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The Tenth Muse
The first thing I remember being said of me with any consistency was that I was intelligent—and I recognized even then that it was a comment leveled at me with as much disapproval as admiration. Still, I never tried to hide or suppress my mind as some girls do, and thank God, because that would have been the beginning of the end.
From childhood, Katherine knows she is different, and that her parents are not who they seem to be. But in becoming a mathematician, she must face the most human of problems—who is she? What is the cost of love, and what is the cost of ambition?
On 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 in Germany. Forced to confront some of the most consequential events of the twentieth century and rethink everything she knows of herself, she strives to take her place in the world of higher mathematics and finds kinship in the stories of the women who came before her—their love of the language of numbers connecting them across generations.
In The Tenth Muse, Catherine Chung offers a gorgeous, sweeping tale about legacy, identity, and the beautiful ways the mind can make us free.
From childhood, Katherine knows she is different, and that her parents are not who they seem to be. But in becoming a mathematician, she must face the most human of problems—who is she? What is the cost of love, and what is the cost of ambition?
On 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 in Germany. Forced to confront some of the most consequential events of the twentieth century and rethink everything she knows of herself, she strives to take her place in the world of higher mathematics and finds kinship in the stories of the women who came before her—their love of the language of numbers connecting them across generations.
In The Tenth Muse, Catherine Chung offers a gorgeous, sweeping tale about legacy, identity, and the beautiful ways the mind can make us free.
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First published June 6, 2019
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About the author
Catherine Chung
5 books380 followersCatherine Chung is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a Director's Visitorship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She was a Granta New Voice, and won an Honorable Mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award with her first novel, Forgotten Country, which was a Booklist, Bookpage, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2012. She has a degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and worked at a think tank in Santa Monica before going to Cornell University for her MFA. She has published work in The New York Times and Granta, and is a fiction editor at Guernica Magazine. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,060 reviews
August 19, 2022
The Tenth Muse is a dazzling portrait of a young woman who refused to fit the shape of the small space the world left for her. Katherine, our protagonist, had shone brighter than was permitted a woman. The Riemann hypothesis was the mystery that had opened her mind like a door, and she has never doubted that the path to it would one day open, stark and clear before her feet. Katherine’s desire to come out on top was born out of the conviction that she didn’t have to be her opponents’ equal to be considered a worthy contender—she had to be better. But in her obsession with cracking the uncrackable equation, an underlying crisis emerges: young and drifting, Katherine is searching for identity, and answers to the tragedy that had ruptured her family forever.
“All my life I’ve been told to let go as gracefully as possible. What’s worse, after all, than a hungry woman, greedy for all that isn’t meant to be hers? Still, I resist. In the end we relinquish everything: I think I’ll hold on, while I can.”
From its first sentence, The Tenth Muse grabs the reader with its directness and earnestness. “I suppose I should warn you that I tell a story like a woman,” Katherine begins, “looping into myself, interrupting.” Thus, standing knee-deep in the rubble of her life, Katherine starts delicately piecing it back together, losing her footing and slipping, but rising every time to scrabble forward—one last lamp shining down on the unmarred pages—toward the realization that only at the end of one’s life can one look back and see lucidly the prices they paid along the way.
Katherine chronicles her own tale, with the novel spanning a number of difficult decades. Katherine's memories are seized up, measured and weighted: her mother’s face, glossy with joy, beaming through her haze, and her subsequent painful absence; the relationships she cultivated and lost; her works, validated and stolen in one fell swoop; the loss of her brilliance, the withering of her grace, all the things that had to be worked and learned through errors and trials; and above all, her indigence over inequality, the plight of women in the world, and the madness that rose from a new creeping certainty: that there is only so much forcing of the world a woman can do.
Throughout, Katherine's voice is urgent but measured, almost giving the impression that she is unburdening herself to a patient and sympathetic interviewer. The result is a profoundly searching book—one that could potentially be frustrating for readers who require propulsive plots and clean resolutions, as it offers neither. Still, Chung makes it work beautifully by impeccably building a sense of inexorable apprehension as we begin to discern elements of self-deception and omission in Katherine’s narration, and secrets swell to bursting with world-shaking promise.
As the novel probes the secrets and lies that thrum beneath the surface of Katherine’s family, The Tenth Muse demonstrates, heartbreakingly, how acts of brutality—even those distant in time and geography—cast a dark shadow over relationships. Through Katherine’s voice, The Tenth Muse also explores the cold outer limits of ambition (“Don’t you know the rule,” they said, “that the price of your dearest wish is always everything you have?”) Katherine’s want, hard and spare, took hold of her, driving out the fears, the ones people tried to give her, tried to put into her heart with dark looks and patronizing smiles. But Katherine not only navigates her gender in a male-dominated field—she navigates her mixed race as well. Ethnicity, gender—these things don’t matter until they do, and it’s as exquisitely articulated as anything this thoughtful author has put to the page.
The central message of Katherine’s character arc is one that I should’ve seen coming, but was utterly astonished when I finally realized the author’s goals for her. That said, The Tenth Muse isn't all grim. The heart is always able to beat with a new rhythm and this sentiment is core to the novel. I won’t dare spoil the context, but the novel's final words still haunt my thoughts: “in the end, we can only unlock our own locks, we have only the gift of ourselves.”
Highly recommended!
March 24, 2019
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung is as ambitious and intriguing as the conplex math problems Katherine, the protagonist of this remarkable novel aims to solve. This is a novel, the scope of which is staggering--as Katherine moves through her life trying to discover who she is while negotiating the world of mathematics as a woman who refuses to be silenced or sidelined for anyone, no matter what it costs her. In her second novel, 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.
March 12, 2020
Resolve
My left brain aches, my right brain aches, my heart aches. The Tenth Muse is an extraordinary story that takes personal ambition, the logic of mathematics, and the highly emotional turmoil of family secrets and love, and overlays them to create an outstanding novel. A story that paints the most challenging decisions we would ever have to make – a choice between the things we love most.
Katherine has a gifted mathematical mind and from her childhood through to University she has always been disparaged and mistreated as she sought to compete in a male-dominated environment. Determined to never suppress her mind, her tenacious drive to open doors into new mathematical revelations placed her personal ambition above all of life’s other fulfilments.
Kat grew up with a Chinese mother and American father but early in her life, her mother left, unable to live the lie that she was Katherine’s birth mother and that her parents were married. Later also finding out that her father wasn’t her natural father, set in motion an anxious exploration into solving the mystery who her parents were. This led Kat to Germany and secrets that stemmed back to the Second World War, a Jewish family line, an escape to safety, two mathematicians as parents and a notebook that she instinctively held precious her whole life which was full of equations and mathematical notation.
What I found fascinating in the story was how well delivered the emotional and mental struggle in confronting unattainable resolution was portrayed. Kat’s life is often defined in choices between her very individual pursuit of ground-breaking achievements in solving mathematical theories, such as the Riemann hypothesis, and the human relationship costs.
As someone with a mathematical background and lover of literature, this double pleasure truly hit the mark with me. While language is the mechanism of literature, mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe – Galileo Galilei. This is a novel that examines the determination of achieving personal recognition in mathematics accomplishment and the determination to uncover the truth of her background and family history. Kat’s character and principles are wonderfully observed and challenged, knowing that the right choice will likely be the most difficult path but she will have to live with the consequences.
This is an inspiring story for those fighting prejudices and those seeking encouragement to prioritise their own dreams. The Tenth Muse is an enthralling story that I would highly recommend. I'd like to thank Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.
My left brain aches, my right brain aches, my heart aches. The Tenth Muse is an extraordinary story that takes personal ambition, the logic of mathematics, and the highly emotional turmoil of family secrets and love, and overlays them to create an outstanding novel. A story that paints the most challenging decisions we would ever have to make – a choice between the things we love most.
Katherine has a gifted mathematical mind and from her childhood through to University she has always been disparaged and mistreated as she sought to compete in a male-dominated environment. Determined to never suppress her mind, her tenacious drive to open doors into new mathematical revelations placed her personal ambition above all of life’s other fulfilments.
Kat grew up with a Chinese mother and American father but early in her life, her mother left, unable to live the lie that she was Katherine’s birth mother and that her parents were married. Later also finding out that her father wasn’t her natural father, set in motion an anxious exploration into solving the mystery who her parents were. This led Kat to Germany and secrets that stemmed back to the Second World War, a Jewish family line, an escape to safety, two mathematicians as parents and a notebook that she instinctively held precious her whole life which was full of equations and mathematical notation.
What I found fascinating in the story was how well delivered the emotional and mental struggle in confronting unattainable resolution was portrayed. Kat’s life is often defined in choices between her very individual pursuit of ground-breaking achievements in solving mathematical theories, such as the Riemann hypothesis, and the human relationship costs.
“All my life I’ve been told to let go as gracefully as possible. What’s worse, after all, than a hungry woman, greedy for all that isn’t meant to be hers? Still, I resist. In the end, we relinquish everything: I think I’ll hold on, while I can.”Kat’s integrity is admirable and what she really wants from those close to her is to be respected in her ability to achieve her goals, without favours. She also wanted to be recognised as a fashionable woman without camouflaging her femininity.
As someone with a mathematical background and lover of literature, this double pleasure truly hit the mark with me. While language is the mechanism of literature, mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe – Galileo Galilei. This is a novel that examines the determination of achieving personal recognition in mathematics accomplishment and the determination to uncover the truth of her background and family history. Kat’s character and principles are wonderfully observed and challenged, knowing that the right choice will likely be the most difficult path but she will have to live with the consequences.
This is an inspiring story for those fighting prejudices and those seeking encouragement to prioritise their own dreams. The Tenth Muse is an enthralling story that I would highly recommend. I'd like to thank Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.
September 21, 2019
A fascinatingly erudite and thought provoking historical novel by Catherine Chung written in the style of a personal memoir, with the extraordinary Katherine reflecting with on the challenges of her past life with the self awareness that perhaps there was much that she could have approached more wisely with the benefit of hindsight. She grew up in the post-WW2 years in small town New Umbria in Michigan, the child of an interracial relationship, with her American father, a man silent on his wartime experience, and Chinese mother. It was her father who triggered her curiosity in science, and her mother opened her eyes to the underlying principles within nature, prior to abandoning her when she was young. Katherine's aptitude for mathematics, the key to life's mysteries, was apparent even as a child, in this story of ambition, family drama, tragedy, lies, secrets, race, gender, love, and culture, where past history continues to haunt the future.
Feeling like an outsider even as a child, where her abilities were unacknowledged and treated with contempt, these are experiences that are to repeated in her future. It is surprising that Katherine wins a university scholarship, as she steps into an academic world run by men for men. Katherine harbours a drive to solve the mystery behind the Riemann Hypothesis, the greatest mathematical problem of the time. All that she believes about her personal fractured family history collapses as she now reevaluates her sense of identity and events that occurred during WW2 and secrets buried there. Despite the obstacles that face her, like the tenth muse of myth and legend, the strong, independent Katherine is determined to forge her own path in life, irrespective of the price it costs and toll it takes on her.
