2+2 = ... Review on Parrot's Theorem, The - Denis Guedj

Funny thing but hardly ever I find a book boring or not interesting. Of course there are several books which are like that, but maybe it’s just that I’m lucky enough to avoid them or simply have some kind of ability to find something worth reading in them. Simultaneously it’s really difficult for me to find a book about which I can say that it’s a masterpiece! Never have I found that one yet! But hey! One day I surely will... and even though in a few seconds you are not gonna read about the best book I’ve ever read in my life, you are still gonna read about a great book that I’ve had a pleasure to read recently.

The Parrot's Theorem (Le Théorème du Perroquet) - by Denis Guedj is a history of mathematics disguised inside a murder mystery. Sounds terrifying doesn’t it? I know! And it’s not because of the murder! Most of you hate maths! Don’t be shy! Admit it! It was a nightmare in high school for a huge percent of you! And it’s kinda natural ... To be honest I’ve never liked it as well... but you know what? Even though I’m not good in it I feel that now it simply fascinates me! Strange isn’t it? And it’s only because of one French writer who was able to convince one Polish soul that after all it’s really no that bad! Just have a look ...

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The story begins with the arrival of a letter, a letter addressed to an old bookseller who lives above his bookshop. As soon as Mr. Ruche opens the envelope he knows who have written the letter. The handwriting, which belongs to his best friend, brings dozens of memories from his youth. It’s been over 20 years since he saw him, and now unexpectedly he finds a message from him in his mailbox. It seems a bit bizarre and ...so it is. A few days later, Mr. Ruche receives a few crates directly from Brazil, containing the world's most complete set of mathematics books. It took years to complete this impressive collection by Mr. Ruche’s friend and now without any sensible explanation he simply gives all of them to Mr. Ruche who doesn’t have a clue about maths.

This is were the journey begins… there are a few fellow- travelers for the main character... Perrette Liard – his employee and friend, together with her teenage twins J-i-L (Jonathan and Lea) and 10-year-old deaf boy, named Max, who is able to hear more than it seems to...

At the same time as Mr. Ruche gets his odd an vulnerable gift, Max brings home a parrot which a few minutes ago he have rescued from a Parisian market.. The more the family gets to know the parrot, the more it occurs to them that this particular bird knows much more about mathematics than all of them together! In the meanwhile they are being informed that Mr. Grosrvouvre (sender of the maths library) has apparently died in a disastrous fire. But the whole chaos caused by the mysterious library, sets Mr. Ruche thinking. He decides to investigate a bit on his own, as he doesn’t believe that the death of his friend was accidental.

This search takes up much of the book in the hope of finding clues to explain how Mr. Grosrvouvre ended his life...

The plot is really engaging and that helps the reader to struggle through the didactic sections (which appear surprisingly often). Moreover I would even say that thanks to this book it’s far much easier to understand, that all those famous mathematicians were human beings as well!

Why is it so easy to understand it? As simple as that! The main character is just as much unaware of all those equations, diagrams, and graphs as we are. He’s just like me and you, trying to solve the mystery of maths. Moreover, the teenage characters help as well. Trying to explain the complicated mathematical issues to them Mr. Ruche becomes a teacher to all of us treating us like kids ...

The Grosrvouvre library traces the history of mathematics from Euclid through Fermat and Goldbach. And thanks to the ''detailed investigation'' we are able to bite a bit of history as well. Frankly speaking almost every page I went through was a delight, mostly because of the fact that I’ve discovered something, which I wish I could have discovered 15 years ago! And even though non-mathematicians might find some of these pages heavy going, it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s worth reading.

Give it a try ... and gain a bit of knowledge ... maybe you’ll be able to figure out why 220 and 284 are the best friends ever? ;o)