Abandoning first attempt at this one. It feels like a chore and the library due date is looming. Others say this is a work of genius so I may come back to it later but right now it's not working for me.

3.1/5 ( )

A sweeping epic spanning two generations of a family dealing with genius, egos, and humility (and more!). An amazing work, a tale well told. I recommend this book most highly. ( )

I have read a few books by Ethan Canin now.
This one was not my favorite, but it was still good. It tells a story similar to the plot of the film A Beautiful Mind. You get to know his characters intimately. His depictions are so vivid that it is easy to buy the heartbreaking decisions many of these characters make. With sprinkles of humor throughout and words of wisdom on every other page, the author continually draws parallels between math and the universe, math and hard knocks, math and God, math and the human mind. The metaphors extend in every direction and generation through generation. Father and child have the same gift, but they use it in their own way. The central theme is clear, but the ripples spread outward and one can't help but be fascinated by the implications of each and every outcome.
Where the book lost some of its steam for me was in the latter half when the descent into pessimism and sickness and inevitable defeat became so poignant and detailed as to be almost unbearable. He drives his point home effectively, but I can't help thinking there was room for a little more optimism, or that these characters we started out loving might have been slightly more endurable by the end.
Canin is not exactly a master trickster. He is simply a consistent, straightforward writer. In the same way that Larry Niven eschews all unnecessary flourishes when writing science fiction to convey hard concepts in a believable light, Canin cuts to the quick with his well-paced, monotone flawlessness. ( )

The Doubter's Almanac is the story of Milo Andret, a mathematical genius. He seems to be able to visualize complex spaces. A loner as a boy wandering in the Michigan woods he carves a chain with no seams from a single piece of wood. Is it a forgone conclusion he would specialize in topology?

Although mathematics is the backdrop for the story and the chapter headings are obscure (and sometimes in Latin) the book is not about mathematics. It's about the problem of genius, it's effect on you and your family. We who are not genius are, perhaps, lucky.

Milo's mentor tells him, "Topology is God's language ... you've been called to translate it." It's odd to say this about a character such as Milo, but he is almost spiritual (or is it mania?) in his mathematical quest:

"God is subtle but not malicious . . . success in mathematics is in good part a question of wanting badly enough to look ... To look inside the mind. .. For that is where God has thrown the universe - sometimes inverted and upside down...like a pinhole camera. Seeing it all is secondary to the love of looking and the faith that it is not unknowable."

Later in the book, Milo's Jesuit doctor posits that Milo's problems are God's revenge against spies such as he.

A very different and compelling book!
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