Chung is herself a mathematician, and she outlines the history of mathematics and science with skill and simplicity for the non-mathematician in this wonderfully complex novel. The characterisation of Katherine is complicated and well developed, both compulsive and satisfying. This is an inspiring read, beautifully written and moving, original in its interweaving of mathematics, history, identity and gender. Absolutely loved it, and recommend it highly. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
Feeling like an outsider even as a child, where her abilities were unacknowledged and treated with contempt, these are experiences that are to repeated in her future. It is surprising that Katherine wins a university scholarship, as she steps into an academic world run by men for men. Katherine harbours a drive to solve the mystery behind the Riemann Hypothesis, the greatest mathematical problem of the time. All that she believes about her personal fractured family history collapses as she now reevaluates her sense of identity and events that occurred during WW2 and secrets buried there. Despite the obstacles that face her, like the tenth muse of myth and legend, the strong, independent Katherine is determined to forge her own path in life, irrespective of the price it costs and toll it takes on her.
Chung is herself a mathematician, and she outlines the history of mathematics and science with skill and simplicity for the non-mathematician in this wonderfully complex novel. The characterisation of Katherine is complicated and well developed, both compulsive and satisfying. This is an inspiring read, beautifully written and moving, original in its interweaving of mathematics, history, identity and gender. Absolutely loved it, and recommend it highly. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.
December 22, 2022
this isnt the most exciting story out there. its quiet and understated, following the life of a woman in an unassuming way.
its a life of academia and universities, the consequences of war, being at home and exploring abroad, as well as discovering ones own identity.
i think if you prefer character driven novels and topics of mathematical mysteries, then this is the book for you!
↠ 3.5 stars
its a life of academia and universities, the consequences of war, being at home and exploring abroad, as well as discovering ones own identity.
i think if you prefer character driven novels and topics of mathematical mysteries, then this is the book for you!
↠ 3.5 stars
March 27, 2021
All the World’s A Pulpit
Catherine Chung has issues. Many, many issues. All packed tightly into this sardine tin-like novel of academic mathematics: misogyny and male cruelty of almost every sort to women, casual racism, inter-generational miscommunication, parental abandonment and lone parenting, warfare on two continents, international child smuggling, American academic politics, absence of sisterhood in science, the sad biographies of a number of important mathematicians ancient and modern (most ending badly), personal betrayal, sexual harassment, family deceit, PTSD, some not very subtle didacticism about number theory, and... oh yes, the frustrations of research into the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
Chung has just too many axes to grind, so many that none are made very sharp at all. I get it that most men are dicks and that women suffer terribly as a consequence. But this is hardly a revelation. That racism is endemic in small town America is also not a surprise. That families have secrets, lovers irritate one another, and life is often complicated and disappointing are not terribly newsworthy (or fiction worthy) topics unless some other literary purpose is served. Even the quite valid point that injustice reigns in a supposedly civilised world is on its own nothing more than a trite observation. Chung’s appreciation of the aesthetics of mathematics is clear, but her skill in communicating that appreciation is far less so. And the narrative glue, the central mystery of the piece, is so unlikely that it verges on literary criminality. The whole leads nowhere, at least nowhere interesting, certainly not a destination.
I think the takeaway from this book is that if an author intends to preach, he or she really has to decide what they want to preach about. The sin and its source have to be made explicit. Universal evil doesn’t have much credibility, even among hardened Gnostics. Serious writers then must ensure that no one knows they’re preaching if they’re doing so outside a church, synagogue, or mosque. Preaching reaches only as far as the choir in any case, and often not even that far. Much better to let moral outrage emerge through subtle insight than to have one’s protagonists agonise continuously about it. And if you’re describing bad behaviour, it helps to suggest a way such behaviour might be mitigated other than by the wholesale incarceration of those bearing the XY chromosomal infirmity. Otherwise even your fans might abandon the cheap seats for a more entertaining venue.
Catherine Chung has issues. Many, many issues. All packed tightly into this sardine tin-like novel of academic mathematics: misogyny and male cruelty of almost every sort to women, casual racism, inter-generational miscommunication, parental abandonment and lone parenting, warfare on two continents, international child smuggling, American academic politics, absence of sisterhood in science, the sad biographies of a number of important mathematicians ancient and modern (most ending badly), personal betrayal, sexual harassment, family deceit, PTSD, some not very subtle didacticism about number theory, and... oh yes, the frustrations of research into the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
Chung has just too many axes to grind, so many that none are made very sharp at all. I get it that most men are dicks and that women suffer terribly as a consequence. But this is hardly a revelation. That racism is endemic in small town America is also not a surprise. That families have secrets, lovers irritate one another, and life is often complicated and disappointing are not terribly newsworthy (or fiction worthy) topics unless some other literary purpose is served. Even the quite valid point that injustice reigns in a supposedly civilised world is on its own nothing more than a trite observation. Chung’s appreciation of the aesthetics of mathematics is clear, but her skill in communicating that appreciation is far less so. And the narrative glue, the central mystery of the piece, is so unlikely that it verges on literary criminality. The whole leads nowhere, at least nowhere interesting, certainly not a destination.
I think the takeaway from this book is that if an author intends to preach, he or she really has to decide what they want to preach about. The sin and its source have to be made explicit. Universal evil doesn’t have much credibility, even among hardened Gnostics. Serious writers then must ensure that no one knows they’re preaching if they’re doing so outside a church, synagogue, or mosque. Preaching reaches only as far as the choir in any case, and often not even that far. Much better to let moral outrage emerge through subtle insight than to have one’s protagonists agonise continuously about it. And if you’re describing bad behaviour, it helps to suggest a way such behaviour might be mitigated other than by the wholesale incarceration of those bearing the XY chromosomal infirmity. Otherwise even your fans might abandon the cheap seats for a more entertaining venue.
August 9, 2021
Thanks so much for your interest in THE TENTH MUSE! I hope you like it, and am so grateful to all of my readers.
October 18, 2019
I am into humanities, but this book proved to be both fascinating and engaging for me despite the field which I do not enter eagerly, namely, mathematics. It tells an intriguing story of a woman who, step by step, learns about her true identity and becomes a renowned mathematician against all odds.
The novel talks about some theories in a most interesting way, easy to follow by a reader with average knowledge, which I appreciated, and at the same time it is a tale of learning who Katherine really is, presented in the way that made me read till wee hours.
*A big thank-you to catherine Chung, Little, Brown UK and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The novel talks about some theories in a most interesting way, easy to follow by a reader with average knowledge, which I appreciated, and at the same time it is a tale of learning who Katherine really is, presented in the way that made me read till wee hours.
*A big thank-you to catherine Chung, Little, Brown UK and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
March 11, 2020
Ebook, read ...own ....
Plus....as a bonus ....I listened ( skimmed a little)... to the audiobook from the library (overdrive)....read by the ‘audiobook-goddess’ > *Cassandra Campbell*.
“The Tenth Muse”.... was a FANTASTIC SURPRISE! I have no idea why I put off reading it —
—reviews from * Peter, Paromjit, and Barbara*— are outstanding! Read them. I could honestly just cut and paste THEIR REVIEWS.... lol....
But....
what my friends didn’t tell me, ( mean people), was “NOT TO MISS THIS BOOK”.
I mean ‘really’ —“don’t skip this treasure” ......or listen to the audiobook ( either is great choice). It has a lot of emotional heart.
Cassandra Campbell always does justice to the written words.....
And...
Catherine Chung ‘wrote’ outstanding words. ( great fit together).
The storytelling drew me in immediately- it felt a little like a memoir- but it’s historical fiction.
Nobody has to be mathematician ( you don’t even need to know how to add)...to enjoy this book ....but those who ‘are’ in mathematic academia - will delight in the math-chatter-problem-solving-sections.
Silly me ( god I have too much time on my hands some days), I started googling Berhard Reimann .... wanting to know a little bit more about the German mathematician who made contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. ( if you just fell asleep reading that sentence - there is more from where it came from). Google is a nice friend.
The biggest thing I learned —- was that people who try to conquer the Reimann Hypothesis, don’t do it for money! Well... there is $1 million dollars to be earned if you do... so I wouldn’t shake off the bonus prize too easily.
So....with google’s help...I thought I’d quickly solve the challenging Reimann Hypothesis, for free! Ha...I failed. I just got hungry!
But back to more chatter and book reporting on “The Tenth Muse”...
There are main and subplots - themes worth discussing....ie...advance math,(numberphile), family, ( background family history), relationships, loss, abandonment, prejudice, competitiveness, selfworth, history, politics, mythology, literature, thriller-mystery aspects, womanhood, manhood, women in a field dominated by men, life challenges in general....love and all the complexities of love ( mixed with career passions).
Ladies?.....what would you do if you were only one of three women at a large academic conference with other men?
Would you purposely choose to hang around the other couple of women— or would you avoid them completely— why or why not? The book describe a scene that had me look at the situation very differently than what I thought I would normally have done.
The reason I jumped to read this book now in the first place was because Catherine Chung’s book, “The Tenth Muse”, was chosen as our ‘book-of-the-year’....part of our local “Silicon Valley Reads”, program. I love finishing a book - ( that has much to examine), then going to a group talk after.
Catherine was scheduled to be speaking at different venues and library’s all over town. I was looking forward to attending.
But...
...all events have been canceled due to the coronavirus that has hit our area. Emergency declaration has been mandated: all mass gatherings are cancelled.
Forty-five people have been confirmed ‘coronavirus-positive’, in my area. Increased numbers are anticipated. So....I won’t be hearing Catherine Chung speak about this book — but I definitely recommend reading it— reading it with a buddy would add value, too.
It’s an overall great novel with much interest to keep any reading-junkie- in the 7th-heaven-unputdownable satiated zone!
THIS IS HOW THIS BOOK BEGINS....
“Everyone knows that ONCE UPON A TIME there were nine muses. They were known as the daughters of Zeus, and wise men loved them, for they bestowed the gift of genius. ‘Sing in me O Muse’! cried Homer,
and the muses answered: filling his voice and spinning out his mortal talents to make immortal tales”.
“What not everyone knows is that once there existed another sister, who chose a different path. She was the youngest of them, and the most reckless, and when she came of age and it was time to claim and art, she shook her head, and she refused. She said she did not wish to sing in the voices of men, telling only the stories they wished to tell. She preferred to sing her songs herself”.
Katherine grew up in a small town - New Umbria, Michigan in the 50’s.
Asian, American, mixed race with Jewish blood, a math prodigy.
She knew she was different and she knew what she was up against-
She wanted what she wanted.... to be respected for her academic brilliance- and also — for her right to enjoy “being a girl”....( you can sing 🎶....”The Flower Girl Song”, now.....”I enjoy being a girl”!
Point is —-she didn’t have to dress like a man, even though she was mostly and predominantly working along side more men than women.
Wonderful - looking back - reflective story.... you’ll learn about Katherine’s coming of age, schools she attended,
college, post graduate education, the background of Katherine’s parents, withheld secrets, legends, the brutal devastation that WWII was, goals, mistakes, regrets, dreams and hope....and the essence between math and love.
Kudos to Catherine Chung. I really enjoyed her book - and hope to meet her here in the Bay Area one of these days.
Plus....as a bonus ....I listened ( skimmed a little)... to the audiobook from the library (overdrive)....read by the ‘audiobook-goddess’ > *Cassandra Campbell*.
