The Solitude of Prime Numbers

The Solitude of Prime Numbers (2008) by Paolo Giordano. I am very fond of prime numbers, so I was looking forward to a novel that somehow relates prime numbers to a plot about people. I was disappointed, however. Although one of the main characters is a mathematician, and he does think about prime numbers, that fact bears little relationship to the interactions of the characters in the book -- at least not one that was obvious to me. The book is not lacking in drama. Alice, one main character, breaks her leg in a skiing accident at a young age, and never walks comfortably again. Mattia, the other main character, leaves his disabled twin sister in a park so he can go to a party, and she is never seen again. This book has elements of tragedy. But the way the elements of the plot come together just did not ring true for me. One suspicion I have is that perhaps something was lost in the translation from Italian to English. At any rate, this book just didn't quite do it for me. Grade: B-