THE BOY WHO DREAMED OF INFINITY

Srinivasa Ramanujan was a self-taught genius whose original insights into number theory still inspire mathematicians today.

Ramanujan was born in 1887 into a Tamil family in South India. Before his birth, his grandmother dreamed that the goddess Namagiri “would write the thoughts of God on his tongue.” As a young boy growing up in temple towns, Ramanujan hated traditional classrooms and often ran away from school, but he was captivated by numbers, big and small. Gorgeous watercolor spreads show how “numbers came whispering in dreams” and “would rush across the pages in circles and packs.” He pondered complex ideas such as infinite series, number partitions, and primes; he entered high school at 10 and solved college-level problems at 15, but he couldn’t focus on anything except math. He failed college and lived in poverty and isolation, still pursuing his research with mystical zeal, “trying to learn the thoughts of God.” Eventually, his persistent attempts to find a kindred spirit paid off. Following Namagiri’s promptings, he sailed away to share his work with the best mathematicians in England. Alznauer is a mathematician herself, and her loving tribute evokes Ramanujan’s early years with rich and authentic detail, which Miyares’ luminous compositions bring vividly to the page. All characters are Indian and have brown skin and hair.

A fascinating story beautifully told.