“The Tenth Muse”.... was a FANTASTIC SURPRISE! I have no idea why I put off reading it —
—reviews from * Peter, Paromjit, and Barbara*— are outstanding! Read them. I could honestly just cut and paste THEIR REVIEWS.... lol....
But....
what my friends didn’t tell me, ( mean people), was “NOT TO MISS THIS BOOK”.
I mean ‘really’ —“don’t skip this treasure” ......or listen to the audiobook ( either is great choice). It has a lot of emotional heart.
Cassandra Campbell always does justice to the written words.....
And...
Catherine Chung ‘wrote’ outstanding words. ( great fit together).
The storytelling drew me in immediately- it felt a little like a memoir- but it’s historical fiction.
Nobody has to be mathematician ( you don’t even need to know how to add)...to enjoy this book ....but those who ‘are’ in mathematic academia - will delight in the math-chatter-problem-solving-sections.
Silly me ( god I have too much time on my hands some days), I started googling Berhard Reimann .... wanting to know a little bit more about the German mathematician who made contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. ( if you just fell asleep reading that sentence - there is more from where it came from). Google is a nice friend.
The biggest thing I learned —- was that people who try to conquer the Reimann Hypothesis, don’t do it for money! Well... there is $1 million dollars to be earned if you do... so I wouldn’t shake off the bonus prize too easily.
So....with google’s help...I thought I’d quickly solve the challenging Reimann Hypothesis, for free! Ha...I failed. I just got hungry!
But back to more chatter and book reporting on “The Tenth Muse”...
There are main and subplots - themes worth discussing....ie...advance math,(numberphile), family, ( background family history), relationships, loss, abandonment, prejudice, competitiveness, selfworth, history, politics, mythology, literature, thriller-mystery aspects, womanhood, manhood, women in a field dominated by men, life challenges in general....love and all the complexities of love ( mixed with career passions).
Ladies?.....what would you do if you were only one of three women at a large academic conference with other men?
Would you purposely choose to hang around the other couple of women— or would you avoid them completely— why or why not? The book describe a scene that had me look at the situation very differently than what I thought I would normally have done.
The reason I jumped to read this book now in the first place was because Catherine Chung’s book, “The Tenth Muse”, was chosen as our ‘book-of-the-year’....part of our local “Silicon Valley Reads”, program. I love finishing a book - ( that has much to examine), then going to a group talk after.
Catherine was scheduled to be speaking at different venues and library’s all over town. I was looking forward to attending.
But...
...all events have been canceled due to the coronavirus that has hit our area. Emergency declaration has been mandated: all mass gatherings are cancelled.
Forty-five people have been confirmed ‘coronavirus-positive’, in my area. Increased numbers are anticipated. So....I won’t be hearing Catherine Chung speak about this book — but I definitely recommend reading it— reading it with a buddy would add value, too.
It’s an overall great novel with much interest to keep any reading-junkie- in the 7th-heaven-unputdownable satiated zone!
THIS IS HOW THIS BOOK BEGINS....
“Everyone knows that ONCE UPON A TIME there were nine muses. They were known as the daughters of Zeus, and wise men loved them, for they bestowed the gift of genius. ‘Sing in me O Muse’! cried Homer,
and the muses answered: filling his voice and spinning out his mortal talents to make immortal tales”.
“What not everyone knows is that once there existed another sister, who chose a different path. She was the youngest of them, and the most reckless, and when she came of age and it was time to claim and art, she shook her head, and she refused. She said she did not wish to sing in the voices of men, telling only the stories they wished to tell. She preferred to sing her songs herself”.
Katherine grew up in a small town - New Umbria, Michigan in the 50’s.
Asian, American, mixed race with Jewish blood, a math prodigy.
She knew she was different and she knew what she was up against-
She wanted what she wanted.... to be respected for her academic brilliance- and also — for her right to enjoy “being a girl”....( you can sing 🎶....”The Flower Girl Song”, now.....”I enjoy being a girl”!
Point is —-she didn’t have to dress like a man, even though she was mostly and predominantly working along side more men than women.
Wonderful - looking back - reflective story.... you’ll learn about Katherine’s coming of age, schools she attended,
college, post graduate education, the background of Katherine’s parents, withheld secrets, legends, the brutal devastation that WWII was, goals, mistakes, regrets, dreams and hope....and the essence between math and love.
Kudos to Catherine Chung. I really enjoyed her book - and hope to meet her here in the Bay Area one of these days.
July 26, 2019
“The Tenth Muse” by Catherine Chung narrated by Cassandra Campbell in the Audible production is an absorbing listen. Campbell’s voice is lyrical and serene.
Chung is not only an author, but a mathematician as well. She combines her two strengths to create “The Tenth Muse”. Although math is almost a character of the novel, Chung brings in complex theorems and ideas and writes them simply so the nonmathematical can easily follow. Her main character is a woman who is gifted in mathematics in the 1960’s, when men dominated the field and women were not accepted as professional. This woman, Katherine, struggles to be true to herself and her abilities and navigate the tricky time period when teachers, scholars, and professionals did not recognize her gifts and disparaged her every accomplishment. Chung writes Katherine so realistically that I double-checked to see if this novel was based upon someone’s life. Chung weaves historical characters into Katherine’s life in such a way that it all seems plausible. It reads like an historical narrative of a female math protégée and her fight for validation.
To add complexity to Katherine, Chung writes her family life as complicated, with a Chinese mother and an American father, living in Michigan in the 1940’s. Katherine being part Chinese at that time of American history was a burden. Being part Chinese and a woman at University, especially MIT was extraordinary. Was she shunned for being a female or for being Asian?
All through the story, Katherine is obsessed with the Riemann Hypothesis. That thread binds the rest of the story of Katherine. It’s an amazing read of the frustrations women suffered in attaining acceptance in a male dominated field. It’s also a journey of Katherine’s origins. Who is she really?
This is a beautiful literary novel that will stay with me for a long time. Katherine makes choices that I’m not sure I could make. It would be a fabulous book club read.
Chung is not only an author, but a mathematician as well. She combines her two strengths to create “The Tenth Muse”. Although math is almost a character of the novel, Chung brings in complex theorems and ideas and writes them simply so the nonmathematical can easily follow. Her main character is a woman who is gifted in mathematics in the 1960’s, when men dominated the field and women were not accepted as professional. This woman, Katherine, struggles to be true to herself and her abilities and navigate the tricky time period when teachers, scholars, and professionals did not recognize her gifts and disparaged her every accomplishment. Chung writes Katherine so realistically that I double-checked to see if this novel was based upon someone’s life. Chung weaves historical characters into Katherine’s life in such a way that it all seems plausible. It reads like an historical narrative of a female math protégée and her fight for validation.
To add complexity to Katherine, Chung writes her family life as complicated, with a Chinese mother and an American father, living in Michigan in the 1940’s. Katherine being part Chinese at that time of American history was a burden. Being part Chinese and a woman at University, especially MIT was extraordinary. Was she shunned for being a female or for being Asian?
All through the story, Katherine is obsessed with the Riemann Hypothesis. That thread binds the rest of the story of Katherine. It’s an amazing read of the frustrations women suffered in attaining acceptance in a male dominated field. It’s also a journey of Katherine’s origins. Who is she really?
This is a beautiful literary novel that will stay with me for a long time. Katherine makes choices that I’m not sure I could make. It would be a fabulous book club read.
January 1, 2019
What a beautiful and mesmerizing book. I didn't so much read it as get lost in it, finishing it in little more than a day. Katherine is a Mathemetician, professional, respected, and accomplished. In the novel she looks back on her life, particularly the early stages of her career which were inextricably bound up with the story of where she came from.
In post-WWII America, numbers come naturally to Katherine from an early age, but the world of mathematics is never a natural fit. She is always the only woman, and almost always the only person who is not white (she's half white, half Chinese). The system is stacked against her in ways large and small, but despite her intelligence, she is not the kind of person who can use her confidence and boldness to push her forward against the tide.
Some of her insecurity is natural, but much of it is tied deeply to the mother who abandoned her as a child. As she grows up, this gets even more complicated when she discovers that hardly anything she knows about her family is true. Katherine's journey searching for her own identity, her family, her history, and her career all end up coming to a head together.
I have a particular soft spot for books about women in STEM and this one hit the spot. (It's the second 2019 release I've read and enjoyed, after LOST AND WANTED by Nell Freudenberger, about a female physicist and a difficult friendship.) It's clear Chung has dug deeply into Mathematics and that Katherine's brain hums with potential, but it also has the kind of family saga and historical drama you'd find in a book like PACHINKO. (If I was going to give this book as a mashup, it would be something like PACHINKO + Weike Wang's CHEMISTRY, books I both enjoyed very much but with very different styles, I see this one as melding them somewhat.) Deep and meaty enough topics about race, identity, and gender that it would be a perfect fit for any book club looking for a rewarding read.
In post-WWII America, numbers come naturally to Katherine from an early age, but the world of mathematics is never a natural fit. She is always the only woman, and almost always the only person who is not white (she's half white, half Chinese). The system is stacked against her in ways large and small, but despite her intelligence, she is not the kind of person who can use her confidence and boldness to push her forward against the tide.
Some of her insecurity is natural, but much of it is tied deeply to the mother who abandoned her as a child. As she grows up, this gets even more complicated when she discovers that hardly anything she knows about her family is true. Katherine's journey searching for her own identity, her family, her history, and her career all end up coming to a head together.
I have a particular soft spot for books about women in STEM and this one hit the spot. (It's the second 2019 release I've read and enjoyed, after LOST AND WANTED by Nell Freudenberger, about a female physicist and a difficult friendship.) It's clear Chung has dug deeply into Mathematics and that Katherine's brain hums with potential, but it also has the kind of family saga and historical drama you'd find in a book like PACHINKO. (If I was going to give this book as a mashup, it would be something like PACHINKO + Weike Wang's CHEMISTRY, books I both enjoyed very much but with very different styles, I see this one as melding them somewhat.) Deep and meaty enough topics about race, identity, and gender that it would be a perfect fit for any book club looking for a rewarding read.
July 15, 2021
گفتار اندر معرفیِ نویسنده
کاترین چانگ، در شهرِ «اوانستون» در ایالتِ «ایلینوی» دیده به جهان گشود و در ایالتهای نیویورک ، نیوجرسی و میشیگان بزرگ شد.
او در دورانِ ابتداییِ تحصیلِ آکادمیک در دانشگاهِ شیکاگو درگیرِ رابطهای کوتاه با ریاضیات میشود و پس از آن در اتاقِ فکری کنارِ دریا در سانتا مونیکا چندسالی را سپری میکند و سپس دورانِ کارشناسیِ ارشد خود را در دانشگاهِ «کرنل» ادامه میدهد.
وی «کشورِ فراموش شده» اولین رمانِ خود را در سال ۲۰۱۲میلادی به چاپ رساند و رمانش در چند مسابقهی ادبی نیز کاندید شد و در سال ۲۰۱۳ جایزهی افتخاریِ «قلم همینگوی» را از آن خود کرد.
او پس از آن به نیویورک نقل مکان کرد و برخی از کارهای خود را در «نیویورک تایمز ، رومپوس و گرانتا» منتشر کرد.
از دیگر آثارِ او جز رمانِ «کشور گمشده» میتوان به مجموعهی داستانِ کوتاهِ «خواهران» و رمانِ «امریکاییهای آسیایی در میشیگان» نام برد.
