M. Ann Jacoby: Life After Genuis

Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest person he knows. By age 12, he was in high school, and by 15 he was attending a top-ranking university. And now, at the tender age of 18, he's on the verge of proving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for almost 150 years. But only days before graduation, Mead suddenly packs his bags and flees home to rural Illinois. What has caused him to flee remains a mystery to all but Mead and a classmate whose quest for success has turned into a dangerous obession.

At home, Mead finds little solace. His past ghosts haunt him; his parents don't understand the agony his genius has caused him, nor his desire to be a normal kid, and his dreams seem crushed forever. He embarks on a new life's journey -- learning the family business of selling furniture and embalming the dead--that disappoints and surprises all who knew him as "the young Fegley genius."

Equal parts academic thriller and poignant coming-of-age story, LIFE AFTER GENIUS follows the remarkable journey of a young man who must discover that the heart may know what the head hasn't yet learned.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• book
• father
• fiction
• fitting
• genius
• humor
• in
• jacoby
• laughing
• math
• novel
• runaway
• smart
• stories
• survival
• turnhere
• video

[nicodougy]

Does make you want to read the book. On the other hand, the thing with "on the verge to solve the Riemann Hypothesis" seems a bit too much! How can you know you are on the verge of doing it, if you did not actually do it until the end? Especially, still nobody has solved it, so if one does not know the solution nobody can say somebody was on the verge to find something we don't know!

[aprilia1k]

Touching, suspenseful, very thought-provoking, heartwarming, .. fascinating. At the clear risk of "gushing", myself and the friends and family who've read the book are a very diverse and dissimilar group. For all of us to feel so strongly about this book is SO unlikely, but so telling. Very few books are near-universal in appeal, and this most definitely IS such a book. We all felt like we'd been given a gift when we read this story. Uncommonly exceptional talent to enjoy here! Thank you!

[aprilia1k]

I read this book quickly, though I really tried hard to SLOW DOWN and enjoy M Ann's eloquence and, well, sheer brilliance at character development and interaction. It was such a page turner for me I really did read it too fast.. I passed it to my bro-in-law, then from him to my sister. All agreed it was simply phenomenal. Such real people, these characters, and SO accessible and, yes, empathetic. She really "gets" the mind of the adolescent male. Can't wait for her next book!!!

[aprilia1k]

This book grabbed my attention at a Borders back in May (2010), perhaps partly because I'd had certain "gifted child" and "genius" labels thrown around as a young grade-schooler, and I went through some pretty strange and interesting things because of that (skipping a couple grades, being 2 years younger than all the other kids etc..) anyway, not about me. That was my first attraction to this book, some empathetic connection. M Ann is a natural - the review comments are 100% accurate.

[pichkari8636]

i am reading it right now

and i like it alot

certain lines certain situations from the book are really well described

[jtswaffles]

I just finished this book and I did not quite understand the hallucinations....

[andrewxc1335]

My wife and I both took classes with Dr. Jacoby at UNH. We were very happy to see him as an inspiration for Ms. Jacoby's book.

Congratulations, and we're looking forward to reading it!

[miriam1214]

I loved this book and it's great seeing the story behind it!