MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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The Idiot (2017)
Elif Batuman
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A farce about a Turkish-American Harvard freshman. As she is trying to figure out who she is and what academia is about, she meets an older math major with whom she develops both a romantic and intellectual relationship. Along the way, she attends some math classes (a multivariable calculus class with a pre-med friend and a set theory class that she registers for out of curiosity) and ponders Nabokov's comments on the reason that math is useful.

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to The Idiot
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Goldman's Theorem by R.J. Stern
  2. The Visiting Professor by Robert Littell
  3. The Mind-Body Problem by Rebecca Goldstein
  4. Do the Math: A Novel of the Inevitable by Philip Persinger
  5. The Rabbit Factor [Jäniskerroin] by Antti Tuomainen
  6. Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker
  7. Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan
  8. Naked Came the Post-modernist by Sarah Lawrence College Writing Class WRIT-3303-R / Melvin Jules Bukiet
  9. Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich
  10. Thinking of Leaving Your Husband? by Charlotte Cory
Ratings for The Idiot:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
2/5 (1 votes)
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Literary Quality:
3/5 (1 votes)
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Categories:
GenreHumorous,
MotifAcademia, Romance,
Topic
MediumNovels,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)