گفتار اندر معرفی مترجم
هستی خداکرمی، در سال ۱۳۶۸ در کرمانشاه دیده به جهان گشود و ترجمهی این کتاب که تا قبل از ایشان به فارسی برگردان نشده بود، نخستین اثرِ ادبیِ او به شمار میرود که کار ترجمهی آن تابستان۱۳۹۹ به پایان رسید و نهایتا در زمستان۱۳۹۹ توسطِ نشرِ ناهید در چاپِ اول به تعدادِ کمی چاپ و منتشر گردید.
وی در ابتدای کتاب با تقدیمِ اثر خود به پدر و مادرش نوشته است:
"به مادرم آزادزنی که همیشه در گوشم ترانهی بیپروایی و استقلال را زمزمه کرد، و به پدرم فرهیختهمردی که زندگیِ مرا با کتاب و ادبیات گره زد."
آشناییِ من با ایشان به واسطهی دوستی در سایتِ گودریدز رقم خورد که نهایتا منجر به آشنایی با رمانِ «الهه دهم» گشت که اعتراف میکنم حقیقتا یک آشناییِ جذاب و دوست داشتنی بود.
از آنجایی که این ترجمه همانطور که در بالا اشاره کردم اولین اثر اوست، سعی کردهام به نکاتی از جمله: اشتباهات نگارشی، ابهامات و گنگیهای ترجمه اشارهای داشته باشم تا هم در چاپهای بعدی اشتباهات نگارشیِ کتاب مرتفع گردد و هم نظرها و نقدهایم کمکی کوچک در راهِ زندگیِ حرفهایِ او در وادیِ پرپیچ و خمِ فرهنگ باشد و گرنه جز مواردِ زیر که تعدادشان به انگشتان دستها هم نمیرسد مترجم متنی روان و خواندنی از خود بجای گذاشته است و شایستهی تقدیر میباشد.
اشتب��هاتِ نگارشی:
صفحهی ۵۱"پیشخان" (پ.ن: پیشخوان)
صفحهی ۷۰"رجالهٰ مسیحی" (پ.ن: رجالِ مسیحی)
صفحهی ۱۸۴ "بنیانگزار موسسه" (پ.ن: بنیانگذار موسسه)
ترجمههای مشکوک و مبهم:
صفحهی ۹۸ "استفاده از لغات قلمبه سلمبه همانندِ معانقه، مغازله و مهرورزی"
صفحهی ۱۰۲ "پیتر معتقد بود دلیلِ ازدواج نکردن و تشکیلِ خانواده ندادنِ سم به نوعی تنبیهِ خودش بود...، اما سالها بعد من و پیتر فهمیدیم که سل در حقیقت تمایلاتِ متفاوتی داشت." (پ.ن: ... همجنسگرا بود.)
اشتباهاتِ ترجمه:
صفحهی ۱۱۸ "یک سال بعد با بیماریِسل که در انگلستان گریبانش را گرفته بود از دنیا میرود. او در آن زمان سی و دو سال دارد." (پ.ن: سی و دو سال داشت.)
روان نبودنِ ترجمه:
صفحهی۲۰ "اگر راهِ حلت را نشان ندهی اعتبارش هم نصیبت نمیشود." (پ.ن: کاملا مشخصه که نویسنده از لغت کردیت استفاده اما مترجمِ عزیز نباید از معنی لغتنامهایِ آن استفاده میکرد و بهتر بود بجای اعتبار از امتیاز استفاده میکرد.)
صفحهی ۱۵۳ "منتظرِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق بودن، از خود آن اتفاق بدتر است." (پ.ن: انتظارِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق، از خودِ آن اتفاق بدتر است.)
گفتار اندر عنوانِ فارسیِ کتاب
الهه دهم، عنوانِ ترجمه شدهی کتابِ «دِ تنت میوز» میباشد که مترجم در موخرهی کتاب در پاسخ به چراییِ انتخابِ این عنوان برای کتاب این چنین نوشته است:
"در ترجمهی عنوان از کلمهی الهه استفاده شده که جایگزینِ کلیترِ میوز است و در زبانِ فارسی مانوستر به نظر میآید. از آنجاییکه معنای میوز درونمایهی بنیادینِ کتاب است، دانستنِ معنای دقیقِ آن کمک میکند تا خواننده ارتباطِ بینِ عنوانِ کتاب و مفهومِ زیربناییِ داستان را هرچه بیشتر درک کند.
گفتار اندر معرفیِ کتاب
الهه دهم،
یک رمان است نه یک رمانِ ساده،
داستان است نه یک داستانِ ساده،
تاریخی است نه یک وقایعنگاریِ ساده،
فمینیستی است نه به معنای مسخرهی امروزیِ آن،
بلکه الهه دهم برای من خودِ زندگی بود. داستانِ دختری که میتواند زندگیِ هر دختری باشد و الهامبخش برایشان، دخترانی که از ابتدای کودکی رویاهایی دارند و با هزاران دیواری که جلویشان ساخته شده طرف میشوند، باید بیشتر از از جنس مخالف خود زحمت بکشند و گاه جان بدهند تا شاید دیده شوند!
کاترین، نام شخصیتِ اول رمان است، دختربچهای که از کودکی استعداد خاصی در رشتهی اعداد دارد و به علمِ جادوییِ اعداد عشق میورزد اما قرار نیست همهچیز به همین راحتی برای او سپری شود، او در هنگامِ بزرگ شدنش ما را با واقعیتهای نیمهی تاریکِ زندگیِ خود همراه و در زندگیِ خود غرق میکند به شکلی که هنگامِ آزار دیدنهایش غصه میخوریم، هنگامِ عاشق شدنش برایش خوشحال میشویم و برای موفقیتهایش کلاه از سر بر میداریم و برای فقدانهای زندگیش حسرت میخوریم!
آری، به همین دلیل عرض کردم که الهه دهم حقیقتا خود زندگیست، اما نه فقط زندگیِ کاترین بلکه تمامِ کاترینهایی که در سراسرِ دنیا از جمله ایرانِ خودمان زندگی میکنند.
الهه دهم را باید خواند، اما نه فقط برای لذتِ خواندنِ یک رمان بلکه باید از آن پند و الهام گرفت، بنابراین خواندنِ این رمانِ دوستداشتنی را اولا به دوستهای خانم و ثالثا به دوستهای همجنسِ خود پیشنهاد میکنم.
نقلقول نامه
“هیچچیز به اندازهی یک در قفلشده کنجکاویبرانگیز نیست.”
"وقتی کسی میخواهد برود، تو دیگر نمیتوانی جلویش را بگیری."
"حقیقت نه تنها آزادیبخش نیست، بلکه انسان را از پای در میآورد."
"من در تمامِ عمرم با موضوعاتی مواجه بودم که در خانواده دربارهی آنها صحبت نمیکردیم. حالا میفهمیدم آن سکوت قرار بوده روی چه دروغهایی سرپوش بگذارد."
"به شاگردانم میگویم که همیشه استعدادِ درخشان نیست که کاری را به ثمر میرساند. گاهی انسانها در کارشان رشد میکنند، گاهی هم زیرِ فشارِ کار از پا در میآیند، و آدم هرگز نمیداند چه کسی در ان زمان که باید و شاید با مسيلهی بابِ خودش مواجه خواهد شد. مهم این است که انسان تمام و کمال به کار دل بدهد و پشتکار داشته باشد."
"شنیدهام که میگویند یک جامعه را میتوان از طرز رفتارِ آن با افرادِ فرودستِ خودش شناخت.
اکنون بگذارید بگویم که من از طرزِ رفتار با بهترینهایمان در جامعه دچارِ وحشت شدهام."
"وقتی عضوِ یک تیم هستی،گاهی لازم است کوتاه بیایی و سازش کنی"
"تا قبل از اینکه به آلمان بیایم درک نمیکردم تاریخی که خارج از دروازههای کشورمان رقم میخورد، زندگی مرا هم تحتِ تاثیر قرار میدهد."
"منتظرِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق بودن، از خود آن اتفاق بدتر است."
"استبدادِ تاریخ همین است که همیشه برای برقراریِ عدالت خیلی دیر شده و هزینهی آن بیش از حد بالا رفته است."
“گاهی دست کشیدن از تمامِ آنچه برایش زحمت کشیدهای احساسِ خوبی به انسان میدهد. گاهی، ویران کردنِ همهچیز تا آخرین آجر، حسِ خوبی به همراه دارد.”
"به این فکر میکنم که ما آدمها چه بلاهایِ وحشتناکی سرِ هم میآوریم. چه کارهای وحشتناکی که به اسمِ عشق انجام میدهیم!"
کارنامه
بدون هیچگونه لطف، تعارف یا ارفاقی ۵ستاره برای کتاب منظور میکنم چون کتاب برای من موضوعِ جذابی داشت، نویسنده به بهترین شکلِ ممکن داستانش را به روی کاغذ آورد و به پایان رساند و از همه مهمتر در هنگامِ خواندنِ کتاب لحظاتی خوبی را با کتاب تجربه کردم و از خواندنش لذت بردم.
دانلود نامه
فایلِ ایپابِ کتاب به زبانِ انگلیسی را در کانال تلگرام آپلود کردهام، در صورت نیاز میتوانید آنرا از لینک زیر دانلود نمایید:
https://t.me/reviewsbysoheil/240
نوزدهم اردیبهشتماه یکهزار و چهارصد
----------------------------
بروزرسانیِِ نخست در تاریخ ۲۸ اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۰
بروزرسانیِ مرتبهی دوم در تاریخ ۲۳ تیر ۱۴۰۰
پاسخ مترجم در مورد انتقادهای مطروحه
اول، نوشتن کلمهی پیشخوان به این شکل یک غلط رایج هست، در این مورد استاد نجفی در کتاب «غلط ننویسیم» صفحهی ۹۴ مدخلی دارند از این قرار:
«املای پیشخان به همین صورت صحیح است. غالباً آن را به صورت پیشخوان مینویسند و غلط است». آقای رضا شکرالهی هم در کتاب «مزخرفات فارسی» که در آن از اشتباههای کاربردی فارسی صحبت میکنند بخش کوتاهی رو تحت عنوان «پیشخان یا پیشخوان» (صفحات ۷۶ تا ۷۸) رو به توضیح مفصل همین اشتباه رایج پرداختند.
سوم، در مورد کلمهی رجاله، شما رجال رو پیشنهاد داده بودید که معنای متفاوتی داره. در واقع میشه گفت این دو کلمه معنای متضاد هم رو دارند. در فرهنگ دهخدا رجاله به معنی فرومایگان و مردم پست آورده شده، ولی رجال جمع رجل و به معنی بزرگان و نجاست. در اینجا با توجه به متن اصلی همون واژه رجاله درست است.
سوما، نکته بعدی استفاده از لغات قلمبه سلمبه بود که هرچند حق با شماست، اما باید تیغ سانسور رو هم در نظر گرفت. بین حذف این مفاهیم و انتخاب لغات جایگزین نامأنوسترشان به جهت دور زدن سانسور، بنده دومین راهکار رو انتخاب کردم. در ترجمه اولیهی کتاب من هم واژههای همجنسگرا و معاشقه و همآغوشی و الخ. رو نوشته بودم، اما متأسفانه...
