Early morning: Some people find that reading in the morning helps them start their day with a positive and productive mindset. They walk down the hospital tunnel. All the resolutions Mimi had made about her life while she was away are being swallowed behind her with every step. When Mimi decides she needs more from life than dutifully tending to her brilliant brother, she asks for his help to find love. Art agrees, but on one condition: that she find her soulmate using a strict mathematical principle. Things seem promising, until Mimi meets Frank: a romantic, spontaneous stargazer who’s also a mathematician. Despite Mimi’s obvious affection for the quirky Frank, Art is wary of him from their very first encounter. Please, she prays, to a higher power that she doesn’t believe in . Let him be okay and I promise I won’t go. Gnodde does an excellent job of describing a family context which is at once extremely loving and fraught with problems. The writing is brilliantly vivid and imaginative as she builds the story of a young woman trying to build her own future against the odds. She succeeds in bringing through a full suite of feelings in the reader - from desperation and guilt to joy and admiration. All the while, the book is very well researched and shows excellent attention to detail, not only descriptively, but also in its coverage of mathematical theorems as well as medical terms and processes.

There is also a legitimate plot that becomes more interesting as you read. I would say the first 40% of the book took me awhile to get into but then I couldn’t put it down.

A bit of a slow start to this book but it was worth the wait. I loved Art and Mimi and they’re found family. Art and Mimi’s complicated relationship is described perfectly. Art is neurodivergent and a mathematical genius and Mimi has lived under his shadow for her whole life. After their parents’ deaths when the siblings are young adults, they only have each other and Mimi ends up essentially being a pseudo-caretaker for Art. They have a co-dependent relationship that becomes more unhealthy as they grow older and Mimi starts to want an independent life and a romantic relationship. Art struggles with this and you see how difficult it is for him to communicate with Mimi (and vice versa). Mimi has to balance her love for Art with her desire to have a life outside of her role as his sister. How do you think Mimi and Frank’s story might have unfolded if Mimi hadn’t given him a fake name to start? Is Mimi right when she says their relationship is founded on a lie? Gnodde commented: “In The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything, the siblings are involved in a love triangle of sorts – with maths as its beating heart. Art tries to convince his beloved sister that the world can be navigated with rationality, anchored in numbers. But the bonds of family and the calculations of the heart can be determined to follow a logic of their own. It was immediately clear that Mantle was the right home for Mimi and Art: they were so enthusiastic about the off-beat, complicated siblings, and we agreed on the balance between family drama, love and the riff on maths. The editorial process has been a joy – the whole Mantle team is fantastic.” With a level of mystery you find yourself playing detective and trying to slot all the pieces of the jigsaw together. The days surrounding Art and Mimi’s separation were intriguing. Siblings Mimi and Art Brotherton have always come as a pair, especially after losing their parents in a tragedy. Mathematician Art has always believed that algorithms are the answer to everything, including love. Mimi doesn't agree. When she meets Frank, who is definitely not algorithm-approved, the siblings find their relationship being challenged.

When Mimi decides she needs more from life than devoting herself to her brilliant brother, she starts looking for love. But Art has a condition: that she find her soulmate using a strict mathematical principle. Initially, things seem promising. That is, until Mimi meets Frank: a romantic, spontaneous stargazer, and also a mathematician. But definitely not algorithm-approved. A] sunny debut, in which heart and mind must work together to shed light on a family secret'– Daily Mail After a nasty spat between the siblings that involves a pepper grinder and a broken wrist, Mimi goes away to break the tension. It’s during Mimi’s short absence that Art is hit by Frank’s car and ends up in an induced coma, with a severe brain injury. Frank swears it was an accident. Can Mimi believe him? Will she lose her brother? And if he survives, will Art lose his maths? Mantle has pre-empted The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything, an “extraordinary” novel by Kara Gnodde, to be published as its lead début fiction title for 2023.I didn’t mean what I said, she telegraphs, trying to reach her brother from the car. I didn’t mean it. Art’s main research is on p versus Np, but he’s (perhaps excessively) paranoid that someone, the wrong someone, is stealing his work and will get there before him. It’s not the prize money he cares about; it’s the potential damage the wrong person might wreak with such powerful knowledge. And his suspicions have ramped up since Frank has appeared on the scene. Has Frank been entirely honest with Mimi? There’s no doubt that we usually tip one way or the other, but life has a defy of abhorring clean boundaries and easily-defined decisions, and so while we may favour one approach to life or the other, it’s hard to make decisions as simply as Art might think they can be made. Before bedtime: Many people find that reading before bedtime helps them unwind and relax, which can promote better sleep.

Small ish,” corrects PC Payne. “He’s badly hurt.” The driver of the car stopped, Mimi learns, and is very shaken up. Art’s unconscious—he caught the side or the wing mirror, they’re not sure which, and hit his head. He leaped out in front of the car, apparently, with no warning.The sight stuns Mimi. Fluorescent lights intensify the daze. She feels her middle lift, as though she’s watching a diorama of the scene from above. The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything is a story about family and love, and when the two don't quite see eye to eye. It also brings in elements of grief and guilt. She meets Frank at a Mathematics awards ceremony, and he seems perfect. Too perfect, according to Art, whose mathematical equation Frank hasn't fallen in line with. It is a very touching read too. It is a well-observed, beautifully and intelligently written novel, and everything is handled with great sensitivity. It is set within the context of a complex family situation, and it looks deeply into sibling relationships and family dynamics, as well as exploring themes of love, grief and loss. There are some dark points in the story and some readers may need to take care for triggers including suicide, death, brain injury and sexually predatorial behaviour, but, the overall effect is positive with its message that you have to come to terms with the past before you can move forward, and it is ultimately and overwhelmingly an uplifting and positive read.

I really felt for both of the siblings in this, their characters felt real and well created; the challenges that they faced, professionally, personally and with one another, were sometimes painful to read but felt true to their life situation. The absolute loyalty that Mimi has to Art, battling with her desire to have her own life and make her own choices - I didnt envy her at all. The story had me hooked and I read it in a couple of sittings. There are some heavier aspects to the book including parental death, suicide, injuries and unwanted sexual attention - so its a bit heavier than a lot of books it might be compared to, but I like a complicated family set up, so it was right up my street.If this novel about mathematicians were a math problem, and Kara Gnodde set out to prove that love is varied, unpredictable, and infinite in its capacity to expand, then she’s done it. I adored this quirky, big-hearted book.” — Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes She me Art believes that people - including his sister - are incapable of making sensible decisions when it comes to love. That's what algorithms are for. Mimi knows that her brother is a mathematical genius. But she believes that maths isn't the answer to everything. Not quite. Especially when it comes to love. But then Mimi meets Frank, another mathematician, who is also a romantic, spontaneous stargazer - definitely not algorithm –approved, and Art mistrusts him: something about Frank doesn't quite add up. As Mimi's feelings grow, the siblings' relationship is tested to breaking point...