(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)
THREE TO SEE
The sum of his talents
(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)
Everyone has a talent of some sort, but few people have many. You would be hard-pressed, for instance, to find an evocative novelist who is also a tenured math professor.
Say hello to Manil Suri. A native of India, Suri came to the United States as a student three decades ago, moved up the academic track, and became a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he still teaches. Even as he juggled a heavy courseload and research, Suri began writing short stories, honing a literary sideline that eventually resulted in a novel.
“The Death of Vishnu’’ was published in 2001 to strong reviews, and has since been translated into 22 languages. The novel focused on a dying apartment-complex handyman and the lives of those in the units around him. Last year Suri followed up with “The Age of Shiva,’’ about a mother’s suffocating love for her young son. His work tends to frame his characters’ interactions against the backdrop of Hindu mythology in a modernizing India.
Suri doesn’t view creative writing as an escape from dogged mathematics. On the contrary, he has become a champion of programs designed to draw public interest in math, and often makes speeches to help bring the two disciplines closer together. “Many people like mathematics while in school, but then have no further opportunity to enjoy it,’’ he says. “It’s not like art, for which you can go to a museum to satisfy a craving. I’d like to help push mathematics into the cultural arena. Perhaps even put a mathematician on ‘Oprah.’ ’’
Suri will read from “The Age of Shiva’’ and discuss his career on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St. He shares the evening’s program with another talented writer, Don Lee, who will read from his latest novel, “Wrack and Ruin.’’
THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED
Prolific suspense writer Suzanne Brockmann has just published “Hot Pursuit,’’ about a tough-minded woman who leads a security team, Troubleshooters Inc., yet finds herself pursued by a serial killer. She will read from her work tonight at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, One Worcester Road, Framingham.RULES TO LIVE BY
If life has seemed stressful lately (and, let’s face it, it often is), consider spending an hour with Willard Spiegelman. He is the distinguished English professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas who has written “Seven Pleasures,’’ a thoughtful essay collection extolling the virtues of ordinary pursuits that promote joy, including reading, walking, observing, swimming, dancing, listening, and writing. Spiegelman will discuss his findings Thursday at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