کاترین چانگ، در شهرِ «اوانستون» در ایالتِ «ایلینوی» دیده به جهان گشود و در ایالتهای نیویورک ، نیوجرسی و میشیگان بزرگ شد.
او در دورانِ ابتداییِ تحصیلِ آکادمیک در دانشگاهِ شیکاگو درگیرِ رابطهای کوتاه با ریاضیات میشود و پس از آن در اتاقِ فکری کنارِ دریا در سانتا مونیکا چندسالی را سپری میکند و سپس دورانِ کارشناسیِ ارشد خود را در دانشگاهِ «کرنل» ادامه میدهد.
وی «کشورِ فراموش شده» اولین رمانِ خود را در سال ۲۰۱۲میلادی به چاپ رساند و رمانش در چند مسابقهی ادبی نیز کاندید شد و در سال ۲۰۱۳ جایزهی افتخاریِ «قلم همینگوی» را از آن خود کرد.
او پس از آن به نیویورک نقل مکان کرد و برخی از کارهای خود را در «نیویورک تایمز ، رومپوس و گرانتا» منتشر کرد.
از دیگر آثارِ او جز رمانِ «کشور گمشده» میتوان به مجموعهی داستانِ کوتاهِ «خواهران» و رمانِ «امریکاییهای آسیایی در میشیگان» نام برد.
گفتار اندر معرفی مترجم
هستی خداکرمی، در سال ۱۳۶۸ در کرمانشاه دیده به جهان گشود و ترجمهی این کتاب که تا قبل از ایشان به فارسی برگردان نشده بود، نخستین اثرِ ادبیِ او به شمار میرود که کار ترجمهی آن تابستان۱۳۹۹ به پایان رسید و نهایتا در زمستان۱۳۹۹ توسطِ نشرِ ناهید در چاپِ اول به تعدادِ کمی چاپ و منتشر گردید.
وی در ابتدای کتاب با تقدیمِ اثر خود به پدر و مادرش نوشته است:
"به مادرم آزادزنی که همیشه در گوشم ترانهی بیپروایی و استقلال را زمزمه کرد، و به پدرم فرهیختهمردی که زندگیِ مرا با کتاب و ادبیات گره زد."
آشناییِ من با ایشان به واسطهی دوستی در سایتِ گودریدز رقم خورد که نهایتا منجر به آشنایی با رمانِ «الهه دهم» گشت که اعتراف میکنم حقیقتا یک آشناییِ جذاب و دوست داشتنی بود.
از آنجایی که این ترجمه همانطور که در بالا اشاره کردم اولین اثر اوست، سعی کردهام به نکاتی از جمله: اشتباهات نگارشی، ابهامات و گنگیهای ترجمه اشارهای داشته باشم تا هم در چاپهای بعدی اشتباهات نگارشیِ کتاب مرتفع گردد و هم نظرها و نقدهایم کمکی کوچک در راهِ زندگیِ حرفهایِ او در وادیِ پرپیچ و خمِ فرهنگ باشد و گرنه جز مواردِ زیر که تعدادشان به انگشتان دستها هم نمیرسد مترجم متنی روان و خواندنی از خود بجای گذاشته است و شایستهی تقدیر میباشد.
اشتب��هاتِ نگارشی:
صفحهی ۵۱"پیشخان" (پ.ن: پیشخوان)
صفحهی ۷۰"رجالهٰ مسیحی" (پ.ن: رجالِ مسیحی)
صفحهی ۱۸۴ "بنیانگزار موسسه" (پ.ن: بنیانگذار موسسه)
ترجمههای مشکوک و مبهم:
صفحهی ۹۸ "استفاده از لغات قلمبه سلمبه همانندِ معانقه، مغازله و مهرورزی"
صفحهی ۱۰۲ "پیتر معتقد بود دلیلِ ازدواج نکردن و تشکیلِ خانواده ندادنِ سم به نوعی تنبیهِ خودش بود...، اما سالها بعد من و پیتر فهمیدیم که سل در حقیقت تمایلاتِ متفاوتی داشت." (پ.ن: ... همجنسگرا بود.)
اشتباهاتِ ترجمه:
صفحهی ۱۱۸ "یک سال بعد با بیماریِسل که در انگلستان گریبانش را گرفته بود از دنیا میرود. او در آن زمان سی و دو سال دارد." (پ.ن: سی و دو سال داشت.)
روان نبودنِ ترجمه:
صفحهی۲۰ "اگر راهِ حلت را نشان ندهی اعتبارش هم نصیبت نمیشود." (پ.ن: کاملا مشخصه که نویسنده از لغت کردیت استفاده اما مترجمِ عزیز نباید از معنی لغتنامهایِ آن استفاده میکرد و بهتر بود بجای اعتبار از امتیاز استفاده میکرد.)
صفحهی ۱۵۳ "منتظرِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق بودن، از خود آن اتفاق بدتر است." (پ.ن: انتظارِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق، از خودِ آن اتفاق بدتر است.)
گفتار اندر عنوانِ فارسیِ کتاب
الهه دهم، عنوانِ ترجمه شدهی کتابِ «دِ تنت میوز» میباشد که مترجم در موخرهی کتاب در پاسخ به چراییِ انتخابِ این عنوان برای کتاب این چنین نوشته است:
"در ترجمهی عنوان از کلمهی الهه استفاده شده که جایگزینِ کلیترِ میوز است و در زبانِ فارسی مانوستر به نظر میآید. از آنجاییکه معنای میوز درونمایهی بنیادینِ کتاب است، دانستنِ معنای دقیقِ آن کمک میکند تا خواننده ارتباطِ بینِ عنوانِ کتاب و مفهومِ زیربناییِ داستان را هرچه بیشتر درک کند.
گفتار اندر معرفیِ کتاب
الهه دهم،
یک رمان است نه یک رمانِ ساده،
داستان است نه یک داستانِ ساده،
تاریخی است نه یک وقایعنگاریِ ساده،
فمینیستی است نه به معنای مسخرهی امروزیِ آن،
بلکه الهه دهم برای من خودِ زندگی بود. داستانِ دختری که میتواند زندگیِ هر دختری باشد و الهامبخش برایشان، دخترانی که از ابتدای کودکی رویاهایی دارند و با هزاران دیواری که جلویشان ساخته شده طرف میشوند، باید بیشتر از از جنس مخالف خود زحمت بکشند و گاه جان بدهند تا شاید دیده شوند!
کاترین، نام شخصیتِ اول رمان است، دختربچهای که از کودکی استعداد خاصی در رشتهی اعداد دارد و به علمِ جادوییِ اعداد عشق میورزد اما قرار نیست همهچیز به همین راحتی برای او سپری شود، او در هنگامِ بزرگ شدنش ما را با واقعیتهای نیمهی تاریکِ زندگیِ خود همراه و در زندگیِ خود غرق میکند به شکلی که هنگامِ آزار دیدنهایش غصه میخوریم، هنگامِ عاشق شدنش برایش خوشحال میشویم و برای موفقیتهایش کلاه از سر بر میداریم و برای فقدانهای زندگیش حسرت میخوریم!
آری، به همین دلیل عرض کردم که الهه دهم حقیقتا خود زندگیست، اما نه فقط زندگیِ کاترین بلکه تمامِ کاترینهایی که در سراسرِ دنیا از جمله ایرانِ خودمان زندگی میکنند.
الهه دهم را باید خواند، اما نه فقط برای لذتِ خواندنِ یک رمان بلکه باید از آن پند و الهام گرفت، بنابراین خواندنِ این رمانِ دوستداشتنی را اولا به دوستهای خانم و ثالثا به دوستهای همجنسِ خود پیشنهاد میکنم.
نقلقول نامه
“هیچچیز به اندازهی یک در قفلشده کنجکاویبرانگیز نیست.”
"وقتی کسی میخواهد برود، تو دیگر نمیتوانی جلویش را بگیری."
"حقیقت نه تنها آزادیبخش نیست، بلکه انسان را از پای در میآورد."
"من در تمامِ عمرم با موضوعاتی مواجه بودم که در خانواده دربارهی آنها صحبت نمیکردیم. حالا میفهمیدم آن سکوت قرار بوده روی چه دروغهایی سرپوش بگذارد."
"به شاگردانم میگویم که همیشه استعدادِ درخشان نیست که کاری را به ثمر میرساند. گاهی انسانها در کارشان رشد میکنند، گاهی هم زیرِ فشارِ کار از پا در میآیند، و آدم هرگز نمیداند چه کسی در ان زمان که باید و شاید با مسيلهی بابِ خودش مواجه خواهد شد. مهم این است که انسان تمام و کمال به کار دل بدهد و پشتکار داشته باشد."
"شنیدهام که میگویند یک جامعه را میتوان از طرز رفتارِ آن با افرادِ فرودستِ خودش شناخت.
اکنون بگذارید بگویم که من از طرزِ رفتار با بهترینهایمان در جامعه دچارِ وحشت شدهام."
"وقتی عضوِ یک تیم هستی،گاهی لازم است کوتاه بیایی و سازش کنی"
"تا قبل از اینکه به آلمان بیایم درک نمیکردم تاریخی که خارج از دروازههای کشورمان رقم میخورد، زندگی مرا هم تحتِ تاثیر قرار میدهد."
"منتظرِ وقوعِ یک اتفاق بودن، از خود آن اتفاق بدتر است."
"استبدادِ تاریخ همین است که همیشه برای برقراریِ عدالت خیلی دیر شده و هزینهی آن بیش از حد بالا رفته است."
“گاهی دست کشیدن از تمامِ آنچه برایش زحمت کشیدهای احساسِ خوبی به انسان میدهد. گاهی، ویران کردنِ همهچیز تا آخرین آجر، حسِ خوبی به همراه دارد.”
"به این فکر میکنم که ما آدمها چه بلاهایِ وحشتناکی سرِ هم میآوریم. چه کارهای وحشتناکی که به اسمِ عشق انجام میدهیم!"
کارنامه
بدون هیچگونه لطف، تعارف یا ارفاقی ۵ستاره برای کتاب منظور میکنم چون کتاب برای من موضوعِ جذابی داشت، نویسنده به بهترین شکلِ ممکن داستانش را به روی کاغذ آورد و به پایان رساند و از همه مهمتر در هنگامِ خواندنِ کتاب لحظاتی خوبی را با کتاب تجربه کردم و از خواندنش لذت بردم.
دانلود نامه
فایلِ ایپابِ کتاب به زبانِ انگلیسی را در کانال تلگرام آپلود کردهام، در صورت نیاز میتوانید آنرا از لینک زیر دانلود نمایید:
https://t.me/reviewsbysoheil/240
نوزدهم اردیبهشتماه یکهزار و چهارصد
----------------------------
بروزرسانیِِ نخست در تاریخ ۲۸ اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۰
بروزرسانیِ مرتبهی دوم در تاریخ ۲۳ تیر ۱۴۰۰
پاسخ مترجم در مورد انتقادهای مطروحه
اول، نوشتن کلمهی پیشخوان به این شکل یک غلط رایج هست، در این مورد استاد نجفی در کتاب «غلط ننویسیم» صفحهی ۹۴ مدخلی دارند از این قرار:
«املای پیشخان به همین صورت صحیح است. غالباً آن را به صورت پیشخوان مینویسند و غلط است». آقای رضا شکرالهی هم در کتاب «مزخرفات فارسی» که در آن از اشتباههای کاربردی فارسی صحبت میکنند بخش کوتاهی رو تحت عنوان «پیشخان یا پیشخوان» (صفحات ۷۶ تا ۷۸) رو به توضیح مفصل همین اشتباه رایج پرداختند.
