Recently read
Orfeo by Richard Powers and would highly recommend it to people who loves music and/or science!
It's quite a dense read but it's an extremely unique book. I found out about it through a video (can't remember title) where a guy interviewed Ivy League / Stanford professors on books you must read before you die, and this book came up
twice.
But basically (without too much spoilers), it's loosely based on the story of bioartist Steve Kurtz. The protagonist is a 70-year-old man, Peter Els, who recounts his life story from his birth in 1941 until 2011, when he was arrested on charges of bioterrorism.
here comes the spoilers
Els is a classical music prodigy but also extremely talented in maths and science. He meets and falls in love with a cellist called Clara, who persuades him to study music instead of chemistry, only to dump him soon after. Working as an avant-garde composer, he marries the girl who sang his songs, has a daugher, and meets a choreographer called Bonner.
While working with Bonner, Els becomes too engrossed in his work and eventually he and his wife divorce. In 1993 his avant-garde opera was about to premier when the Waco Siege broke out, killing 76 people. Els severs ties with Bonner, and began working as a teacher at a small college until 2008, when he was let go due to the GFC.
Trying not to succumb to boredom, he began doing experiments in his home-made lab - his goal was to biohack musical compositions in bacterial DNA. Three years later, his golden retriever dies, and Els called 911 by mistake. The police was alarmed by his DIY lab, and after investigations, issued an arrest on charges of bioterrorism. Els was thus dubbed 'Bioterrorist Bach' by the press. While on the run, Els revisits his daugher, ex wife, and Bonner, who shares his story to the world.
Six out of five.