Book review: Carlo Rovelli feeds us bitesized chunks of physics, but it's still an acquired taste

by Carlo Rovelli

Allen Lane

When I was a child, my mother would sneak Brussels sprouts on to my plate. I hated those revolting little orbs of bitterness - but my mother was wily. "It's only a small one," she'd say, as though size rendered the unpalatable acceptable.

I suspect Carlo Rovelli would get on well with my mother. He is also attempting to woo a tough crowd with a portion of something they find hard to swallow: physics. And he's opting for a similar approach, issuing what J.D. Salinger would no doubt term a "pretty skimpy-looking book", just 78 pages long, no doubt hoping his delicate touch will stir a taste for the subject.