Dot and the Line: Romance in Lower Mathematics: Amazon.ca: Norton Juster: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Originally published in 1963, and back just in time for Valentine's Day, The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth) once again bursts on the scene. Using only black and red, Juster tells the poignant yet humorous tale of a straight line in love with a red dot, and the line's attempts to woo her away from a slothful squiggle. Much merriment will be had by all before the hero gets his girl. ; Jan.)

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

A clever idea, carried out to perfection. You will find yourself going through these ingenious pages again and again. A gem. -- Saturday Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Mathematical love, April 30 2011

By

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dot & the Line: Romance in Lower Mathematics (Hardcover)

Everybody loves a romantic underdog story, where the guy who seems to have no chance at all ends up with the girl of his dreams. But Norton Juster (unsurprisingly) puts a rather different spin on the usual story in "The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics," which is a charming little picture book about... well, a dot and a line. And a squiggle.

"Once upon a time there was a sensible straight line who was hopelessly in love... with a Dot." But though he voices his devotion, the Dot isn't interested -- she's busy romancing a bad-boy Squiggle, and considers the Line to be hopelessly boring and conventional. The Line falls into a depression over his hopeless love... only to discover that he has skills that make the Squiggle look pitiful. Can he win over Dot?

When he wasn't writing clever books like "The Phantom Tollbooth," Norton Juster was a successful architect. To be an architect, you need to know something about lines -- and "The Dot And the Line" is basically a celebration of geometry and all the wild things you can do with a seemingly simple line. Art, mathematics and nature are all explored via The Line.

And Juster writes the whole thing in a delightfully punny manner ("... and before long he was completely on edge," along with an illustration of the Line on the very edge of the page), with some delightful phrases ("You are as meaningless as a melon!"). And he finds countless clever ways to insert the Line into all sorts of places (THE LINE AS A POTENT FORCE IN THE WORLD OF ART), emphasizing its importance far above the Squiggle.

And what's more... it's just so endearing to see the Line working so hard to win over The Dot.

"The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics" is an enchanting little romance that explores all the possibilities in a simple Line. A charming little fairy tale of geometry.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Clever short, Jun 5 2004

By

Gsno (Ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dot & the Line: Romance in Lower Mathematics (Hardcover)

I love this book. Its a smart educational book dealing with love and mathematics. Juster did a great job on this book. I could read it over and over again and never get tired of it.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book., May 21 2004

By

Ali Goico (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dot & the Line: Romance in Lower Mathematics (Hardcover)

This is a really clever story, and it is also an animation from the 60s. The story works on many levels, and also has that old fashioned element of trying to instill a value in you. The poor boring straight line decides that he is going to win the girl, no matter what, and then he develops into this genius. I guess the story is a version of the Ugly Duckling, but for adults. I have given it to a bunch of people and read it as a goodnight story to good (adult) friends.

It reads fast, the illustrations are cute (very 60s), the characters are all people you recognize...

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 18 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 38 reviews 4.9 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect gift
I bought this book for my husband for our first wedding anniversary (first is paper.) He loved it! A great story, wonderful drawings and just the right message. A great gift!

Published on Nov 13 2002 by Cherish McNamara

5.0 out of 5 stars Just plain fun
I got this for my husband as an anniversary gift (first anniversary is paper.) He loved it!! Thought it was unique and fun. Great story & drawings.