The Solitude of Prime Numbers

I love the connection between the title and the characters who are featured in the book.  So goes the story of two lonely high school kids who befriend each other in Paolo Giordano’s The Solitude of Prime Numbers.  Alice, who was traumatized as a young girl being forced by her father to ski, and later creates a situation of “self-inflicted” injuries based from the fear of skiing down the mountain.  Similarly, Mattia, has his own tragedy when he leaves his twin sister at a park alone to go to a childhood birthday party and later learns of her disappearance, never to be found.  The two get drawn together through a series of “bullying” situations from the “bitch girls” who prey on Alice and bring Mattia into the drama.  The author weaves the two character’s lives together over the ensuing years, where they get so close, but never consummate the relationship.  Alice and Mattia have much in common: personality traits; passions (one photography, one math); shared backgrounds; and inability to show their true feelings for each other.  This in itself matches the concept of the prime number… standing alone by itself.  The awkward number, the awkward person.  At the point in which the two will seemingly connect, Mattia wins a math scholarship upon college graduation out of the country, leading Alice to the arms of a doctor,  who she turns to for solace, but never lets go of her dream of being with Mattia.  A few years after her marriage, Mattia decides to return to meet Alice, at the same time Alice makes a discovery she believes will change Mattia’s life, finding the twin sister who he lost years ago.  Will the two finally be able to validate their feelings for each other, or will they be like the prime numbers, separated but equal?  What a sad and very moving story.  It so captures the youth of today, complicated, wanting to be accepted, and having a secret that does not enable them to connect.  This is a great coming of age story with characters from our day.  I loved this brilliantly told story.   Add this to your list!