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A review by book_concierge
The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
4.0
Audio book performed by Luke Daniels
From chapter 21: Mattia had learned that, among prime numbers, there are some that are even more special. Mathematicians call them twin primes: pairs of prime numbers that are close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an even number that prevents them from truly touching. Numbers like 11 and 13, like 17 and 19, 41 and 43. If you have the patience to go on counting, you discover that these pairs gradually become rarer. You encounter increasingly isolated primes lost in that silent, measured space made only of ciphers, and you develop a distressing presentiment that the pairs encountered up until that point were accidental, that solitude is the true destiny. Then, just when you’re about to surrender, when you no longer have the desire to go on counting, you come across another pair of twins, clutching each other tightly.”
Alice Della Rocca and Mattia Balossino are the solitary primes of this beautifully written novel. The story begins in 1983 with Alice, forced to take ski lessons by her attorney father. The narrative skips to 1984 and twins Mattia and Michaela; Mattia is always charged with “look after your sister,” because Michaela is clearly not able to look after herself. These two chapters provide key incidents that lead to Alice and Mattia’s increasing solitude. But they will meet in high school and like rare twin primes they will cling to one another, though never quite touching.
Giordano writes with such elegance about the landscape of loneliness, the need for love and acceptance. This is an intimate study of the psychology of two damaged characters. Both Mattia and Alice lack the strength to truly connect to someone else, yet have the strength to live alone and isolated. Their steps toward one another are halting and even excruciatingly difficult, making the reader almost as anxious as the characters. Like real life, the ending is ambiguous, but oh, how I want to know what happens to these two people.
Luke Daniels does a wonderful job narrating the audio version. His nuanced performance is both gentle and harsh, quiet and panicked, tender and mean.
From chapter 21: Mattia had learned that, among prime numbers, there are some that are even more special. Mathematicians call them twin primes: pairs of prime numbers that are close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an even number that prevents them from truly touching. Numbers like 11 and 13, like 17 and 19, 41 and 43. If you have the patience to go on counting, you discover that these pairs gradually become rarer. You encounter increasingly isolated primes lost in that silent, measured space made only of ciphers, and you develop a distressing presentiment that the pairs encountered up until that point were accidental, that solitude is the true destiny. Then, just when you’re about to surrender, when you no longer have the desire to go on counting, you come across another pair of twins, clutching each other tightly.”
Alice Della Rocca and Mattia Balossino are the solitary primes of this beautifully written novel. The story begins in 1983 with Alice, forced to take ski lessons by her attorney father. The narrative skips to 1984 and twins Mattia and Michaela; Mattia is always charged with “look after your sister,” because Michaela is clearly not able to look after herself. These two chapters provide key incidents that lead to Alice and Mattia’s increasing solitude. But they will meet in high school and like rare twin primes they will cling to one another, though never quite touching.
Giordano writes with such elegance about the landscape of loneliness, the need for love and acceptance. This is an intimate study of the psychology of two damaged characters. Both Mattia and Alice lack the strength to truly connect to someone else, yet have the strength to live alone and isolated. Their steps toward one another are halting and even excruciatingly difficult, making the reader almost as anxious as the characters. Like real life, the ending is ambiguous, but oh, how I want to know what happens to these two people.
Luke Daniels does a wonderful job narrating the audio version. His nuanced performance is both gentle and harsh, quiet and panicked, tender and mean.