THE TENTH MUSE by Catherine Chung

Like Hidden Figures, this novel focuses on how brilliant female mathematicians were marginalized, particularly in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.  At an early age, Katherine is able to solve seemingly difficult problems with ease by recognizing patterns and using logic.  Even an early teacher—a woman—punishes Katherine for “showing off” her math skills.  Later on, Katherine discovers that her research and findings are constantly being usurped by men.  First, a fellow student co-opts Katherine’s school work, but the professor assumes, erroneously, that Katherine is the cheater.  Then she falls in love with her thesis adviser, and, although he gives her full credit in their publications, their colleagues all assume that he did all the work.  Finally, this same professor/lover finishes a mathematical proof that Katherine had been working on for ages and publishes it under her name.  He considers it a well-deserved gift, but she sees it as patronizing.  Plus, he has robbed her of the opportunity to do the work AND legitimately get the credit.  The math references in the book intrigued me, but I found the plot to be weak.  Katherine embarks on a quest to find her roots and encounters so many lies that I sometimes forgot what the true story was.  By sheer luck, she meets a cousin in Germany, and I found that coincidence to be a stretch, but this is a novel, after all.  The book also contains a riddle, and, although my solution was similar, the correct solution was much more elegant.