"This debut novel by renowned mathematician Michèle Audin—only the second book ever published in English by a female member of the prestigious and influential Oulipo—follows the lives of French mathematicians through the World Wars. Oscillating stylistically from chapter to chapter—at times a novel, fable, historical research, diary—One Hundred Twenty-One Days locks and unlocks historical codes as it unravels the tragic entanglement of politics and science, culminating in a wholly original and emotionally powerful reading experience."--Page [4] of cover.