Greg’s Comments (group member since Jul 02, 2014)

Greg’s comments from the All About Books group.

Jess wrote: "I finished it a few days ago and found it very charming. I think the maths was explained very well on the level of someone with basic knowledge but the interest to learn more, just like the houseke..."

Ha ha, that makes sense Jess. I can see how some of the baseball could have been confusing without knowing the game. Glad you enjoyed the book though. I thought it was charming too!

This was my first by Ogawa. I just looked up the descriptions of her other books, and it looks quite varied! I will definitely want to read more of her work at some point.

LauraT wrote: "Started yesterday and liking it a lot so far! Today I'm really busy so I won't be able of reading anything, but I hope to go on tomorrow!!"

Hope you end up enjoying it as much as I did Laura!

Almost done and it has totally won me over! I just love the book!

Leslie wrote: "I am a physical chemist by training (and inclination). I always felt that I learned more 'practical' math in my thermo and quantum mechanics classes than I did in my math courses but, looking back ..."

I had forgotten you were a chemist Leslie!

And I completely agree that her interest is a little contrived, but it's like the appearance of a soulmate in a romance I guess. She is the perfect one to appreciate him, and she comes along at just the right time with her fatherless son. It's a coincidence, yes, but a very endearing one. And sometimes in life, surprising things do happen.

Nidhi wrote: "I have read only The Mill on the Floss , which is my favourite by George Eliot. All others I have on my Tbr. It will be difficult to choose among them."

Indeed! I have only read one of the five, but the other four are high on my to-read list. And the one I've read already, I definitely loved enough to re-read.

Alannah wrote: "Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy"

If I hadn't used up my second already, I'd second this one. I've always wanted to read it. Some great picks again this time around!

Leslie wrote: "I wasn't surprised by that since my attitude towards math has been utilitarian; in school, I was impatient with all the proofs of why derivatives and integrals worked - I just wanted to know how to do it. One major reason that I was a scientist rather than a mathematician!"

I had forgotten you were in the sciences Leslie! What is your field of work again? Just curious.

Oddly, I knew that prime number quirk because I had to write a quick program to generate random numbers from seeds, and I wanted to feed in more primes than non-primes.

But I am weak in theoretical sciences as well - I find it fascinating now, but when I was in school, I was kind of artsy and in terms of engineering, only wanted to learn what I needed for the job I was going to get. Later I went back while I was working and re-took some courses out of interest, and I was surprised how much I'd missed.

Steve wrote: "I wonder if it adds to the “universality” of the book. I believe the original Japanese title of the book could be translated something like “The Beloved Equations.” Being without names the characters are slightly removed from the particular. The pure human relations, like mathematical relations, reveal the essence of the observed, experienced world."

I love this Steve! Makes a lot of sense to me!

Leslie wrote: "I found this a very moving book. The lightness you refer to felt deliberate to me, like the simplicity of a Japanese rock garden"

I think that's true Leslie, and I'm only 1/4 done too - lots more to come.

About 1/4 way done and starting chapter 3. It's enjoyable but very light so far with only some brief pieces of the backstory underneath. I love the relationship between the three of them, very touching! . . . But the book is not what I expected going in. I still have 3/4 of the book to go so I can't know much yet.

I had never heard of "amicable numbers" before even with all my semesters of math at university for the engineering degree. :)

Steve, had you heard of "amicable numbers" before?

I love the concept - it's such a pure science thing, about the elegance of numbers rather than practical applications. I like the various mathematical references and the equations and problems sprinkled throughout as well. That part is a lot of fun.

I nominate Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

I'll second Zorba the Greek

Several great picks! Thanks everyone!

I nominate Music of a Life by Andreï Makine. It's pretty short, and the writing looks beautiful, but other than that, I don't know much about it.

spoko wrote: "I nominate Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison."

I will second this one

I started last night, and I am finding it delightful so far! I wasn't sure what to expect, but the tone in the beginning is suprisingly light and whimsical with the numbers and roots.

Nidhi wrote: "There is absence of omnipresent narrator,we are informed of just Ruth's small world but not of the world she left behind, Mrs Mason, her guardian, her lover. May be in proceeding chapters we will g..."

That's a great point Nidhi - the perspective is limited to what the characters know.

It'll be interesting to see where it goes!

I do agree with that Nidhi - all of those writers you mention provide astute social commentary; they're a wonderful window into the Victorian social world.

Leslie wrote: "I would say that this book had the least amount of humor in it of all the Gaskell books I've read. But in general Gaskell is more serious than some of her contemporaries such as Dickens or Thackeray"

Thanks Leslie, I was curious. I will definitely read one of her more famous works at some point.

I'm in chapter 13 now, and I love the dissident minister and his sister. He really tries to do good, and his heart is in the right place; it's very endearing.

I can definitely see this book persuading some of her Victorian contemporaries to be a little less judgemental, and it seems to be written for that purpose. It feels like Gaskell is trying to persuade her readers to be a bit kinder to people who have made mistakes and who can learn to do better . . . especially women who have fallen afoul of strict Victorian standards.

And nothing in the book so far is presented in a way to shock or offend; anything challenging is couched in very mild terms. I could hardy tell that Ruth had intimate relations until it revealed her pregnancy! That makes the book feel a bit quaint, but I'm enjoying it nevertheless . . . despite the subject matter, the treatment is quite cozy.