Sunday, February 2, 2014

A Certain Ambiguity - Book Review

This was the first time that I have encountered a reading that says “a mathematical novel”. Math alone is hard and sometimes not that interesting, then you combine it with reading a very long story, which honestly, I am not very fond of. At the start of the story, a young boy and his grandfather go thru some mathematical problems and tricks with the aid of a calculator. Now as an occasional book reader, this really got boring, but as you progress in the novel, you can feel some sort of attachment to the young boy Ravi as he goes through his passion with mathematics the sudden heart-breaking death of his grandfather and many more events.

The authors’ approach in writing the novel is well thought out as he makes this mathematical novel can surely catch the attention and imagination of the readers. You can easily imagine the scenes that are happening as you read the novel. The ideas also presented in the novel are quite interesting as it shows how mathematics can be used to understand the world we live in. The way the novel was written allows it to show many view points and ideas in the field of mathematics and philosophy. One of the struggles or “questions” that can be observed is whether there can be certainty of truth in mathematics and in life. The continuous attention between life, religion and mathematics separates this novel from any other math books. It helps the reader experience a human and emotional side of mathematics and mathematicians.


The book is a good read. Compared to the previous two this was a very easy novel to read and understand. It gives much more life to mathematics and also mathematicians and a deeper understanding to the topics mentioned. 

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