In the Steps of Marie Curie: La ridícula idea de no volver a verte by Rosa Montero

Abstract

La ridícula idea de no volver a verte, a 2013 novel by Rosa Montero, tells the story of Marie Curie starting from the pages of her diary. The novel focuses on the discoveries by the scientist, through the construction of a dialogue from which a biographical symmetry emerges between Marie Curie and the Madrid-born author. The aim of this article is to reflect on which kind of story the novel offers; on how and how much the pages of Curie’s diary represent a tool, a stimulus, and a challenge to Montero’s writing process. Finally, the article highlights how the affinity between the two women – and, moreover, the presence and meaning of the scientific theme – underpins the whole narrative until it becomes an unclassifiable book, which fluctuates between autobiography and the truth-fiction dichotomy.