Published
March 29th 2011
by Penguin Books
(first published July 1st 2008)
original title
La solitudine dei numeri primi
ISBN
0143118595
(ISBN13: 9780143118596)
edition language
English
characters
literary awards
Premio Strega (2008), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Preis der Jugendjury (2010), Premio Campiello Opera Prima (2008)
Mattia and Alice are scarred by incidents that happened as young children, Alice from a ski accident that left her crippled and Mattia from the dissappearance of his sister. Yet they find each other, two prime numbers, "kindred damaged spirits." A meeting later in life forces them to face all of their emotions, but can they find a way to be together.
I have know about this book since it first debuted but something about it never quite caught my attention, until recently when I found it on a bargain book pile at Barnes and Noble, for $3.98 I will read it. I flew to Washington DC over the weekend and thought my time in the airports and on the plane would be the perfect time to immerse myself into this book. I may have been wrong. I didn't dislike this novel but I was not affected by it in the way I had hoped to be. It is beautifully written, the translation from Italian to English is flawless and the characters are unique and fascinating in their own ways. However, I never felt a real connection between Alice and Mattia, they seemed to only be friends cause neither one had anyone else.
I also would have liked to have had more background into their tragedies, more details as those events shaped them more than anything that happened in the novel.
I did find the writers characterization of Alice to be very authentic, his ability to write as a women was impressive and the stories of Alice and the mean girls was very realistic and some of the more moving parts of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, it didn't leave me with any strong feelings but was a worthwhile read. I rated it four stars on good reads.
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