesla after he catches her poking through his stuff, and the book then veers in many unexpected directions. The characterizations are so achingly subtle and beautifully done. I am in danger of overusing the words "beautiful" and "dreamlike" when describing this book; it is often hard to know whether events are actually taking place or are imagined by one character or another. Manhattan itself lives and breathes on the page, and you will never view pigeons in the same way again after reading this lovely piece of work.