MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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All the Light We Cannot See (2014)
Anthony Doerr
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Doerr's Pulitzer Prize winning novel follows two children in World War II, a blind French girl hiding with her father and a valuable jewel from the museum where he works and an orphaned German boy. When it becomes clear that the German boy's talents at mathematics and radios give him the perfect skills for triangulating a target, he gains status but finds himself in a morally perilous predicament.

One detailed calculation and a few other brief references to math comprise the only mathematical content in this beautifully told story.

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to All the Light We Cannot See
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. The Art Student's War by Brad Leithauser
  2. The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti
  3. The Trachtenberg Speed System by Buzz Mauro
  4. The Boy Who Escaped Paradise by J.M. Lee (author) / Chi-Young Kim (translator)
  5. Incendies by Denis Villeneuve / Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne / Wajdi Mouawad
  6. V2: A Novel of World War II by Robert Harris
  7. A Universe of Sufficient Size by Miriam Sved
  8. Apeirogon: A Novel by Colum McCann
  9. The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer
  10. Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan
Ratings for All the Light We Cannot See:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
1/5 (1 votes)
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Literary Quality:
5/5 (1 votes)
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Categories:
GenreHistorical Fiction,
MotifProdigies, War, Math as Beautiful/Exciting/Useful,
TopicGeometry/Topology/Trigonometry,
MediumNovels,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)