There needs to be little introduction to the book we've all been waiting for - most of us have known Emma for long enough (even if it is only through the medium of a website) to palpably feel the excitement and anticipation building as the novel neared publication. We know the circumstances by which the novel was written, and know enough of Emma through her thoughtul, intelligent posts in the forums, to feel that this novel would be nothing other than something special. One needs only to read her short story, 'Russian Tea', to feel that here we have a novellist with an exceptional command of language, and an ability to create worlds most of us only ever dream of creating. With 'The Mathematics of Love', Emma does not disappoint in any way.

The novel weaves together two lives: Stephen Fairhust, a Major returned from the brutality of Wellington's Peninsular War to a world he tries desperately to be once more a part of; and Anna Ware, a fifteen year old girl all but abandonded by her feckless mother, forced to live with her uncle and drunken grandmother in a delapidated ex-school. Through the medium of letters (and in this respect there are resonances with both 'Cloud Atlas' and 'Possession' here) a link develops between the two, and parallels form between two lives more than 150 years apart. Loves develop, often against society's expectation, and ghosts of past and future seem to cross boundaries. There are thematic parallels too: the ghastly form of Belle, who brutally lords it over Kersey, seems like a modern day Napoleon, whose invastions of the peninsula and consequent battles with Wellingtons men form the sickening vignettes spaced throughout the novel. Anna's interest in photography parallels with Lucy Durward's desire to render much that she sees through the medium of her sketch pad. A young boy appears, as if from nowhere, seeming to jump across time. Again and again we are made to think about the nature of time and how a good novellist can play with it.

But it is in the quality of the prose that the novel really sparkles. There are many novels written whose ideas are original and whose narratives have been meticulously planned. There are few which some close to the sharpness and clarity of Emma's writing. Every word counts. There are passages of description which deserve rereading: Tom Greenshaw's bruises after being beaten are described as being 'dark as ink, spilt to make a picture of the boots and stones that had struck his soft flesh.' There are so many passages like this, ones that pull you up short, make you smile, give you shivers. In addition, the effortless switching between the formal, Austen-like prose (as good as, in my opinion) and the more informal prose of Anna Ware's world, makes for compelling reading. With very little other than a line break, Emma is able to take us from one world to another. There are few novels which can do this so well. It took AS Byatt a long time to produce something similar, but Emma has done it at her first attempt. David Mitchell at times seems forced in 'Cloud Atlas', but not so here. It works, brilliantly, and without a foot wrong.

Emma should be justly proud of this book. It is original, mature, intelligent and beautifully rendered. Like Lucy Durward (who I think might have something of the novel's author in her), Emma is able to render a character and a scene with a few deft brush strokes, leaving us all the more illumuniated for it. An evocative and at times erotic novel, The Mathematics of Love deserves success, as its readers cannot fail but take something quite special from it. I look forward to reading what others think of it, and feel more than a little proud that I know the author, even if it is only in a 'virtual' way.

I really admired the quality of the writing, too. Economical, resonant. So many fine moments that have stayed in my mind.

Frances

Great review. Couldn't agree more. Congratulations, Emma!

Sarah

Aw, thanks, guys!

Emma

Just finished reading it, Emma. I'm absolutely awe-struck. It’s a masterpiece. Stunning writing. I want to go right back to page one and start all over again.

Well done, girl!

Dee

Yes, excellent novel, Emma - very well-written and a unique voice. Very enjoyable indeed! Can only endorse what's already been said!

A
xxx

Dee and Holly, thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

Emma

I just sort of half-joined the site today. I really want to be part of the site community, but alas, I'm broke.

But CONGRATULATIONS, Emma! I just saw this book in the shops today (I'm obsessed with Books Etc.; I go in there everyday.) Well done!

Hi Emma, have just become a trial member today and am hugely impressed by both the site and your achievement! Bizarrely enough, just before I joined today a friend asked me to come with her to a book signing tomorrow night in Peckham - of Mathematics of Love!! SO perhaps I will meet you in person. Congratulations again.

<Added>

Karen

Nemo, many thanks!

Karen, many thanks, and yes, I'll hope to see you there!

Emma

Hello Emma,

I don't get many opportunities to visit this site at the moment, but just wanted to say I read a review of your novel in The Times on Saturday which was full of praise. Congratulations, I look forward to reading it!

Shelley

Shelley, thanks so much. Yes, the Times review was the kind of review you dream about getting.

Emma

Gosh, a seriously excellent review. Fantastic. I'm starting TMOL tomorrow!

Yes, Emma you must be delighted at the Times review - what an achievement! Very many congratulations - again!
Hope you're enjoying your richly deserved success!
x
tc

Thanks so much, Lammi and TC. Rather disconcerting to be praised for things I didn't consciously set out to put in there, but that's how it goes, I guess.

Though I'm busy remembering that my Glamorgan tutor said very wisely that I shouldn't take good reviews too much to heart, so that I didn't have to take the inevitable bad ones to heart either...

Emma