Special Topics in Calamity Physics
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4.3 • 167 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The mesmerizing bestseller that combines the storytelling gifts of Donna Tartt and the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock—A New York Times Ten Best Book of the Year
Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age tale and a richly plotted suspense story, told with dazzling intelligence and wit. At the center of the novel 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pessl's stunning debut is an elaborate construction modeled after the syllabus of a college literature course 36 chapters are named after everything from Othello to Paradise Lost to The Big Sleep that culminates with a final exam. It comes as no surprise, then, that teen narrator Blue Van Meer, the daughter of an itinerant academic, has an impressive vocabulary and a knack for esoteric citation that makes Salinger's Seymour Glass look like a dunce. Following the mysterious death of her butterfly-obsessed mother, Blue and her father, Gareth, embark, in another nod to Nabokov, on a tour of picturesque college towns, never staying anyplace longer than a semester. This doesn't bode well for Blue's social life, but when the Van Meers settle in Stockton, N.C., for the entirety of Blue's senior year, she befriends sort of a group of eccentric geniuses (referred to by their classmates as the Bluebloods) and their ringleader, film studies teacher Hannah Schneider. As Blue becomes enmeshed with Hannah and the Bluebloods, the novel becomes a murder mystery so intricately plotted that, after absorbing the late-chapter revelations, readers will be tempted to start again at the beginning in order to watch the tiny clues fall into place. Like its intriguing main characters, this novel is many things at once it's a campy, knowing take on the themes that made The Secret History and Prep such massive bestsellers, a wry sendup of most of the Western canon and, most importantly, a sincere and uniquely twisted look at love, coming of age and identity.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating Read that couldn’t put down
I was amazed to find myself completely swallowed up in this story. Actually blew off a day of planned work that really needed to get done because I couldn’t stop reading. Four stars instead of five because I found myself skipping sentences that held up the storyline without adding interest.
Wonderful unveiling of plot
I loved her mastery of language to convey the mystery of the town but also the mystery surrounding all the characters. The plot unraveled in a mesmerizing, unexpected way and I couldn’t stop reading once I was a few chapters in! I’ve since read “Night Film,” which is also very layered and textured.
I anxiously look forward to everything else she comes up with!!
Wow.
I do not review books. I devour them, but usually do not review. I guess I am having withdrawal from this book since I finished it last night, so to extend my time with it I will talk, briefly, about it. It has been a long time since a book has entertained and questioned me as much as this one. I miss it already. I will look forward to rereading it next summer. I envy those of you who will experience this book for the first time.