The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything By Kara Gnodde

‘The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything’ is the latest book by Kara Gnodde.

Like circles of a Venn diagram, Mimi and Art Brotherton have always come as a pair. Devoted siblings, they’re bound together in their childhood home by the tragic death of their parents. 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. Still, when Mimi begins her search for a soulmate, Art’s insistence that she follow a strict mathematical plan seems reasonable. The arrival of Frank, however – a romantic stargazer who is definitely not algorithm-approved – challenges the siblings’ relationship to breaking point. As their equilibrium falters, Art’s mistrust of Frank grows, but so do Mimi’s feelings. Something about Frank doesn’t quite add up, and only Art can see it.

The story is seen through the narrative of brother and sister Art and Mimi. Since the death of their parents, Art has relied heavily on the support of his younger sister, essentially taking over her life with his high maintenance demands, because of this Mimi has decided to take back control of her life and look for love, much to the disgruntlement of her older brother. Art is concerned that he’ll loose his sister but decides to reluctantly help her on her dating journey and uses his Mathematical mind to help her on his quest. But when Mimi finds Frank, he seems perfect on paper but with his mathematician mind, Art begins to see some flaws in Frank’s algorithm.

This book is a quite a lovely story, it’s bittersweet, uplifting and funny. Both characters are complex and fascinating in their own ways. After the death of their parents, they rely heavily on each other and it’s interesting how much Mimi does for Art and for such an intelligent man, how much he depends on her. I loved Mimi progresses throughout the story and how her confidence grows and the same goes for Art.

The story flows at a gentle pace that made it easy to sink into and the author’s style of writing is also quite gentle like her characters. A tender and witty story about love, resilience and finding your place in life, ‘The Theory Of (Not Quite) Everything’ is a lovely read.

You can buy ‘The Theory Of (Not Quite) Everything‘ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.