The Tenth Muse: A Novel - Rilegato

“The cliché that boys are better at math collapses before the diamond-hard mind of a grad student whose relentless attempt to prove a legendary hypothesis exposes a deeper algorithm about herself.... Captivating.” (O, the Oprah Magazine)

“Tackles questions of identity, betrayal, ambition and loneliness.... Distinctive... An absorbing summer read.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Can a mathematician also be an accomplished storyteller? The answer is an emphatic yes.... Elegant and absorbing fiction....Her work radiates a love of the subject....Her real subject, beyond the magic of storytelling, is the problem of identity, as shaped by gender, ethnicity, history and choice.” (Chicago Tribune)

“This shimmering, gorgeous book grapples with the secrets in the world around us, and the one within us; Chung’s prose is electric, and this story is a provocative exploration of the puzzles that most need interrogating.” (Nylon Magazine)

“Need a metaphor for the unassailable tangle of the self? The Riemann Hypothesis, one of the great unsolved mathematical problems, does nicely in this novel. About 50 years ago, mathematician Katherine was attempting to unpick its knot, and at the same time deal with revelations about her own family heritage.” (Elle)

“The Tenth Muse centers on Katherine, an aspiring mathematician whose studies take her deep into her family history, and a legacy of genius and empowerment which probes compelling questions about her identity.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“An interrogation of truth and its value — of secrets, sacrifice, and identity.” (Buzzfeed)

“Themes of one’s legacy, breakthroughs, and identity is woven throughout Catherine Chung’s latest novel about a mathematician facing down her generation’s most difficult, unsolved theorum, digging into intentionally buried research during WWII to blaze her own path and become a name mentioned in history books.” (Thrillist)

“Chung masterfully subverts our expectations... Endlessly thrilling. An exquisite story of legacy, selfhood, survival, and integrity... The Tenth Muse is an inspiring tour de force of STEAM proportions: a riveting intersection of mathematics and art.” (The Rumpus)

“A powerful and virtuosically researched story about the mysteries of the head and the heart.”
(Kirkus Reviews (starred review))