Thanks, Penguin First to Read readers,
for your early reviews and kind words. There's a leap of faith when you write a book. You have to hope that what you think is good and what your friends, loved ones, and confidants tell you is good is, when the time comes for publication, enjoyed by people you don't know at all. It's a bit nerve wracking to wait and see what the response will be. These early reviews have put a smile on my face.
http://www.firsttoread.com/Books/Book...
ADVANCE GALLEY REVIEWS
by Dana Keish, Cincinnati
First of all, the book cover designer did an outstanding job! I know that I would have picked this book up just because of the cover. Kudos! Beautifully written, the story of the Karnokovitch and related families was fascinating. When a world famous female mathematician passes away, her family and friends must host a week long Shiva which attracts mathematicians from all over the world. Dozens of characters move in and out of the story, each with their own back story. But the focus remains on the son, Alexander "Sasha" and the loss he must endure. I would strongly recommend this book and found it captured the "intellectual" life particularly well. Thanks for the advance copy!
by Suzanne Reuss, Scottsdale
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It has everything in it: Soviet prison camps, World War II atrocities, Holocaust survival, immigrant experiences growing up in the US, Soviet defection of artists to the U.S., mathematical geniuses and child prodigies, Jewish and Christian religious activities, Yiddish, Polish and Russian spoken by a parrot, hidden treasures and secret solutions to grand mysteries. And that's barely scratching the surface of a book filled with so much life even as it depicts the weeklong mourning for a celebrated mathematician. It is impossible to put this book down. Highly recommend!
by Stefanie Kamerman, Ashburn
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Mathematician’s Shiva, but who could not when you have a family of academics with family ties to Russia and Poland? Though the intellect of the characters is far above me, I enjoyed their ready wit, which added season to already perfect dish. When the cold winter months come my way, I will be bringing this book out to read again! The Mathematician’s Shiva is hilarious and upbeat despite Sasha’s mother. Thank you Penguin Group for the opportunity for review.
by LG Levin, Chicago
The Mathematician's Shiva is an original, heart-warming read of a brilliant immigrant family. Rachela Karnokovitch survives the Holocaust and then the Soviet Union by being a child prodigy in mathematics. She defects to the United States and is later joined by her husband and son, the primary narrator of this novel. The novel is the family's story as well as how Rachela cheats those who have cheated her of recognition. Primarily set on her deathbed and during the seven days of shiva following her death, it is full of a cast of mathematician characters that the reader can imagine are real. There are intricate descriptions of mathematics, cross-country skiing, Russia and Poland that enrich this loving tribute of a son to his larger than life mother. This is a wonderful book.
by Amber Peppers, Overland park
This is a story about family, loss, and genius. It was also hilarious! The characters are written beautifully and are all very colorful. I'm so glad I got a chance to read an advance copy of this book. I will definitely be buying my own copy.
by Marsha Turner, Marana
In The Mathematician’s Shiva, Stuart Rojstaczer writes a novel filled with quirky mathematicians who have come to pay their respect to their colleague, Rachela Czerneski Karnokovitch, and hoping to solve the Navier Stokes problem. They even go far as to consider opening up floor boards to see if Rachela has hidden the solution there. You will find yourself feeling sad one moment and laughing the next. My favorite character was Uncle Shlomo. He reminded me of an uncle I know. Even Pascha the African grey parrot becomes a part of the story that brings us humor. The story is told in the first person through the eyes of both Sasha, Rachela’s son, and Rachela, so everything seems more compelling. I could see this book discussed in a college literature class. His metaphor of the relationship between a tornadoes and bad things happening in our lives, still has me pondering that and discussing it among friends. Another topic for classroom conversations is one special character that inhabits this story, which takes place in Madison, Wisconsin, the character is Mathematics itself, and most particularly Navier Stokes. This also makes for a good discussion. The author made the subject of mathematics a character that becomes a big part of the story. Don’t be intimidated by that, because the author explains things so well, that after a while, you think you can understand the subject too. For me there were only two drawbacks to the story. They may seem minor to most people, but they became for me annoying. The author’s use of one particular trite phrase, “as per usual” got on my nerves. The other annoyance may not bother anyone else, but it was the overuse of the f word. I know that in today’s society that word is used as each one of the eight parts of speech, but I don’t like hearing this word, and I found I liked reading it I liked even less. I found myself saying, “You are mathematicians who solve the greatest problems of all time; you are geniuses, so why can’t you improve your vocabulary? We have a million words in the dictionary surely they could find better expletives.” I know no one else will be bothered by that, but I wanted to give an honest review. Stuart Rojstaczer has given us a glimpse into the world of Russian and Polish mathematicians that the reader can relate to. All in all, the mathematician’s son has told a good story.
http://www.firsttoread.com/Books/Book...
