The word genius is used all too often by the innumerably unqualified, (myself included). What I mean is a claim that something or someone is ingenious should only be taken seriously if uttered by an actual certified genius. Anyone else making such a claim is either an uncertified genius, a pretentious wannabe or a regular shmo who just can’t find any other words to describe how impressed they were by that someone or something. Where am I going with this?

When I looked at the title of her first novel, Life After Genius, my first question was into which category of claimants does M. Ann Jacoby fall? And how far into this book would I have to get before I could decide? And am I qualified to make such a call? And now who’s being pretentious?

I reasoned that someone incorrectly believing they were a genius would be easy to spot. The language and style would be instantly intimidating. They would shower the first few pages with copious amounts of eight syllable words and run-on sentences. They would create outrageous metaphors and obscure references that only a handful of people on the entire planet would understand. And they would probably write in the first person.

You will find none of this in M. Ann Jacoby’s writing. On the contrary, what’s most ingenious about this astounding first novel is how easy and fun it is to read. The protagonist is immediately likable and the reader is compelled to discover what horrible injustice has derailed what should have been his very bright future. Mead, an eighteen-year-old math whiz is on the verge of answering a 130-year-old unsolved theory. The answer will catapult him to rock star status among his peers but for some reason he throws in the towel.

What happened? Why would anyone just turn and run? That is what the reader and everyone from his small, hometown wants to know. The answers are carefully and temptingly revealed through two converging time lines: Mead as a grade school outcast and Mead as a University anomaly.

On the way to finding the answers, the reader can’t help but become absorbed in a harrowed and tormented life. His mortician father, his athlete cousin and an aging professor are about the only people in Mead's life who seem to actually care about Mead. Everyone else seems either jealous or out to use him for their own gain but things aren’t always as they seem.

In her on-line biography the author talks about how in early drafts of her work some found her characters not very believable. Which is strange because she based her main characters on actual people. Her dad was a math genius and her grandfather a mortician. I’m not sure how they evolved but I found all of her characters entirely believable to the point where I doubted if this was actually a fictional work. When a writer has the reader believing something is so real that it can’t be fiction, that to me is another sign of genius.

‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover?’ Hm. If you’re unfamiliar with the author then what else draws you to the book in the first place? I have to admit besides the title, the book cover just seemed so outrageously quirky that my curiosity got the better of me. The word eccentric popped into my head, a word almost synonymous with genius and the part of the person we are drawn to. Lets face it: not too many people are going to bother trying to back track through Einstein’s theory of relativity but check out the dudes hair! Some people have bad hair days but this guy’s having a bad hair life. Okay, now we can relate. So if the title Life After Genius seems intimidating, don’t be afraid, just look at the dude’s clothes! Interestingly, before becoming a novelist Ann Jacobly earned a living designing book jackets. She designed her own (natch) and it played a part in pitching the manuscript to her publisher. (Just a little factoid I thought I should throw in).

The end of the book is abrupt and leaves the reader with a few unanswered questions but then the more I thought about it the more I felt that I liked that. I liked that she didn’t resolve everything but instead left the reader wondering what was this really about?

What else can I say, except I loved everything about this book and that leaves me with more questions. How is it possible that this great achievement slipped under the radar? Why wasn’t this book a run away best seller? And why hasn’t it accumulated a number of awards? Oh well, perhaps in her next novel M. Ann Jacoby will get the recognition she deserves.