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Special Topics in Calamity Physics

By Marisha Pessl

(66)

| Hardcover | 9780670037773

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Book Description

This mesmerizing debut, uncannily uniting the trials of a postmodern upbringing with a murder mystery, heralds the arrival of a vibrant new voice in literary fiction

Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age novel and a richly plotted suspense tale toContinue

Critics

Too cool for school

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl 528pp, Penguin Viking, £6.99 This young American author's first novel, the subject of a bidding war, was eventually sold to Penguin for a six-figure sum. Published in the US to reviews of saucer-eye ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Core Curriculum

Whoever coined the phrase “everybody loves a winner” probably wasn’t one. When the news came out that a distractingly pretty actress, playwright and Barnard College graduate named Marisha Pessl, only 27, had sold her first book (which she also illust ... (read full critics)

nytimes published on Sat, 18 Sep 2010

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6 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

A group of students under the influence of a charismatic teacher. They have dinner at her house, tell her their worries and woes and she in turn tells them almost nothing. She is the quintessential sympathetic listener without identity, and the students become almost frantic to provide her with thei ... (continue)

A group of students under the influence of a charismatic teacher. They have dinner at her house, tell her their worries and woes and she in turn tells them almost nothing. She is the quintessential sympathetic listener without identity, and the students become almost frantic to provide her with their own projected identity. And then Something Happens.
I loved it. The story is great, the style is great, the main characters are believable, lovable and a little silly. The theme and tone reminded me of 'The secret history'. If you loved that one, try this.

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annemarie said on Feb 7, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

I'm too old

Language is prickly, story unrolls but the truth is I'm just not interested in high school kids (except my own)...

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Gail Paris said on Dec 10, 2009 | Add your feedback

A terrific book! A compelling story, written in an original language, packed with irony, sadness, and quotes both from high and pop culture.
It explores so many topics: what it's like to be a teenager, social dynamics in an American high school, father-daughter relationships; dealing with the ... (continue)

A terrific book! A compelling story, written in an original language, packed with irony, sadness, and quotes both from high and pop culture.
It explores so many topics: what it's like to be a teenager, social dynamics in an American high school, father-daughter relationships; dealing with the loss of loved ones, with growing up and with disillusionment. The writer manages all this without ever getting boring, pretentious or whiny on the reader.
It sort of slows down in the middle, but since the last part is like a roller-coaster, that doesn't really matter. I stumbled upon it in a library, and I am so very glad I found it: it kept me fantastic company for just over a week. Definitely recommended!

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natalia said on Nov 10, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

This is the story of Blue, a high school student who has been raised by her father since the death of her mother when she was 5. Her father is an egotistic intellect and works as a visiting professor of political science around the country. He is a mixture of boorishness and charm and is very exac ... (continue)

This is the story of Blue, a high school student who has been raised by her father since the death of her mother when she was 5. Her father is an egotistic intellect and works as a visiting professor of political science around the country. He is a mixture of boorishness and charm and is very exacting in his education of his daughter. The two have developed a complicated strategy to keep the rest of the world at bay: a mixture of disdain for pretty much everyone outside their circle of two, while constantly on the move between second rate universities, and rigorous pursuit of Blue's education. They pride themselves on their depth of knowledge and their verbal sparring agility, and Blue, from whose point of view the book is written, compulsively provides citations for absolutely everything, right down to the way a friend walks. She is also very liberal with metaphors and similes: some just a phrase, some extending the length of the book, some strained, many delightfully imaginative. The book covers Blue's final year of high school which her father decides to spend in one location where Blue can attend a private high school in preparation for college. Here Blue finally makes friends of a sort, although the teacher who provides the cohesion is soon found dead. The rest of the book untangles the mystery of her death and Blue's relationship with her dad. All in all a very imaginatively done book that was fun to read.

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beth said on Sep 5, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

A friend recommended it...I'll wait and see what is so fascinating!

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ゴロケン said on Sep 2, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Slow at first... I was ready to quit it but by the end it was thrilling. Am very glad I stuck with it.

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polacek said on Jul 27, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback