The Tenth Muse - Hardcover

"Catherine Chung's gorgeous novel, The Tenth Muse, about mathematics and identity, and the cost of being a talented and ambitious woman in a world preoccupied with male success, rushed over me like a wave and carried me out to sea where, pleasantly, I drowned."--Manuel Gonzales, author of The Regional Office Is Under Attack!

"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

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

"A deft, spellbinding emotional puzzle-box of a book, rich and intricately layered. The Tenth Muse slowly, carefully builds to turn your every expectation on its head, and reading it feels like a glimpse of what mathematics might be in the eyes of its ablest practitioners--both secret and sublime."--Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife

"The Tenth Muse is a must-read. This beautiful, captivating novel has it all: A riveting family secret; a heroine ahead of her time; and a brilliant historical narrative that sheds light on the way we live now."--J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Saints for All Occasions

"Chung's impressive, poignant second novel (after Forgotten Country) explores the intersections of intellectual and familial legacies.... Chung persuasively interweaves myths and legends with the real-world stories of lesser-known women mathematicians and of WWII.... Chung's novel boldly illustrates that truth and beauty can reside even amid the messiest solutions."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Mathematics and its history, the legacy of WWII, and the struggles women face in pursuing academic success, especially in fields dominated by men, are woven into this novel that Chung (Forgotten Country, 2012) renders in polished prose."--Booklist

"The Tenth Muse is as ambitious and intriguing as the complex math problems Katherine, the protagonist of this remarkable novel, aims to solve. In this novel--the scope of which is staggering--Chung has crafted a story that is moving, elegant, and richly written."--Roxane Gay, author of Hunger

"Ambitious, mesmerizing, and immersive, The Tenth Muse gives us a character we'd follow anywhere, and journeys well worth following her on. This novel dazzles."--Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers

"Arresting in scope and its treatment of time, its prose at turns crystalline and richly balletic, this story pulls puzzle from puzzle - human, historical, and all too contemporary."
--Helen Oyeyemi, author of Gingerbread