Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

 

"The number system is like human life. First you have the natural numbers. The ones that are whole and positive. Like the numbers of a small child. But human consciousness expands. The child discovers longing. Do you know the mathematical expression for longing? The negative numbers. The formalization of the feeling that you're missing something. "

"Miss Smilla's Sense for Snow" by Peter Hoeg - one of my favourite books.
Read it - won't regret it