Measuring the World (2005)

from German; slight, humorous/philosophical novel of Gauss & Humboldt; much of humor seems to have been lost in translation

As many other reviewers have said, I found this book entertaining and interesting. The two characters Gauss and Humbolt gradually emerged from the book and their adventures and discoveries are followed in an anecdotal way, rather than in an historical sequence. There is lots to enjoy and lots to learn. Humbolt's trip down the Orinoco River, constantly measuring air pressure and throwing himself in to exploration was fantastic and just gave me itchy feet. Gauss is the scientist who stays at home and needs his home comforts and both get impatient when other people do not grasp things as quickly as they do.
The book is not full of detail; it is never clear about timelines and where the action is. It is about the people. For such a young man, Kehlmann is particularly perceptive about how they would have felt as old men, starting to slow down and unable to do as much as they could in the past. ( )

Skemmti mér konunglega yfir þessari bók. Hún fjallar um tvo þýska sérvitringa sem hvor um sig er snillingur og báðir keppast við að mæla heiminn með öllum mögulegum leiðum. Annar með því að sitja og reikna en hinn með því að ferðast sem víðast og mæla allt sem fyrir augu ber.
Fyrst hélt ég að sagan væri háðsádeila á þýsku nákvæmnisáráttuna og varð því hissa þegar ég las viðtal við Kehlmann þegar hann var hérlendis þar sem fram kom að söguhetjurnar höfðu verið til og meira að segja hist.
Þetta er snilldarvel skrifuð bók og þaulúthugsuð. Mæli hiklaust með henni. ( )

Plot:
Measuring the World tells the fictionalized biographies of Carl Friedrich Gauß and Alexander von Humboldt. Gauß is an extremely talented mathematician, but socially not exactly very talented. In fact, he easily alienates people. The same social awkwardness goes for Alexander von Humboldt who stands in his brother’s shadow. While Humboldt is out exploring the world with his trusted companion Aimé Bonpland, Gauß stays at home and starts a family. But despite these differences, their two careers do have similarities and points where they touch.

Measuring the World is a quick, easy and very entertaining read. I do think that its quality has been exaggerated a bit (in German-speaking countries it is handled as quite the literary achievement and gets taught in schools already), but it is nice to read.

Read more on my blog: http://kalafudra.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/die-vermessung-der-welt-measuring-the-... ( )