The Tenth Muse

Ugh. I loved this book. And I hate math. It was the bane of my education. It was the only subject I got a D in in high school. But this is a beautiful story of a mathematician trying to make her way through an academic world dominated by men and despite my hatred of math, I was fascinated. I was captivated by Katherine. She was strong but flawed. Sometimes too stubborn for her own good. I just wanted her to be happy. When this story turned into a mystery about her family history, I became even more enthralled. This book was a delight to read from start to finish. Twisty and turny with gorgeous prose and sparkling characters. Read it.

This is a powerful, beautiful story and not to be missed. It is not at all necessary to understand higher math to appreciate everything there is to experience in this novel. Best book I’ve read this year and that says a lot, as reading sustains me the way breath sustains me….

Of course I was drawn to the book because of the math (I am a math teacher), but this book is so much more. Just when one is about to settle down with the story it twists and turns and pulls one in deeper. It was such a pleasure to see the author address so many real issues that we still face today. The many aspects of women in mathematics are highlighted throughout the book and it is hoped that the reader will come away with an education. I finished the book very quickly, but I will be thinking about the questions raised for a long time to come.

The author has a decent vocabulary and doesn’t resort to profanity instead of dialog. She can form actual sentences. That is a plus. It is early in her writing career, hopefully she will improve. Is this intended for adult readers? She should write about things she knows, not just throw in all of history from WWII onwards. The story itself is improbable heading toward impossible. Not believable at all. The characters are either venal or cardboard. This is an overall forgettable book. Fortunately, I got the Kindle edition at a low price.

This story had a lot going for it. I really enjoyed reading the history of the development of higher math. Less to my liking were the ins and outs of academia, but I could certainly understand some of the prejudice there. Chung definitely exhibited a chip on her own shoulder and couldnt see to free herself from her own imprisonment of victimhood.

Just an aside as a woman Ive never felt victimized nor have I let myself feel prejudiced against. When I was in an MBA program (in 1964) which had internships in NYC with the Big 8 accounting firms, a representative from each came to the school to make a presentation to our class and to interview students. I was one of two women students in the class. One interviewer clearly stated, We dont hire girls.

I neither felt victimized nor prejudiced against. I simply knew that was somewhere I didnt want to work! And I moved on.

Chung couldnt seem to let her protagonist move on.

It was a beautifully written book and was very interesting, but I had a hard time reconciling her worth with the problems Katherine forced on herself because of her feelings of being victimized. This certainly echoes what one hears from modern malcontents. So maybe Chung was writing for them.

The family saga was quite convoluted unnecessarily so, in my opinion. Lies and secrets were rife in this area of the book.

This was a very complex book and I found it difficult to review. However, I enjoyed it and I will try another by Ms. Chung.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley and the publisher, HarperCollins, in exchange for an honest review.

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