‘delightful and original…Although framed by math, the Uncle Petros story easily extends interest beyond the scientific minded.’
‘delightful and original…Although framed by math, the Uncle Petros story easily extends interest beyond the scientific minded.’
‘intriguing debut…Doxiadis keeps the story engaging by focusing on the development of two compelling characters…the novel is captivating.’
‘An intellectual thriller that manages to convey the high drama and excitement involved in the pursuit of an answer to a mysterious…mathematical theorem…Delightful, fun, well-conceived and nicely executed.’
‘Reads like a fascinating adventure story. Doxiadis has given to literature the mysterious, arcane and sometimes tragic world of abstract mathematics.’
The novel can, and should be, enjoyed as the beautifully written story of a man obsessed by numbers. The mathematics has no greater importance than, say, the biology of dragons in Tolkien’s work. However, professionals in the field will be intrigued…
With “Uncle Petros & Goldbach’s Conjecture,” first-time author Apostolos Doxiadis has put together a stunning synthesis of mathematics and make-believe. In the grand tradition of science novels…
Greek author Doxiadis wrote this novel in 1992 and updated it slightly for the 2000 publication in English. It’s a delight to have it in translation at last because this is a riveting good story about pride, obsession and – gulp – mathematics…
‘Uncle Petros offers many glimpses of the great superreal world of mathematical ideas, a world of eternal truths and of unspeakable beauty.’
‘A compelling portrait of a talented young mathematician.’
“‘It is brilliantly written—a mathematical detective story of great charm—and it certainly succeeds in capturing much of the spirit of mathematical research.’