سوم، در مورد کلمهی رجاله، شما رجال رو پیشنهاد داده بودید که معنای متفاوتی داره. در واقع میشه گفت این دو کلمه معنای متضاد هم رو دارند. در فرهنگ دهخدا رجاله به معنی فرومایگان و مردم پست آورده شده، ولی رجال جمع رجل و به معنی بزرگان و نجاست. در اینجا با توجه به متن اصلی همون واژه رجاله درست است.
سوما، نکته بعدی استفاده از لغات قلمبه سلمبه بود که هرچند حق با شماست، اما باید تیغ سانسور رو هم در نظر گرفت. بین حذف این مفاهیم و انتخاب لغات جایگزین نامأنوسترشان به جهت دور زدن سانسور، بنده دومین راهکار رو انتخاب کردم. در ترجمه اولیهی کتاب من هم واژههای همجنسگرا و معاشقه و همآغوشی و الخ. رو نوشته بودم، اما متأسفانه...
May 1, 2019
Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician, in 1859 proposed the Riemann hypothesis, which remains unsolved to this day. “In fact, the Clay Institute is offering $1 million to the person who solves it first.”
This story is about a young ambitious woman who tries to solve the Riemann hypothesis. Set during a time when only men studied science and only men were given positions as professors. Katherine, the protagonist, is being told repeatedly that she could achieve so much if only she were a man.
Katherine grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in the small town of New Umbria, Michigan. Even as a young girl she understood the power of what her mother was telling her, “that numbers underlay the mysteries of nature. That if you could unlock their secrets, you could catch a glimpse of the order within.”
Her father refused to talk about the war or his experience in it. Her mother avoided talk about China where she was from.
When it stormed, her curiosity led her to learn about protons and electrons. From her mother she learned that she could get closer to nature by learning how it worked.
Her father sparked her interest in science, showing her little experiments. He involved her in his projects. At the same time, quizzing each other on Morse code and electrical principles.
She receives scholarship from Purdue University against all odds. Her class on the first day is all male except her. And most of the time, she is the only woman in any math class.
She is told, “If you were a man, you’d have a brilliant future ahead of you.”
At the end, she is accepted to every graduate program she’d applied. It is then, when she first learns about the Riemann hypothesis.
The story mentions many historical mathematicians and scientists and their achievements. It is very brief, thus enriching the story and not overwhelming it.
While in Bonn, Katherine meets another woman scholar, but in quite different field of folklore. She is collecting folktales for her new book, revealing an interesting aspect of fairy tales collected by Grimm Brothers and changes they brought in their retelling.
It is a very interesting read, bringing a little-known mathematical theory, intertwined with a compelling story of an ambitious woman who sets her goals very high; in a time when it’s not on her side and she needs to work double hard. She doesn’t necessarily reaches the very top, but what she also learns might be even more valuable to her, the self-discovery, the meaning of life.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
This story is about a young ambitious woman who tries to solve the Riemann hypothesis. Set during a time when only men studied science and only men were given positions as professors. Katherine, the protagonist, is being told repeatedly that she could achieve so much if only she were a man.
Katherine grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in the small town of New Umbria, Michigan. Even as a young girl she understood the power of what her mother was telling her, “that numbers underlay the mysteries of nature. That if you could unlock their secrets, you could catch a glimpse of the order within.”
Her father refused to talk about the war or his experience in it. Her mother avoided talk about China where she was from.
When it stormed, her curiosity led her to learn about protons and electrons. From her mother she learned that she could get closer to nature by learning how it worked.
Her father sparked her interest in science, showing her little experiments. He involved her in his projects. At the same time, quizzing each other on Morse code and electrical principles.
She receives scholarship from Purdue University against all odds. Her class on the first day is all male except her. And most of the time, she is the only woman in any math class.
She is told, “If you were a man, you’d have a brilliant future ahead of you.”
At the end, she is accepted to every graduate program she’d applied. It is then, when she first learns about the Riemann hypothesis.
The story mentions many historical mathematicians and scientists and their achievements. It is very brief, thus enriching the story and not overwhelming it.
While in Bonn, Katherine meets another woman scholar, but in quite different field of folklore. She is collecting folktales for her new book, revealing an interesting aspect of fairy tales collected by Grimm Brothers and changes they brought in their retelling.
It is a very interesting read, bringing a little-known mathematical theory, intertwined with a compelling story of an ambitious woman who sets her goals very high; in a time when it’s not on her side and she needs to work double hard. She doesn’t necessarily reaches the very top, but what she also learns might be even more valuable to her, the self-discovery, the meaning of life.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
March 20, 2022
خب....از کجا شروع کنم؟
اول از همه بگم که این کتاب خیلی برای من عزیزه، چون استاد زبان عزیزم خانم خداکرمی، مترجمش بودن و این کتاب رو به من هدیه دادن😍، یکی از بهترین هدیه هایی که دریافت کردم بی شک این کتاب بود و خیلی خیلی خیلی خیلی خیلی خوب ترجمه شده بود. شاید براتون جالب باشه بدونید که وقتی این کتاب رو میخوندم صدای خانم خداکرمی تو گوشم بود و انگار داشتم از زبون خودشون میشنیدم، خیلی خفن بود:)
داستان کتاب خیلی موضوع جالبی داشت و واقعا خوشم اومد👌🏻😌
بنظرم بخونید این کتابو چون واقعا ارزش خوندن داره، چه بخاطر داستانش، چه بخاطر ترجمش که بی شک عالی بود😁
اول از همه بگم که این کتاب خیلی برای من عزیزه، چون استاد زبان عزیزم خانم خداکرمی، مترجمش بودن و این کتاب رو به من هدیه دادن😍، یکی از بهترین هدیه هایی که دریافت کردم بی شک این کتاب بود و خیلی خیلی خیلی خیلی خیلی خوب ترجمه شده بود. شاید براتون جالب باشه بدونید که وقتی این کتاب رو میخوندم صدای خانم خداکرمی تو گوشم بود و انگار داشتم از زبون خودشون میشنیدم، خیلی خفن بود:)
داستان کتاب خیلی موضوع جالبی داشت و واقعا خوشم اومد👌🏻😌
بنظرم بخونید این کتابو چون واقعا ارزش خوندن داره، چه بخاطر داستانش، چه بخاطر ترجمش که بی شک عالی بود😁
December 31, 2019
Somehow, I'd always thought those were the two options available to me. The tenth muse gave up everything to claim her own voice. Kwan-Yin gave up everything on behalf of everyone else.
4.5 stars. What a surprising novel! The writing style is intelligent, beautiful, crisp but very easy and accessible. The story is very textured with so many layers and genres included. I loved her descriptions of the science of mathematics - she made it sound like magic.
The characters and the relationships felt very real, human and flawed. The WWII story line was beautifully and differently done, and touched me. Some of the other elements that made this book something special - the interesting historical figures, the myths and fables as well as the focus on feminism.
I highly recommend this, especially if you enjoy books by Liz Moore.
March 25, 2021
It’s readable and smart. I loved it.
Chapter 16 and its aftermath were distracting to me, though, and influenced my read of the novel as a whole. This chapter compresses the horrors of the lives of comfort women during WWII into a few unearned paragraphs, e.g. "The first time I saw her all her clothes hung off her shoulders in dirty rags...her eyes were two blackened shiny holes...I became half mad with desire for her…” "He put his sweating hand on the gash inside my thigh”… and then it leaps mid-chapter to an equally compressed and, in my view, unearned story about lives lost in the Holocaust...What are these melodramatic asides about WWII doing in this otherwise delicately told, true novel?
Chung’s protagonist is an intelligent, thoughtful, and generous person, and all of the less melodramatic parts of her story were very fine. I wish Chung had trusted her core story to stand on its own, because it's a compassionate story about a woman of color who is a brilliant mathematician, and who strives to achieve the recognition she deserves in a racist and misogynistic world. I hope in some future novel Chung turns to the topic of comfort women, and gives their story the space and time they deserve. And I hope the next novel from this marvelous author will be a story that grows organically from her uniquely human characters.
Chapter 16 and its aftermath were distracting to me, though, and influenced my read of the novel as a whole. This chapter compresses the horrors of the lives of comfort women during WWII into a few unearned paragraphs, e.g. "The first time I saw her all her clothes hung off her shoulders in dirty rags...her eyes were two blackened shiny holes...I became half mad with desire for her…” "He put his sweating hand on the gash inside my thigh”… and then it leaps mid-chapter to an equally compressed and, in my view, unearned story about lives lost in the Holocaust...What are these melodramatic asides about WWII doing in this otherwise delicately told, true novel?
Chung’s protagonist is an intelligent, thoughtful, and generous person, and all of the less melodramatic parts of her story were very fine. I wish Chung had trusted her core story to stand on its own, because it's a compassionate story about a woman of color who is a brilliant mathematician, and who strives to achieve the recognition she deserves in a racist and misogynistic world. I hope in some future novel Chung turns to the topic of comfort women, and gives their story the space and time they deserve. And I hope the next novel from this marvelous author will be a story that grows organically from her uniquely human characters.
October 19, 2021
خیلی شانسی، این کتاب را در کتابفروشی، پیدا کردم. پشت جلدش نوشته بود که الهه دهم، داستان کاترین و رویاروییش با فرض ریمان است. فکر میکنم همین کافی بود که بخرمش.
کم پیش میآید که چیزی درباره زندگی آکادمیک دانشمندان به موازات زندگی شخصیشان بخوانیم. درباره گرفتاریها، موقعیتهای شغلی، پستی و بلندیها، تقلبها، رقابتها و تبعیضهایی که کمتر شنیده میشود. نویسنده به شکل واقعگرایانهای همه اینها را خیلی خوب در جایجایِ داستانش گنجانده است و همین موضوع، خواندنش را ارزشمندتر میکند. در کنار اینها، شور و هیجان یک ریاضیدان و میل به جستجوگری هم به خوبی به تصویر کشیده شده بود.
چاپ و ترجمه کتاب هم خیلی خوب و تمیز بود. کتاب پر بود از واژههای تخصصی ریاضی که برای آنها معادلهای دقیقشان به کار رفته بود. من چندجا را با متن انگلیسی مقایسه کردم و به جز یک مورد اشتباه کوچکِ کماهمیت، همه چیز دقیق بود.
پ.ن.: این کتاب واقعا مظلوم بود. کتابی زیبا با چنین ترجمه دقیق و خوبی، فقط 440 نسخه چاپ شده بود. موقع خواندنش مدام فکر میکردم که اگر این کتاب را یک نشرِ پرتبلیغاتتر و با سروصدای بیشتری چاپ میکرد، چقدر بهتر دیده میشد.(و اینکه چقدر کتابهای معمولیتر ممکن است به خاطر تبلیغات گستردهتر، بیشتر خوانده شوند.) اینجا فکر کنم وظیفه خوانندگان باشد که این دسته از کتابها را تا میتوانند به دیگران معرفی کنند.
