Main character is a women studying chimpanzees in Africa, but her ex-husband is a set theorist who goes mad because he fails to prove a theorem.

One of my favourite authors, and one of his best books. The human relations are excellent, the chimp relations frightening. The relationship with the ex-husband deteriorates because of his maths. Some maths is explained - not nearly necessary for any maths fan. Written before the proof of Fermat's last theorem.

I think this an outstanding novel. I have taught it as a text for 17 year-old students who find the richness of its themes really engaging. You can look at it as a novel of ideas, or as a post-colonial state-of-Africa novel, or as meditation on anthropological & evolutionary matters.

It has been years since I read "Brazzaville Beach," but I still think about it and remember the pleasure it gave me. It's one of the "meatiest" books I've read. I'm not a mathematician, but that doesn't stop me from reading beyond my capacity. That way when something in one book or article connects to another, it's such a joy to understand. "Brazzaville Beach" was one of those connections.