Contemporary fiction with a science background (but not science fiction)

[Geoffreyjen]

I just finished reading The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer , which is a contemporary fiction book about the funeral and wake (or shiva in the Jewish tradition) of a famous mathematician. I enjoyed the book, which in many ways was more a portrait of a Jewish family as it moved from Germany, Poland and Russia to the United States than a study of mathematics, although the maths was also interesting. It put me in mind of a book I read many years ago called The Mind-Body Problem by Rebecca Goldstein , which also mixes science discussions about philosophy and mathematics with fiction in a humerous and interesting way - also about Jewish culture, ironically. And then I started thinking there are other books like this... If anyone else has read any like this I'd be interested, and I think I could track down a few more myself. When done well, they make for very engaging reading!

[Anna]

Yes, I find I like books that, within the story, allow me to learn about things I am interested in, and things I never knew I'd be interested in. Maths explains how so much of the universe works so it is much more interesting than it ever was at school. Through writing and reading I find I am now fascinated by history much more so than when I was young.