Present Books During 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
Chronicle Conducive To 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.
Mention Based On Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
| Title | : | Special Topics in Calamity Physics |
| Author | : | Marisha Pessl |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special 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 |
Rating Based On Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Ratings: 3.71 From 38468 Users | 5202 ReviewsComment On Based On Books Special Topics in Calamity Physics
***NO SPOILERS***What Special Topics in Calamity Physics is: a book about a sixteen-year-old girl and her dad living in a new town. What it isnt: a book about physics. What it is: a book about a sixteen-year-old girl, her five uber-cool new friends, and one doting teacher. What it isnt: all that it appears to be. Really, the story is indefinable. At its heart its a murder mystery, but to say that is also rudely dismissive--of its thoughtfulness, its quirkiness, its complexity. Special Topics in
Reviews of Special Topics in Calamity Physics and the Bottle of Açaí Juice I Bought for Lunch Cleverly Masked as SAT Test QuestionsChoices:(a) Special Topics in Calamity Physics(b) The bottle of açaí juice I bought for lunch(c) Both a and b(d) Neither a nor bQuestions(1) __ I had heard good things about it(2) __ I bought it on a whim(3) __ If feeling extremely charitable, I might call it frothy(4) __ It seemed sort of good in the beginning, but by the end I was like, Blaahahhgajh. End, end, end.
This one is going back on the pile. I made it over 100 pages this time. That's something, right?My problems with this book are the glacial pace and overwritten sentences. It's like an even more wordy Donna Tartt book. I don't need literary references cited in every paragraph and overblown dialogue and flowery language for the sake of flowery language don't impress me at this stage in the game. The pretentious, pompous tone of the book is also a turn-off. Picking up the book to read it began
Yesterday 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!
Donna Tartt wrote a splendid book called The Secret History which both celebrated and skewered hyper-intellectualism as well as explored the process of interacting with a text and the pleasures of narrative devices. This book follows roughly the same storyline (and, incidentally, the storyline of Daniel Handler's The Basic Eight, down to the "study questions" at the end), except there's absolutely no reason for the precious chapter titles and the annotated references - they have no bearing on
Brilliant rendition of an unforgettable brainy teen who feels compelled to leave her world of books to solve the mystery of a teachers death. Many will find the book too long with not enough meaningful human action, but I found the world of the lead characters mind grew on me as a doomed, but attractive, refuge from the narcissistic void facing many youth today. Sixteen year old Blue van Meer moves to a small town in North Carolina with her political science professor dad and recounts her senior
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