پ.ن. 2: این جور کتابها، به شدت میتواند الهامبخش باشد. اگر دور و برتان آدمهایی دارید که به علم (و یا ریاضیات) علاقهمند هستن و یا برای از بین بردن تبعیضها و پیشداوریهای اشتباه میکوشند، حتما این کتاب را به آنها پیشنهاد (و یا هدیه) بدهید.
کم پیش میآید که چیزی درباره زندگی آکادمیک دانشمندان به موازات زندگی شخصیشان بخوانیم. درباره گرفتاریها، موقعیتهای شغلی، پستی و بلندیها، تقلبها، رقابتها و تبعیضهایی که کمتر شنیده میشود. نویسنده به شکل واقعگرایانهای همه اینها را خیلی خوب در جایجایِ داستانش گنجانده است و همین موضوع، خواندنش را ارزشمندتر میکند. در کنار اینها، شور و هیجان یک ریاضیدان و میل به جستجوگری هم به خوبی به تصویر کشیده شده بود.
چاپ و ترجمه کتاب هم خیلی خوب و تمیز بود. کتاب پر بود از واژههای تخصصی ریاضی که برای آنها معادلهای دقیقشان به کار رفته بود. من چندجا را با متن انگلیسی مقایسه کردم و به جز یک مورد اشتباه کوچکِ کماهمیت، همه چیز دقیق بود.
پ.ن.: این کتاب واقعا مظلوم بود. کتابی زیبا با چنین ترجمه دقیق و خوبی، فقط 440 نسخه چاپ شده بود. موقع خواندنش مدام فکر میکردم که اگر این کتاب را یک نشرِ پرتبلیغاتتر و با سروصدای بیشتری چاپ میکرد، چقدر بهتر دیده میشد.(و اینکه چقدر کتابهای معمولیتر ممکن است به خاطر تبلیغات گستردهتر، بیشتر خوانده شوند.) اینجا فکر کنم وظیفه خوانندگان باشد که این دسته از کتابها را تا میتوانند به دیگران معرفی کنند.
پ.ن. 2: این جور کتابها، به شدت میتواند الهامبخش باشد. اگر دور و برتان آدمهایی دارید که به علم (و یا ریاضیات) علاقهمند هستن و یا برای از بین بردن تبعیضها و پیشداوریهای اشتباه میکوشند، حتما این کتاب را به آنها پیشنهاد (و یا هدیه) بدهید.
September 24, 2019
3.5 stars
This is a story filled with math but also fairy tales. An odd combination that just worked well.
I myself would rather scoop my eyes out with a spoon than work on math problems so believe me when I say you do not have to understand high math to appreciate the context of the story.
Set in the 50’s and 60’s, this is a time where women were expected to work for free if they ever want to work in science at all. And that was viewed as a privilege!
The author also included sections on other women in history who made an impact on science and it reminded me that I still need to read a book about Hypatia as she sounds absolutely fascinating.
Juxtaposed to the orderly world of mathematics Katherine’s personal history is a messy complicated puzzle. One that gets unraveled as the story progresses.
I liked that the story touched on WW2, Japanese comfort women and the mysteries of math, all making the first half a strong 5 stars.
But as the story progressed, Katherine’s emotional immaturity and air of victimhood tainted my enjoyment just a little. At the end of the story I was left with the feeling that Katherine never really learned from the watershed moments in her life.
I would still recommend the book as it has an intelligent and unique angle.
Netgalley ARC
This is a story filled with math but also fairy tales. An odd combination that just worked well.
I myself would rather scoop my eyes out with a spoon than work on math problems so believe me when I say you do not have to understand high math to appreciate the context of the story.
Set in the 50’s and 60’s, this is a time where women were expected to work for free if they ever want to work in science at all. And that was viewed as a privilege!
The author also included sections on other women in history who made an impact on science and it reminded me that I still need to read a book about Hypatia as she sounds absolutely fascinating.
Juxtaposed to the orderly world of mathematics Katherine’s personal history is a messy complicated puzzle. One that gets unraveled as the story progresses.
I liked that the story touched on WW2, Japanese comfort women and the mysteries of math, all making the first half a strong 5 stars.
But as the story progressed, Katherine’s emotional immaturity and air of victimhood tainted my enjoyment just a little. At the end of the story I was left with the feeling that Katherine never really learned from the watershed moments in her life.
I would still recommend the book as it has an intelligent and unique angle.
Netgalley ARC
May 19, 2021
وقتی مترجمی کتابی را برای ترجمه انتخاب میکند اهداف متنوعی ممکن است داشته باشد، از احتمال فروش گرفته تا کسب شهرت و پر کردن رزومه، اما اینجا با مترجمی دغدغهمند طرف هستیم، کسی که به جای انتخاب کتابی از نویسندهای معروف، رمانی را انتخاب میکند تا بازتابندهی بخشی از دغدغههای ذهنی خود او به عنوان یک زن در ایران باشد.
نوشتن دربارهی رمان سخت است، چراکه خطر لو رفتن داستان همیشه هست اما به همین بسنده میکنم که الههی دهم قصهی پرغصهی زنانی ست که تنها به جرم زن بودن رویاهایشان به محاق میرود. شاید بگویید این قصه تکراری است اما اگر سری به اخبار این سرزمین بزنید خواهید دید که زنان [اگر نه هنوز در ابتدای راه که] هنوز راه بسیاری دارند تا آنجا که دیگر اینگونه روایتها به تاریخ بپیوندد.
به امید روزی که همهی انسانها فارغ از جنسیت بتوانند به دنبال رؤیاهای خود بروند.
نوشتن دربارهی رمان سخت است، چراکه خطر لو رفتن داستان همیشه هست اما به همین بسنده میکنم که الههی دهم قصهی پرغصهی زنانی ست که تنها به جرم زن بودن رویاهایشان به محاق میرود. شاید بگویید این قصه تکراری است اما اگر سری به اخبار این سرزمین بزنید خواهید دید که زنان [اگر نه هنوز در ابتدای راه که] هنوز راه بسیاری دارند تا آنجا که دیگر اینگونه روایتها به تاریخ بپیوندد.
به امید روزی که همهی انسانها فارغ از جنسیت بتوانند به دنبال رؤیاهای خود بروند.
April 24, 2021
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 couldn’t see to free herself from her own imprisonment of victimhood.
Just an aside … as a woman I’ve 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 don’t hire girls.”
I neither felt victimized nor prejudiced against. I simply knew that was somewhere I didn’t want to work! And I moved on.
Chung couldn’t 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.
Just an aside … as a woman I’ve 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 don’t hire girls.”
I neither felt victimized nor prejudiced against. I simply knew that was somewhere I didn’t want to work! And I moved on.
Chung couldn’t 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.
September 28, 2022
Protagonist Katherine is an Asian American with a gift for math. She grows up in Michigan and comes of age in the 1960s. She pursues a number of theoretical proofs, including the elusive Riemann hypothesis. She must constantly prove herself and is often overlooked in favor of her male colleagues. The narrative arc revolves around her struggles to advance in her chosen field and family secrets that have been kept from her. Her search for her past takes her to Germany and China.
It is a compelling story of the hurdles that must be surmounted by a woman in a field dominated by men. I was drawn into the storyline from the first page. There are many ingredients that make this such a wonderful read – women’s issues, heredity, love, friendship, mentoring, identity, and storytelling. It is beautifully written and a pleasure to read. I have not come across many fictional accounts of a female mathematician and really loved this one!
It is a compelling story of the hurdles that must be surmounted by a woman in a field dominated by men. I was drawn into the storyline from the first page. There are many ingredients that make this such a wonderful read – women’s issues, heredity, love, friendship, mentoring, identity, and storytelling. It is beautifully written and a pleasure to read. I have not come across many fictional accounts of a female mathematician and really loved this one!
August 1, 2022
وقتی میگیم یه کتاب برامون خاصه، منظورمون از "خاص" اینه که یا هدیه گرفتیمش و یا اینکه خیلی باهاش ارتباط برقرار گردیم و یا خیلی چیزهای دیگه. ولی وقتی من میگم الهه دهم برام خاصه، منظورم خیلی متفاوت از اینهاست. این کتاب رو معلم گرانقدر زبانم ترجمه کرده و به محض اینکه فهمیدم، از خوشحالی نمیدونستم چیکار کنم و البته به اینکه کتاب خوبی باشه مطمئن بودم ولی باز هم غافلگیرم کرد.
اعتراف میکنم بدون اینکه به این توجه کنم که خانم خداکرمی مترجم کتابه، ترجمه اونقدر قشنگ و روان بود که هر لحظه به خودم یادآوری میکردم که این ترجمهی فوقالعاده کار ایشونه.
درمورد خود داستان هم باید چیزایی بگم. انتخاب این داستان برای ترجمه توی ایران واقعا کار بزرگ و در عین حال شجاعانهای هستش که من از این بابت واقعا بهشون افتخار میکنم. هرچقدر هم بگم کم گفتم که چقدر ما به کتابهای زیادتری در این موضوع در ایران نیاز داریم. به نظرم افراد خیلی خیلی بیشتری نیاز دارن این کتاب رو بخونن. نه تنها سختیها و مشکلات مختلف زنها نشان داده شده بود، مسئلهی دیگه، مسئلهی اقلیتها بود. کتاب روح بلندپروازی رو در من زنده کرد. یه نکتهی خیلی قشنگ هم هماهنگی مسائل و قضیههای ریاضی با سیر و روند داستانه که باعث میشه حتی کسایی که چیز زیادی درموردش نمیدونن، بهش علاقهمند بشن.
امیدوارم خانمهای بیشتری کتاب رو بخونن و بدونن که میتونن با پشتکار و استعدادشون دامنشون رو میان هزاران هزار شلوار نشون بدن. حتی اگه بیشتر اونها رو نشناسم و حتی اگه خیلی از اونها موفق نشن خودشون رو نشون بدن، من به تمام الهههای دهم سراسر جهان افتخار میکنم و خواهم کرد...
اعتراف میکنم بدون اینکه به این توجه کنم که خانم خداکرمی مترجم کتابه، ترجمه اونقدر قشنگ و روان بود که هر لحظه به خودم یادآوری میکردم که این ترجمهی فوقالعاده کار ایشونه.
درمورد خود داستان هم باید چیزایی بگم. انتخاب این داستان برای ترجمه توی ایران واقعا کار بزرگ و در عین حال شجاعانهای هستش که من از این بابت واقعا بهشون افتخار میکنم. هرچقدر هم بگم کم گفتم که چقدر ما به کتابهای زیادتری در این موضوع در ایران نیاز داریم. به نظرم افراد خیلی خیلی بیشتری نیاز دارن این کتاب رو بخونن. نه تنها سختیها و مشکلات مختلف زنها نشان داده شده بود، مسئلهی دیگه، مسئلهی اقلیتها بود. کتاب روح بلندپروازی رو در من زنده کرد. یه نکتهی خیلی قشنگ هم هماهنگی مسائل و قضیههای ریاضی با سیر و روند داستانه که باعث میشه حتی کسایی که چیز زیادی درموردش نمیدونن، بهش علاقهمند بشن.
