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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Alexander Masters, the bestselling author of Stuart: A Life Backwards, discovered his first subject on the streets; the second, he’s found under his floorboards.
Dr Simon Philips Norton lives under Alexander’s flat in Cambridge. One of the greatest mathematical prodigies of the 20th century, today he stomps about his rooms in semi-darkness eating tinned kippers stirred into packets of Bombay mix, fulminating against automobiles and attacking a theoretical concundrum so vast and intricate that he calls it ‘The Monster’. He says it is the Voice of God. The Monster looks like a Sudoku table. A Sudoku table has nine columns of numbers. The Monster has 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000.
Simon’s toilet has fallen through the floor. Supermarket bags swollen with bus timetables pile like stalagmites on his tables and chairs. Ruts in the floor debris mark his route from bed to kitchen, kitchen to toilet, toilet back to bed. He is unemployed and unemployable.
In The Genius In My Basement, Alexander Masters offers a tender, humorous, intimate portrait of a supposedly ‘collapsed’ genius and a happy man.
Dr Simon Philips Norton was a child maths prodigy who came top in international Mathematical Olympiads, earned a degree in maths whilst still at school and then went to Cambridge where he studied for his doctorate. Norton’s particular expertise is in Group Theory and he’s spent most of his life trying to understand what he calls The Monster, the most convoluted atom of symmetry, which is studied using a grid containing 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000 columns.
Supported by his family’s wealth, Dr Norton owns a house in Cambridge (in which Masters rented a flat) and lives in the basement rooms (a shambles filled with bags of junk and with a toilet that’s fallen through the floor). But Norton hasn’t worked since Cambridge University’s Maths Department opted not to renew his contract and he spends most of his time campaigning for public transport (for which he funds a £10,000 annual prize). In this book, Masters paints a portrait of how Norton came to be in his current position, why he failed to live up to his early promise, why he’s so passionate about public transport, his relationship with The Monster and how come he seems so happy with his lot.
Having really enjoyed STUART: A LIFE BACKWARDS, I was looking forward to reading Masters’ next book and THE GENIUS IN MY BASEMENT for the most part doesn’t disappoint. Simon Norton is not a willing subject for an autobiography, offering his co-operation only in return for Masters’ help in clearing his rooms and the promotion of his views on public transport. He frequently complains about the mistakes that Masters makes about both him and his work, and has a very poor memory for the basic facts of his life. Masters in turn is frustrated by the lack of co-operation from his subject and the way he fails to live up to Masters’ own theories (in fact one of the things I love about the book is that Masters really isn’t afraid to show himself as an irritating git).
I loved the drawings and doodles that pop up throughout the text (particularly those used to explain Group Theory works). However while there is a sense of who Simon is, the book doesn’t really explain what happened to him or how he came to be who he is and while that didn’t bother me as what there is is so entertaining, those seeking answers may be disappointed.
The Verdict:
Although this book doesn’t offer any real explanations for how Simon Norton came to be the person he is or what happened to his early maths genius, it’s nevertheless an entertaining book that shows who Simon is and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
THE GENIUS IN MY BASEMENT was released in the UK on 1st September. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Dr Simon Philips Norton lives under Alexander’s flat in Cambridge. One of the greatest mathematical prodigies of the 20th century, today he stomps about his rooms in semi-darkness eating tinned kippers stirred into packets of Bombay mix, fulminating against automobiles and attacking a theoretical concundrum so vast and intricate that he calls it ‘The Monster’. He says it is the Voice of God. The Monster looks like a Sudoku table. A Sudoku table has nine columns of numbers. The Monster has 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000.
Simon’s toilet has fallen through the floor. Supermarket bags swollen with bus timetables pile like stalagmites on his tables and chairs. Ruts in the floor debris mark his route from bed to kitchen, kitchen to toilet, toilet back to bed. He is unemployed and unemployable.
In The Genius In My Basement, Alexander Masters offers a tender, humorous, intimate portrait of a supposedly ‘collapsed’ genius and a happy man.
Dr Simon Philips Norton was a child maths prodigy who came top in international Mathematical Olympiads, earned a degree in maths whilst still at school and then went to Cambridge where he studied for his doctorate. Norton’s particular expertise is in Group Theory and he’s spent most of his life trying to understand what he calls The Monster, the most convoluted atom of symmetry, which is studied using a grid containing 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000 columns.
Supported by his family’s wealth, Dr Norton owns a house in Cambridge (in which Masters rented a flat) and lives in the basement rooms (a shambles filled with bags of junk and with a toilet that’s fallen through the floor). But Norton hasn’t worked since Cambridge University’s Maths Department opted not to renew his contract and he spends most of his time campaigning for public transport (for which he funds a £10,000 annual prize). In this book, Masters paints a portrait of how Norton came to be in his current position, why he failed to live up to his early promise, why he’s so passionate about public transport, his relationship with The Monster and how come he seems so happy with his lot.
Having really enjoyed STUART: A LIFE BACKWARDS, I was looking forward to reading Masters’ next book and THE GENIUS IN MY BASEMENT for the most part doesn’t disappoint. Simon Norton is not a willing subject for an autobiography, offering his co-operation only in return for Masters’ help in clearing his rooms and the promotion of his views on public transport. He frequently complains about the mistakes that Masters makes about both him and his work, and has a very poor memory for the basic facts of his life. Masters in turn is frustrated by the lack of co-operation from his subject and the way he fails to live up to Masters’ own theories (in fact one of the things I love about the book is that Masters really isn’t afraid to show himself as an irritating git).
I loved the drawings and doodles that pop up throughout the text (particularly those used to explain Group Theory works). However while there is a sense of who Simon is, the book doesn’t really explain what happened to him or how he came to be who he is and while that didn’t bother me as what there is is so entertaining, those seeking answers may be disappointed.
The Verdict:
Although this book doesn’t offer any real explanations for how Simon Norton came to be the person he is or what happened to his early maths genius, it’s nevertheless an entertaining book that shows who Simon is and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
THE GENIUS IN MY BASEMENT was released in the UK on 1st September. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
