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A review by candacesiegle_greedyreader
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung
5.0
This captivating novel was an unexpected pleasure. Yes, I did request to review it, but once I was approved, I wasn't sure I wanted to read something that revolved about my bete noire, math.
But there's math, and math. The stuff we might have struggled with in high school or college is the pale fourth cousin of the math on Katherine's level. This math is beautiful, artistic, exciting, and competitive as anything you can imagine.
In "The Tenth Muse," Katherine is both seeking to solve some historically challenging equations as well as unraveling the mystery of her own beginning. Set in the fifties and sixties, Katherine's faces a battle for validation of herself as a woman mathematician. Her work is exceptional and some male colleagues feel it's fine to absorb her work because she has no chance to working as a professional mathematician. Even her father, a quite enlightened guy, does not want her to go into the field because there are so few opportunities for women.
But who is Katherine? The woman she thought was her mother vanishes when she's about 10, and she discovers that her father is not her father at all. She's part Asian, but who made up those parts? A study opportunity takes her to Europe where she follows up on the few clues she has. The resulting story is very different from so many origin stories rooted in WWII, including not only racial prejudice, but professional jealousy.
Catherine Chung is a lovely writer, elegant and deep, and this novel, which mixes so many intriguing elements, is satisfying, intelligent, and un=put-downable.
But there's math, and math. The stuff we might have struggled with in high school or college is the pale fourth cousin of the math on Katherine's level. This math is beautiful, artistic, exciting, and competitive as anything you can imagine.
In "The Tenth Muse," Katherine is both seeking to solve some historically challenging equations as well as unraveling the mystery of her own beginning. Set in the fifties and sixties, Katherine's faces a battle for validation of herself as a woman mathematician. Her work is exceptional and some male colleagues feel it's fine to absorb her work because she has no chance to working as a professional mathematician. Even her father, a quite enlightened guy, does not want her to go into the field because there are so few opportunities for women.
But who is Katherine? The woman she thought was her mother vanishes when she's about 10, and she discovers that her father is not her father at all. She's part Asian, but who made up those parts? A study opportunity takes her to Europe where she follows up on the few clues she has. The resulting story is very different from so many origin stories rooted in WWII, including not only racial prejudice, but professional jealousy.
Catherine Chung is a lovely writer, elegant and deep, and this novel, which mixes so many intriguing elements, is satisfying, intelligent, and un=put-downable.