Describe Books Concering Special Topics in Calamity Physics
| Original Title: | Special Topics in Calamity Physics |
| ISBN: | 067003777X (ISBN13: 9780670037773) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Blue van Meer, Victor Moats, Fayonette Harper, Smoke Wyannoch Harvey, Natasha Alicia Bridges van Meer, Pa Havermeyer, Howie Valerio, Frank Fletcher, Jefferson Whitestone, Ms. Simpson, Wilson Gnut, Norvel Owen, Arnie Sanderson, Ms. Gershon, Alfred Johnson, Roy Withers, Eugenia Sturds, Violet May Martinez, Lonny Felix, Andreo Verduga, Lee Sanjay Song |
| Setting: | Stockton, North Carolina(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize (2006), PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award Nominee (2007), The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (2006) |
Marisha Pessl
Hardcover | Pages: 514 pages Rating: 3.71 | 38468 Users | 5202 Reviews
Define Epithetical Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
| Title | : | Special Topics in Calamity Physics |
| Author | : | Marisha Pessl |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 514 pages |
| Published | : | August 3rd 2006 by Penguin Books Ltd |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Mystery. Contemporary. Literary Fiction. Novels. Young Adult. Coming Of Age |
Relation In Pursuance Of Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age novel and a richly plotted suspense tale told through the distinctive voice of its heroine, Blue van Meer. After a childhood moving from one academic outpost to another with her father (a man prone to aphorisms and meteoric affairs), Blue is clever, deadpan, and possessed of a vast lexicon of literary, political, philosophical, and scientific knowledge—and is quite the cineaste to boot. In her final year of high school at the elite (and unusual) St. Gallway School in Stockton, North Carolina, Blue falls in with a charismatic group of friends and their captivating teacher, Hannah Schneider. But when the drowning of one of Hannah's friends and the shocking death of Hannah herself lead to a confluence of mysteries, Blue is left to make sense of it all with only her gimlet-eyed instincts and cultural references to guide—or misguide—her.Rating Epithetical Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Ratings: 3.71 From 38468 Users | 5202 ReviewsColumn Epithetical Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Special Topics... has certainly stirred the passions of readers and critics...especially those who love-to-hate first novels by young, successful authors. At the sight of Marisha Pessl's author photo -- lovely, unsmiling introspective waif -- I had to hold down my hate reflex with both arms, both legs, and my forehead. Yet twenty pages later, any evidence of hate (or even a struggle) was gone. I was captivated. Blue Van Meer lost her mother at a very young age and now hops around the countryYesterday it took me 5 hours to crawl through 18 pages, so I think it's safe to say I'm not really into this. I adored Night Film, so I thought I should give this a try, but it's not really my thing. Oh well!
What have I learned? I've learned that apparently it's possible for a large number of fawning reviewers to confuse "pretentious" with "intelligent". I very likely got what I deserved when I chose to ignore a clear warning, namely the so called "Glossary of Terms" inside the dustjacket which introduced our 16 year old heroine, Blue van Meer, as "a brainy, deadpan, preternaturally erudite girl who...has a head crammed full of literary, scientific, and philosophical knowledge." Admittedly, I was
I've read other reviews and I believe the negative reviews have been written by people who didn't take time to really read the book and follow it all the way through. It would be easy to do. It's not a book you can speed read. (See Ulysses by James Joyce) Sometimes I'll tear through a good book in a couple of days. But there is so much in this book that you have to take your time to really comprehend it and get the good stuff out of it. Marisha's writing technique is totally unique with her
(Full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:].)Okay, I'll admit it -- that whenever I hear of another young, good-looking first-time author in New York getting an obscenely high advance on their first book and suddenly becoming The Talk Of The Town, I automatically become suspicious, as sure a response from me as Pavlov's dogs salivating at the sound of their little bell. And that's because I've been around various people in the New York
FINAL EXAM -- You might first review my ongoing commentary as I digested this oleose turd.Special Topics in Calamity Physics is(a) a bullshit patty between two slices of lies(b) a ghastly spasm of false erudition and pretension to knowledge(c) nothing to do with physics whatsoever, and indeed infuriating in its suggestion that someone who hasn't even taken calculus is "writing essays on String Theory" (capitalization not, I assure you, mine), and indeed that AP Physics in either its Classical
I could easily attend a semester-long seminar about this book. Holy "coming of age with murder, suicide, conspiracy theories, and turns you don't see coming because you aren't worthy to walk in the same light as Marisha Pessl" shit, this book was great. Better than Night Film. Bravo.
0 Comments