Best Math Fiction

[ezratei]

What are people's favorite novels that center around mathmatics, or science in general for that matter? Additional requirement: It CANNOT be science fiction.

Personally I think "Ratner's Star" by Don Delillo kicks monkey butt ... and it's not science fiction no matter what you say

[drudman]

I hope there are a lot of responses to this.

[jason_t]

Surreal Numbers by Donald Knuth.

"Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture" by Apostolos Doxiadis is pretty good.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]

Personally I think "Ratner's Star" by Don Delillo kicks monkey butt ... and it's not science fiction no matter what you say

[/ QUOTE ]

I read this a while ago and it really did nothing for me. I think I just don't like DeLillo - I didn't care for White Noise, either.

I can't say I've read much fiction that centers around mathematics. Flatland, maybe?

[MtDon]

"The Man Who Counted," by Malba Tahan.

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Here's a delightful little book that combines the joys of mathematical recreation with some fine storytelling. It follows the Arabian adventures of a man with remarkable mathematical skills, which he uses to settle conflict and give wise advice. The tales of his travels involve the solving of mathematical puzzles and sharing insights from the minds of some of history's great mathematicians. In reading it, you can almost smell the spices and feel the desert wind. You just don't find this kind of atmosphere in books about mathematics.

From Library Journal
Puzzle books can be tedious (unless you like that sort of thing), but not this one. First published in Brazil in 1949 by the mathematician Julio de Melo e Sousa (Tahan is the imaginary Arab author he claimed to have translated), it is a series of delightful "Arabian nights"-style tales, with each story built around a classic mathematical puzzle. The puzzles fit into the stories so naturally that they are a necessary part of the fantasy. The hero is a Persian mathematician and mystic named Beremiz who uses his powers of calculation like a magic wand to amaze and entertain people, settle disputes, find justice and, finally, win the heart of a beautiful princess. Reading the stories is as much fun as trying to solve the puzzles. For adults and children.
- Amy Brunvand, Fort Lewis Coll. Lib., Durango, Col.