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Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl
1507 members / 0 friends / 14 groups / 128 reviews / 89 tags
?Dazzling,? (People) ?Exuberant,? (Vogue) ?marvelously entertaining,? (The Dallas Morning News) Marisha Pessl?s mesmerizing debut has critics raving and heralds the arrival of a vibrant new voice in American fiction. At the center of this ?cracking good read?4 is clever, deadpan Blue van Meer, who has a head full of literary, philosophical, scientific, and cinematic knowledge. But she could use some friends. Upon entering the elite St. Gallway school, she finds some?a clique of eccentrics known as the Bluebloods. One drowning and one hanging later, Blue finds herself puzzling out a byzantine murder mystery. Nabokov meets Donna Tartt (then invites the rest of the Western Canon to the party) in this novel?with ?visual aids? drawn by the author?that has won over readers of all ages.
Shelfari Members Rating
Rated 3.805063 stars
Amazon Rating
Rated 3.5 stars

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  • kathy e's Avatar

    kathy e says

    This was a fun book to read. The author has a fun writing style.

    posted Monday, April 14 2008

  • that's ms kitty 's Avatar

    that's ms kitty says

    I loved this book because of the courage shown by the heroine's painstaking efforts to form relationships, encumbered by the pathetic narcissism of her father. The psychological odds are overwhelmingly against her, as she shows great courage in the face of multiple betrayals. A coming of age novel that flies in the face of "chick lit."

    posted Friday, March 14 2008

  • michael t's Avatar

    michael t says

    I'm about 3/4 through, I've been really enjoying it and want to recommend it to my 19-year-old daughter...for whom it seems to be written. College girl looking back on her momentous high school senior year.

    Unlike most of the comments here, I love the conceit of her being "home-schooled" by her egghead Dad while criss-crossing the country from one college town to another -- instead of listening to the radio or ipod, she has to read an incredible "syllabus" of books aloud to him, and then discuss the concepts together, making her the most erudite, best-read kid in any school she attends. Six months is the usual timeframe at any given school before moving on the next town -- Dad's a guest lecturer on the small college circuit, his topic being violent uprisings and revolutions throughout history. Mom died tragically when Blue was 3, so she and Dad are best friends that hang out watching film noir on late-night tv in motel rooms and rented houses.

    Yes it's a conceit, but pretty original to me, and continually entertaining. Hey, every novel's got a gimmick, it's just that some are more transparent than others.

    Anyway, I'm finding the writing fun, the mystery compelling -- I was disappointed to read below someone complaining about the ending. I'll be sure not to read any more of these comments in case there are spoilers.

    As I said up top, this review is from a Dad's perspective. I bet most of these reviewers are a lot younger than I am...

    posted Thursday, December 6 2007

  • demorgans's Avatar

    demorgans says

    I agree. The pace was very fast in the beginning with a lot of good references to literature etc. but dragged in the middle. It seems as though the author pulled the ending out of a hat just to finish up the book because it was going nowhere and getting incredibly boring by that point. Not terrible, but doesn't deserve the rave reviews it's gotten. Certainly not the classic that some said it is.

    posted Friday, November 16 2007

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

    (demorgans’s previously rated this books 4 stars)

  • off the shelf...'s Avatar

    off the shelf... says

    u r one of the rare few who appreciated the books references write style... it was strange but different..

    posted Sunday, October 28 2007

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

    (off the shelf...’s previously rated this books 4 stars)

  • hazelnutter's Avatar

    hazelnutter says

    agree

    posted Tuesday, October 23 2007

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

    (hazelnutter’s previously rated this books 2 stars)

  • ballroom_pink's Avatar

    ballroom_pink says

    So the team from Half Nelson (the Ryan Gosling film) are going to adapt the novel into a film. Any thoughts?

    posted Saturday, October 20 2007

    (read ballroom_pink’s review)

  • ballroom_pink's Avatar

    ballroom_pink says

    Well, Blue does say her father refuses to have one as one shouldn't be available all the time.

    posted Saturday, October 20 2007

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

    (ballroom_pink’s previously rated this books 2 stars, read review)

  • crossbike's Avatar

    crossbike says

    Another wierd thing for me - in such a modern book, the cell phone was not a part of the story. It seems to be critical to high school life today.

    posted Friday, October 19 2007

    (read crossbike’s review)

  • opuslibris's Avatar

    opuslibris says

    I bought it; I read it... and I think it's a joke.

    posted Thursday, October 18 2007

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