Hans Magnus Enzensberger | Granta

Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1929 – 2022) was a German author, poet, translator and editor. The Number Devil has been translated into over thirty languages and is essential reading for anyone – of any age – who has ever been mystified by mathematics.

Publications

The Number Devil

Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Translated by Michael Henry Heim

Twelve-year-old Robert hates his maths teacher: he sets his class boring problems and won’t let them use their calculators. Then in his dreams Robert meets the Number Devil, who brings the subject magically to life, illustrating with wit and charm a world in which numbers can amaze and fascinate, where maths is nothing like the dreary, difficult process that so many of us dread. The Number Devil knows how to make maths devilishly simple.