Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Salzburg Lessingstraße 6 2013
Description
"Princeton University, 1980. A young and unambitious librarian named Anna Roth is assigned the task of retrieving the records of Kurt Gödel--the most fascinating and hermetic mathematician of the 20th century. Her mission consists of befriending and ultimately taming the great man's widow Adele, a notoriously bitter woman set on taking belated revenge against the establishment by refusing to hand over these documents of immeasurable historical value. But as Anna soon finds out, Adele has a story of her own to tell"--Amazon.com.
User reviews
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This novel is told in two interweaving strands. In 1980, shortly after famous mathematician Kurt Gödel's death, Anna Roth, daughter of two Princeton mathematicians, is given the difficult job of convincing Kurt's widow Adele to donate his papers to their institute. She visits her in the nursing
I listened to this book on audio, and because of that, I didn't progress through it very quickly. I occasionally lost the thread of the story. Although the topic was interesting, the characters were at time somewhat flat - especially Anna, whose story paled in comparison to that of the Gödels. It was Adele, with her matter-of-fact nature and her clear love for the difficult Kurt, who made the story pop.
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home and gradually breaks through her skeptical shells. Through flashbacks, we learn more about Kurt Gödel's life through the eyes of his wife. Kurt and Adele came from different worlds, and she often felt left out of his life. He was a reclusive, troubled man, and Adele was often his connection to the real world. Their life together is made even more interesting by their cadre of friends - Einstein and Oppenheimer among them. I listened to this book on audio, and because of that, I didn't progress through it very quickly. I occasionally lost the thread of the story. Although the topic was interesting, the characters were at time somewhat flat - especially Anna, whose story paled in comparison to that of the Gödels. It was Adele, with her matter-of-fact nature and her clear love for the difficult Kurt, who made the story pop.
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Awards
Prix des libraires (2013)
Language
Original language
French
Physical description
477 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
9783853000038