{"product_id":"the-tenth-muse-9780349142807","title":"The Tenth Muse","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A young woman''s battle for acceptance in a male-dominated world; her misadventures in love; and her torturous journey to track down her real parents in Germany'' \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e Best New Fiction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eFrom childhood, Katherine knows she is different, and that her parents are not who they seem to be. But as she grows up and becomes a mathematician, she faces the most human of problems - who is she? What is the cost of love, and what is the cost of ambition? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn her quest to conquer the Riemann hypothesis, the greatest unsolved mathematical problem of her time, she turns to a theorem with a mysterious history that holds both the lock and key to her identity, and to secrets long buried during World War II. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eForced to confront some of the biggest events of the twentieth century and rethink everything she knows of herself, Katherine strives to take her place in the world of higher mathematics, reclaiming the voices of the women who came before her whose\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKatherine, the narrator of this unusual novel, is an eminent American-Chinese academic fixated on the Holy Grail of mathematics...Chung is smart enough to keep the mathematics to a minimum and concentrate on the human elements in her story: \u003cb\u003ea young woman's battle for acceptance in a male-dominated world; her misadventures in love; and her torturous journey to track down her real parents in Germany\u003c\/b\u003e * Mail on Sunday, Best New Fiction *\u003cbr\u003eAn elegantly constructed puzzle of a novel...\u003cb\u003ewhat had seemed to be a \u003ci\u003eHidden Figures\u003c\/i\u003e-style female-genius-in-a-male-world narrative turns into a thrilling back-to-my-roots mystery\u003c\/b\u003e * DailyTelegraph *\u003cbr\u003eThe 10th muse, in Chung's world, is the one who got away to pursue her own interests and develop her own mind...In young Katherine's love of science and maths, and her yearning for more connection with her mother, there are strong overtones of Jenny Offill's wonderful debut \u003ci\u003eLast Things\u003c\/i\u003e...\u003cb\u003eA most memorable heroine, a sympathetic, mesmerising voice who tells a deceptively simple story centred on identity and a never-ending quest for knowledge and truth\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA truly spellbinding read\u003c\/b\u003e * Woman \u0026amp; Home, December Book of the Month *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmbitious, insightful and distinctive\u003c\/b\u003e, Chung's latest novel is a beautiful exploration of the human condition . . .\u003cb\u003e a spellbinding read \u003c\/b\u003e * Woman's Own *\u003cbr\u003eA complex family history, elegant equations, romance and a heroine who refuses to be sidelined in the male-dominated world of mathematics \u003cb\u003emakes this deft novel an engrossing, emotional read...\u003c\/b\u003eThere are betrayals closer to home, too, jeopardising Katherine's career,\u003cb\u003e as love, ambition and intellectual endeavour come into conflict in this smart, satisfying book\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eKatherine looks back at her life in mathematics, a career shaped by her particular time and circumstances in post-war America and Europe. A position that nevertheless speaks all too clearly to our own place and time today. \u003cb\u003eCatherine Chung is brilliant at showing us the forces which either block or encourage Katherine's career\u003c\/b\u003e * Glasgow Herald *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNot only is the writing dazzling\u003c\/b\u003e, this intelligent novel about a woman ahead of her time is \u003cb\u003ealso a proper page-turner\u003c\/b\u003e * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eEnthralling * Psychologies *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCleanly feminist-flavoured novel that contains stories within stories\u003c\/b\u003e in ways that seem to push at the workings of the universe itself * Metro *\u003cbr\u003eA unique and refreshing read * Candis *\u003cbr\u003e[An]\u003cb\u003e affecting\u003c\/b\u003e tale . . . pleasingly well-crafted * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eThe reader's blood boils along with Katherine's. As she fights for recognition, she also embarks on an investigation into her own confused origins...\u003cb\u003ePage-turner, philosophical investigation and statement of intent\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e is an entertaining and provocative contribution to the era of #MeToo * Big Issue *\u003cbr\u003eKatherine is determined to be taken seriously. Here, the novel is most trenchant: in railing against the sexism for so long ingrained in academia...There is no dearth of short-changed women in history - in science or in general. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e is keenly aware of how easily the past can be rewritten, achievements and lives subtracted.\u003c\/b\u003e..\u003cb\u003eA panegyric to women who blaze their own paths, and tell their own stories\u003c\/b\u003e * New Scientist *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA RECOMMENDED BOOK FROM:\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times * USA Today * O, the Oprah Magazine * Buzzfeed * The Rumpus * Entertainment Weekly * Elle * BBC * Christian Science Monitor * Electric Literature * The Millions * LitHub * Publishers Weekly * Kirkus * Refinery29 * Thrillist * BookBub * Nylon * Bustle * Goodreads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe cliché that boys are better at math collapses before the diamond-hard mind of a grad student whose relentless attempt to prove a legendary hypothesis exposes a deeper algorithm about herself....\u003cb\u003eChung spins her captivating novel from stories of actual women who, in her words, \"posed as schoolboys, married tutors, and moved across continents, all to study and excel at mathematics\u003c\/b\u003e * O, the Oprah Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA page-turning intellectual thriller\u003c\/b\u003e, a family romance, an alternative history of twentieth-century math - \u003cb\u003eI couldn't put it down\u003c\/b\u003e * Elif Batuman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e is as ambitious and intriguing as the complex math problems Katherine, the protagonist of this remarkable novel, aims to solve\u003c\/b\u003e. In this novel -the scope of which is staggering - Chung has crafted a story that is moving, elegant and richly written. Her prose, as it unfolds, becomes an elusive equation readers will yearn to solve * Roxane Gay *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmbitious, mesmerizing, and immersive\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e gives us a character we'd follow anywhere, and journeys well worth following her on. \u003cb\u003eThis novel dazzles\u003c\/b\u003e * Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCatherine Chung has written a deft, spellbinding emotional puzzle-box of a book\u003c\/b\u003e, rich and intricately layered. \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e slowly, carefully builds to turn your every expectation on its head, and reading it feels like a glimpse of what mathematics might be in the eyes of its ablest practitioners--both secret and sublime * Téa Obreht *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is a must-read.