ADVANCE GALLEY REVIEWS
by Dana Keish, Cincinnati
First of all, the book cover designer did an outstanding job! I know that I would have picked this book up just because of the cover. Kudos! Beautifully written, the story of the Karnokovitch and related families was fascinating. When a world famous female mathematician passes away, her family and friends must host a week long Shiva which attracts mathematicians from all over the world. Dozens of characters move in and out of the story, each with their own back story. But the focus remains on the son, Alexander "Sasha" and the loss he must endure. I would strongly recommend this book and found it captured the "intellectual" life particularly well. Thanks for the advance copy!
by Suzanne Reuss, Scottsdale
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It has everything in it: Soviet prison camps, World War II atrocities, Holocaust survival, immigrant experiences growing up in the US, Soviet defection of artists to the U.S., mathematical geniuses and child prodigies, Jewish and Christian religious activities, Yiddish, Polish and Russian spoken by a parrot, hidden treasures and secret solutions to grand mysteries. And that's barely scratching the surface of a book filled with so much life even as it depicts the weeklong mourning for a celebrated mathematician. It is impossible to put this book down. Highly recommend!
by Stefanie Kamerman, Ashburn
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Mathematician’s Shiva, but who could not when you have a family of academics with family ties to Russia and Poland? Though the intellect of the characters is far above me, I enjoyed their ready wit, which added season to already perfect dish. When the cold winter months come my way, I will be bringing this book out to read again! The Mathematician’s Shiva is hilarious and upbeat despite Sasha’s mother. Thank you Penguin Group for the opportunity for review.
by LG Levin, Chicago
The Mathematician's Shiva is an original, heart-warming read of a brilliant immigrant family. Rachela Karnokovitch survives the Holocaust and then the Soviet Union by being a child prodigy in mathematics. She defects to the United States and is later joined by her husband and son, the primary narrator of this novel. The novel is the family's story as well as how Rachela cheats those who have cheated her of recognition. Primarily set on her deathbed and during the seven days of shiva following her death, it is full of a cast of mathematician characters that the reader can imagine are real. There are intricate descriptions of mathematics, cross-country skiing, Russia and Poland that enrich this loving tribute of a son to his larger than life mother. This is a wonderful book.
by Amber Peppers, Overland park
This is a story about family, loss, and genius. It was also hilarious! The characters are written beautifully and are all very colorful. I'm so glad I got a chance to read an advance copy of this book. I will definitely be buying my own copy.
by Marsha Turner, Marana
In The Mathematician’s Shiva, Stuart Rojstaczer writes a novel filled with quirky mathematicians who have come to pay their respect to their colleague, Rachela Czerneski Karnokovitch, and hoping to solve the Navier Stokes problem. They even go far as to consider opening up floor boards to see if Rachela has hidden the solution there. You will find yourself feeling sad one moment and laughing the next. My favorite character was Uncle Shlomo. He reminded me of an uncle I know. Even Pascha the African grey parrot becomes a part of the story that brings us humor. The story is told in the first person through the eyes of both Sasha, Rachela’s son, and Rachela, so everything seems more compelling. I could see this book discussed in a college literature class. His metaphor of the relationship between a tornadoes and bad things happening in our lives, still has me pondering that and discussing it among friends. Another topic for classroom conversations is one special character that inhabits this story, which takes place in Madison, Wisconsin, the character is Mathematics itself, and most particularly Navier Stokes. This also makes for a good discussion. The author made the subject of mathematics a character that becomes a big part of the story. Don’t be intimidated by that, because the author explains things so well, that after a while, you think you can understand the subject too. For me there were only two drawbacks to the story. They may seem minor to most people, but they became for me annoying. The author’s use of one particular trite phrase, “as per usual” got on my nerves. The other annoyance may not bother anyone else, but it was the overuse of the f word. I know that in today’s society that word is used as each one of the eight parts of speech, but I don’t like hearing this word, and I found I liked reading it I liked even less. I found myself saying, “You are mathematicians who solve the greatest problems of all time; you are geniuses, so why can’t you improve your vocabulary? We have a million words in the dictionary surely they could find better expletives.” I know no one else will be bothered by that, but I wanted to give an honest review. Stuart Rojstaczer has given us a glimpse into the world of Russian and Polish mathematicians that the reader can relate to. All in all, the mathematician’s son has told a good story.
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