Maths can be romantic. (Addition - Toni Jordan)

Member Name: RU5H1NG

Product:	Addition - Toni Jordan
Date:	28/10/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, witty, educational.

Disadvantages: Lots of numbers, takes a while to get used to.

I was first attracted to this book by its cover, a cheesecake over a background of graph paper - quite original, it made me want to find out more. With a name like "Addition" I was sold; I am quite a scientific, mathematically-minded person and the opportunity of reading a work of fiction that covers those topics was just too good to miss. The author has a pretty varied CV including molecular biologist and sales assistant and I have always believed that an interesting person makes for an original book.

The main character (Grace), an ex school teacher, has been long-term unemployed through suffering from OCD (with numbers and counting). She meets Seamus, a laid back Irishman (who fancies her) who tries to help her overcome her obsessions. As the story develops, you are taken into the bittersweet world of an obsessive-compulsive's daily struggles and her fight to ultimately function normally in the outside world.

Toni Jordan has a unique style of writing from any other book I have read. It is written in the first person and you find yourself living the story from Grace's point of view - almost like reading someone's diary. She also adds interesting snippets of biographical history of a famous mathematician called Nikola Tesla (Grace's idol) throughout; this helps break up the story, is also educational, and left me wanting to find out more. Small comical one-liners help the story flow without distracting from the main plot.

For someone who is obviously new to the writing scene, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed "Addition". I truly hope that Toni Jordan will be writing plenty more books in the future.

Summary: A truly original gem of a book.