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eThis beautiful, captivating novel has it all:\u003c\/b\u003e A riveting family secret; a heroine ahead of her time; and a brilliant historical narrative that sheds light on the way we live now * J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Saints for All Occasions *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA sweeping tale of betrayal, legacy, brilliant women and WWII\u003c\/b\u003e * USA Today *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo great enigmas form the center of this elegant novel\u003c\/b\u003e, in which a brilliant mathematician attempts to solve the impenetrable Riemann hypothesis and learn the truth of her family history. Katherine is the daughter of an American G.I. and a Chinese immigrant who disappears when Katherine is a girl. During her childhood, in the nineteen-fifties, in Michigan, her intelligence and mixed heritage alienate many people, and lead her to wonder 'in each situation whether this time it was my femaleness or my Asianness or the combination of both that branded me different'...\u003cb\u003eIn the novel's portrait of her perseverance, it pays moving homage to all the 'unhailed, unnamed' women in history whose talents were dismissed\u003c\/b\u003e * New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse \u003c\/i\u003ecenters on Katherine, an aspiring mathematician whose studies take her deep into her family history, and a legacy of genius and empowerment which probes compelling questions about her identity * Entertainment Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eNeed a metaphor for the unassailable tangle of the self? The Riemann Hypothesis, one of the great unsolved mathematical problems, does nicely in this novel. About 50 years ago, mathematician Katherine was attempting to unpick its knot, and at the same time deal with revelations about her own family heritage * Elle *\u003cbr\u003eCan a mathematician also be an accomplished storyteller? The answer is an emphatic yes.... \u003cb\u003eElegant and absorbing fiction\u003c\/b\u003e....Her work radiates a love of the subject....Her real subject, beyond the magic of storytelling, is the problem of identity, as shaped by gender, ethnicity, history and choice * Chicago Tribune *\u003cbr\u003eReading \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e is like setting out on a boat for a short trip and finding the way back barred by waves that grow taller and taller. And then the boat itself turns out to be a riddle; a paper boat, each leaf bound to the other with equations of fearsome beauty.\u003cb\u003e Arresting in scope and its treatment of time, its prose at turns crystalline and richly balletic, this story pulls puzzle from puzzle--human, historical, and all too contemporary\u003c\/b\u003e * Helen Oyeyemi, author of Gingerbread *\u003cbr\u003eCatherine Chung's first book, \u003ci\u003eForgotten Country\u003c\/i\u003e, cut my heart open; \u003cb\u003eI want to read \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e right now\u003c\/b\u003e * R.O. Kwon *\u003cbr\u003eChung masterfully subverts our expectations... \u003cb\u003eEndlessly thrilling\u003c\/b\u003e. An exquisite story of legacy, selfhood, survival, and integrity... \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e is an inspiring tour de force of STEAM proportions: a riveting intersection of mathematics and art * The Rumpus *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChung's impressive, poignant second novel\u003c\/b\u003e explores the intersections between of intellectual and familial legacies...Chung persuasively interweaves myths and legends with the real-world stories of lesser-known women mathematicians and of WWII on both the European and Asian fronts. The legacy that Katherine inherits may defy the kinds of elegant proofs to which mathematicians aspire, but \u003cb\u003eChung's novel boldly illustrates that truth and beauty can reside even amid the messiest solutions\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly, starred review *\u003cbr\u003eA powerful and virtuosically researched story about the mysteries of the head and the heart * Kirkus, starred review *\u003cbr\u003eChung uses the history and language of mathematics in \u003ci\u003eThe Tenth Muse\u003c\/i\u003e to explore how the past is inextricably tied to the present. \u003cb\u003eHer writing has a beautiful clarity, and the novel has an epic feel, sweeping between decades and continents without ever losing sight of the human lives at stake.\u003c\/b\u003e This is a timely story about a woman searching for her identity in an inhospitable environment and emerging scarred but triumphant * BookPage (starred review) *\u003cbr\u003eIn this powerful historical novel, a female mathematician recounts the personal and professional challenges of finding her way in a male-dominated field * Shelf Awareness (starred review) *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKatherine looks back at her life in mathematics, a career shaped by her particular time and circumstances in post-war\u003cbr\u003eAmerica and Europe. A position that nevertheless speaks all too clearly to our own place and time today. Catherine Chung is \u003cb\u003ebrilliant\u003c\/b\u003e at showing us the forces which either block or encourage Katherine's career\u003c\/p\u003e * Herald *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf you like puzzles, then this \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003emesmerising novel has them all\u003c\/b\u003e: human, historical and gloriously mathematical. It charts the life of a woman who seeks to conquer the Riemann hypothesis, a quest that could reveal the truth about her own identity and hidden deeds from the Second World War * The Herald *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn discovering that the woman who raised her isn't really her mother, young mathematician Katherine begins looking\u003cbr\u003efor other things that don't quite add up, from unsolved formulas to sexism at her university, MIT. \u003cb\u003eWritten in sparse yet\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003elyrical prose, this is an elegantly constructed puzzle of a novel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * Daily Telegraph *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48733658349911,"sku":"9780349142807","price":8.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349142807.jpg?v=1720001071","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-tenth-muse-9780349142807","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}