امیدوارم خانمهای بیشتری کتاب رو بخونن و بدونن که میتونن با پشتکار و استعدادشون دامنشون رو میان هزاران هزار شلوار نشون بدن. حتی اگه بیشتر اونها رو نشناسم و حتی اگه خیلی از اونها موفق نشن خودشون رو نشون بدن، من به تمام الهههای دهم سراسر جهان افتخار میکنم و خواهم کرد...
June 19, 2019
Post WWII Michigan. Catherine is an ambitious Asian American math genius who quickly learns that the odds are stacked against her, being a woman in a man's field, which makes her more determined than ever to leave her mark in the world by solving one of the most impossible math hypotheses. While she attempts to unearth the mathematical challenges, she discovers puzzles that surround her own identity. For those who enjoyed Pachinko by Min Jin Lee or The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict.
December 17, 2019
Is this the only book to which I've given 5 stars in 2019? I just checked: apparently, yes.
When I first heard of this book, I leapt to add it to my reading list because, as far as I'm aware, it's the only novel extant that explores what it is like to be a woman in mathematics -- specifically, an Asian American woman in mathematics -- through the words of an author who has walked that path herself and can therefore portray its truths faithfully rather than sensationalistically. In this respect, the book lives up to what I imagined: it gives its readers a small taste of what math is, how it feels to do math, why math inspires such ardent love in its practitioners, and also what the quirky, cozy subculture of mathematicians is like -- the strong, warm friendships, etc. Even if, like me, you've already heard the well-worn anecdotes about Gauss, Hypatia, and Ramanujan more times than you can count, Chung's multidisciplinary eye and literary voice bring a little something new to her retelling of them. Thus, I think this book would be a satisfying read not only for my math friends with a hankering to see their lives reflected in literature, but also my friends who don't identify as "math people" and yet itch to peep through the keyhole and see what it's like, minus all the untrue and goofy stereotypes that abound in the media.
But this isn't just a book about math -- it's also about being a woman in a man's world and the thousand different intricate ways this can sting you when you least expect. The central romantic relationship in this novel is between a woman and a well-meaning liberal man who tries to do the right thing but, for all his good intentions, is ultimately unable to step out of his perspective and into hers, with disastrous results. The woman has her own blind spots, of course, and the complex, painfully human dance between them is rendered with great believability and specificity. The book does not make the error of treating male-female romance as the central fact of life, but neither does it overly romanticize friendships between women, which are shown over the course of the narrative to be capable of both thunderclap highs and ignominious lows: flawed vessels of human nature, just like everything else. In the end, the hero of the book seemed to me to be neither the charismatic male "genius" love interest, nor the equally charismatic best female friend, but the protagonist's long-suffering and self-denying dad, as entirely lacking in charisma as he was. Maybe that's the main lesson of the book: all human beings, brilliant mathematicians not excepted, worship a little too much at the altar of glamour and personal magnetism, while the real substance, the real value, the real leaven of our humanity, lies elsewhere.
When I first heard of this book, I leapt to add it to my reading list because, as far as I'm aware, it's the only novel extant that explores what it is like to be a woman in mathematics -- specifically, an Asian American woman in mathematics -- through the words of an author who has walked that path herself and can therefore portray its truths faithfully rather than sensationalistically. In this respect, the book lives up to what I imagined: it gives its readers a small taste of what math is, how it feels to do math, why math inspires such ardent love in its practitioners, and also what the quirky, cozy subculture of mathematicians is like -- the strong, warm friendships, etc. Even if, like me, you've already heard the well-worn anecdotes about Gauss, Hypatia, and Ramanujan more times than you can count, Chung's multidisciplinary eye and literary voice bring a little something new to her retelling of them. Thus, I think this book would be a satisfying read not only for my math friends with a hankering to see their lives reflected in literature, but also my friends who don't identify as "math people" and yet itch to peep through the keyhole and see what it's like, minus all the untrue and goofy stereotypes that abound in the media.
But this isn't just a book about math -- it's also about being a woman in a man's world and the thousand different intricate ways this can sting you when you least expect. The central romantic relationship in this novel is between a woman and a well-meaning liberal man who tries to do the right thing but, for all his good intentions, is ultimately unable to step out of his perspective and into hers, with disastrous results. The woman has her own blind spots, of course, and the complex, painfully human dance between them is rendered with great believability and specificity. The book does not make the error of treating male-female romance as the central fact of life, but neither does it overly romanticize friendships between women, which are shown over the course of the narrative to be capable of both thunderclap highs and ignominious lows: flawed vessels of human nature, just like everything else. In the end, the hero of the book seemed to me to be neither the charismatic male "genius" love interest, nor the equally charismatic best female friend, but the protagonist's long-suffering and self-denying dad, as entirely lacking in charisma as he was. Maybe that's the main lesson of the book: all human beings, brilliant mathematicians not excepted, worship a little too much at the altar of glamour and personal magnetism, while the real substance, the real value, the real leaven of our humanity, lies elsewhere.
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October 6, 2021“I couldn’t help but wonder why so many intelligent men aren’t more embarrassed to speak on topics they know nothing about, or why anyone would listen to [them] on such a matter in the first place. How are they so sure of themselves, and why are so many people so eager to listen? I’ve always wished I had the confidence to speak with half the conviction on subjects I’m actually competent to discuss.”
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March 16, 2024
The story of the Tenth Muse, and its opposite meaning in the story of Princess Kwan-Yin were the threads that first drew me in, and then the human tale and all the places it goes was challenged by my on-again-off-again reading style. This is a book that needs a constant eye, a steady mind (never a guarantee with me). Once the decision was made to be a one-book woman for a few hours, the battle was won, and the read completed.
This is a story that pulls from many areas, but consistently holds to the overriding theme of the Tenth Muse - stand your ground with purpose and deep commitment because you'll be giving up everything to do it. The victory will be yours alone, known fully to only you alone, and therefore may be bittersweet. That said, in the long view all is eventually equal. When all victories and defeats fall into that vast ocean where such measures lose all meaning the only meaning for the individual remains, as always, this moment, the present - a worthy value on which to risk all.
52:6
This is a story that pulls from many areas, but consistently holds to the overriding theme of the Tenth Muse - stand your ground with purpose and deep commitment because you'll be giving up everything to do it. The victory will be yours alone, known fully to only you alone, and therefore may be bittersweet. That said, in the long view all is eventually equal. When all victories and defeats fall into that vast ocean where such measures lose all meaning the only meaning for the individual remains, as always, this moment, the present - a worthy value on which to risk all.
52:6
June 11, 2019
I was hoping to like this much more. I preordered it so I assumed I would like it more, but I found it average. The one thing the protagainist Katherine is certain of is that she has an extraordinary gift for math. Her life goal is to "conquer the Riemann hypothesis, the greatest unsolved mathematical problem of her time." However, she met with severe resistance as a female in the 1950's and 60's. Her battle to have her work recognized and to overcome the prejudice against her gender in a male dominated field began in elementary school, and never ended.
There's also a human element to the story. Katherine has a confused upbringing and doesn't know where she belongs personally, and struggles with whether to do what she wants or to take a back seat and please others. Therefore of great importance ini her story is the greek myth of the tenth muse and the Chinese tale of Kwan-Yin. The tenth muse refuses to do what others want her to so she can decide her own destiny. Kwan-Yin gives her mortal life so she can serve the needs of others immortally.
Initially the math was interwoven with her family story and I quite enjoyed it. Then in advanced into math and her professors and love interests. However, and I must first disclaim that I hate math, the middle was primarily math, with a tinge of human relationships. And, although she gets into the meat of the family mystery toward the end, it wasn't emotive and felt weak. In and out I enjoyed it, but all and all it's an average read.
There's also a human element to the story. Katherine has a confused upbringing and doesn't know where she belongs personally, and struggles with whether to do what she wants or to take a back seat and please others. Therefore of great importance ini her story is the greek myth of the tenth muse and the Chinese tale of Kwan-Yin. The tenth muse refuses to do what others want her to so she can decide her own destiny. Kwan-Yin gives her mortal life so she can serve the needs of others immortally.
Initially the math was interwoven with her family story and I quite enjoyed it. Then in advanced into math and her professors and love interests. However, and I must first disclaim that I hate math, the middle was primarily math, with a tinge of human relationships. And, although she gets into the meat of the family mystery toward the end, it wasn't emotive and felt weak. In and out I enjoyed it, but all and all it's an average read.
September 20, 2024
A disembodied brain could think up all the mathematics there is. It just needs to come up with the concept of a something and extend that to two somethings and it is off an running. Of all the sciences, mathematics is something that happens completely inside one's head with no need for any physical proof. It's practice is a sort of lonely madness that has consumed many a mathematician.
Catherine Chung shows us this in spades in a beautifully researched novel. It helps to be a bit of a maths nerd, but there is very little actual maths involved. It is a story of finding oneself and discovering a passion that is insatiable. Nothing else matters as much as the truth, as is the case with all good mathematical proofs.
I would have guessed that it was largely lived experience that gave Catherine the story. I was very surprised to learn that she is a young author who has achieved this wisdom by endless research and discussion. Well done Catherine.
Catherine Chung shows us this in spades in a beautifully researched novel. It helps to be a bit of a maths nerd, but there is very little actual maths involved. It is a story of finding oneself and discovering a passion that is insatiable. Nothing else matters as much as the truth, as is the case with all good mathematical proofs.
I would have guessed that it was largely lived experience that gave Catherine the story. I was very surprised to learn that she is a young author who has achieved this wisdom by endless research and discussion. Well done Catherine.
September 5, 2019
Everyone knows that once upon a time there were nine muses ….
What not everyone knows is that there once existed another sister, who chose a different path. She was the youngest of them, and the most reckless, and when she came of age and it was time to claim an art, she shook her head, and she refused. She said she did not wish to sing in the voices of men, telling only the stories they wished to tell. She preferred to sing her songs herself.
I guess every book has an ideal audience – for this one its probably:
Some one with enough of a pure mathematics background that a book which opens with David Hilbert and his twenty-three problems immediately draws them in anticipation of what will follow – and is then drawn in further by the mix of well known and lesser known real life and historical mathematicians invoked as the story develops
Someone perhaps no longer active in mathematics – so that they do not get too worked up about the actual details of the Schieling-Miesenbach theorem, Mohanty problem and Kobalesky formula which form an essential part of the plot
Someone who enjoys well written literary fiction but also a story with a family drama/mystery plot in addition – one which draws on wartime European secrets
Someone aware of the sexist bias still prevalent in Mathematical fields – I think back on my time at Cambridge some 30 years ago and all the garlanded students, prominent post-graduates or renowned lecturers I can remember were male
Someone with three young daughters interested in how they learn to “sing their own songs” in whatever fields interest them
So it is not a surprise that I really loved this book – but I feel (and I think other reviews show) that it has much wider appeal.
My thanks to Little Brown for an ARC via NetGalley.
November 2, 2019
2.5 stars
definitely wouldve been a DNF if i hadnt listened to it on audiobook...
this was just another book in a string of underwhelming reads that got increasingly boring as i kept reading them. just didnt feel invested in anything or anyone. oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
definitely wouldve been a DNF if i hadnt listened to it on audiobook...
this was just another book in a string of underwhelming reads that got increasingly boring as i kept reading them. just didnt feel invested in anything or anyone. oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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