Festooned by a calligraphic black spill across the dust jacket, white block letters announce that this book is “The International Bestseller” written by a very young Italian who just happens to also be a physicist. Against a stark pure white background are two slightly wet peas in a green pod and the title in uneven black block letters.

There is a reason for spending time describing the dust jacket. First, the jacket itself is a metaphor for the whole story inside, a kind of meditation of the whole reduced to the one page you see first (e-books are simply not as good at enticing the reader). The three toned cover is an artistic invitation inviting us to gently enter. Do come in, it says.

Secondly, after finishing the book last night, I can assure you that just reflecting on this cover will remind you of the beautiful language inside that propels us almost imperceptibly. The pace comes from an emotional yet unsentimental rhythm that keeps us afloat in spite of all apparent circumstances.

The two “peas” of this book are Alice Della Rocca, just nine-years-old, forced by her domineering father to attend ski school every morning, supposedly somewhere in the Italian Alps. The ski instructor, like her father, are success driven types who disdain slackers. Alice has just had breakfast and the milk was spoiled. Needless to say, once she’s mummified into her ski clothes and left for the morning where she simply doesn’t want to be, things get a little out of hand. She feels a little sick and needs a bathroom but such silliness is verboten in this snowfilled outdoor classroom.

She disappears into the white snow and blinding fog, searching for a private space. She suffers an injury to her leg that will isolate her from most of the joys of growing up while creating psychic wounds that make coping a world weary struggle.

The other “pea” is Mattias Balossino, gifted intellectually and mathematically, whose twin sister was born with severe mental disabilities. Mattias is his sister’s keeper. That being his duty, these two live mostly on the fringe of childhood. One day, they are both invited, rather reluctantly, to a classmate’s birthday party. Mattias, the perennial caregiver to his mentally challenged sister, makes an impulsive decision to leave Michela, his twin, in the park while he attends the party by himself. This choice will alter the course of his life, leaving him with both visible and invisible wounds, rendering his psyche, like Alice’s, damaged.

This brings us to the third reason to note how the cover mirrors the story inside. This is a love story. A timely blog to honor cupid’s own Valentine’s Day. You just might figure the love part of this book while noting the two green peas in a singular green pea pod, broken off its branch. If it weren’t for this emerald, verdant green on the front, the colors would be just black and white perhaps suggesting that the story inside is an almost unbearable story of sadness and missed opportunities, which it is, partly.

But you see, this is a story fueled by love, surprising types of love. Not just the romantic kind that sees stars and feels desire. It is a story about two damaged people who somehow support each other through the agonies of adolescence, isolated from the crowd. A bullying young girl plots an encounter between Alice and Mattias, knowing the results will be humiliating for the two of them. Her plot turns on her and instead of triumph, she feels jealousy. Not all love stories end up happily ever after. But some leave us with a more satisfying hope of good things yet to come.

Also see Kelly’s blog on Prime Numbers

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano (Penguin, 2010)

-Pat

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