Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl

Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics is an unforgettable debut novel that combines the storytelling gifts of Donna Tartt and the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock: a darkly hilarious coming-of-age tale and a richly plotted suspense story, told with dazzling intelligence and wit.

'I wrote this account one year after I'd found Hannah Dead.

I thought I'd managed to erase all traces of that night within myself.

But I was wrong.

Every night when I tried to sleep, I'd close my eyes and see her again, exactly as I found her, hanging from a pine tree by an orange electrical cord, her neck twisted like a tulip stem, her eyes seeing nothing.

Or else that was the problem. They'd seen everything.'

Special Topics in Calamity Physics
is a mesmerizing debut. As teenager Blue van Meer tells her story we are hurled into a dizzying world of murder and butterflies, womanizing and wandering, American McCulture, The Western Canon, political radicalism and juvenile crushisms. Structured around a syllabus for a Great Works of Literature class (with hand-drawn Visual Aids), Blue's wickedly funny yet poignant tale reveals how the imagination finds meaning in the most bewildering times, the ways people of all ages strive for connection, and how the darkest of secrets can set us free.

'Beneath the foam of this exuberant debut is a dark, strong drink' Jonathan Franzen, author of, The Corrections

'Any [Donna] Tartt fan disappointed that her second novel had little in common with her debut should rush out and buy this book immediately... It's a brilliant debut, guaranteed to join the ranks of The Secret History and The Virgin Suicides as one of those rare books to become a cult hit and instant classic' Sunday Telegraph

'One of the most impressive debut novels I have ever read ... It stops you doing anything apart from reading it ' Independent on Sunday

'Special Topics in Calamity Physics made me stay up all night reading; in the morning it seemed like one of those parties where everyone is too cool for you but you desperately want to know them anyway . . . I loved this book' Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

Marisha Pessl was born in 1977 and lives in New York. This is her first novel.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

4 of 5 stars

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I'm still wrapping my head around this book. It's very detailed, incredibly well-researched. I'm impressed. It's not the type of book where you feel good walking away from. The ending didn't feel like an ending, more like an ending interrupted, but I think that is exactly what the writer (Marisha Pessl) intended. In that way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the ending. The reader is left thinking and wondering. We can fill in the blanks for ourselves.

In some ways, it was difficult to read this book just because it was set up like an incredibly long MLA essay. I found myself skimming over things when they got incredibly scientific. Only once did I feel like I had missed something when I skipped sections, and the time that I did feel as though I missed something, going back and re-reading it twice, thoroughly didn't give me any more closure. I think those who read this book very closely will have it figured out long before I did.

I found the writing to be very careful and very deliberate. I think this book is an excellent example to aspiring writers about the importance of relevant information and careful editing - every word in this book was there for a reason. Regardless of whether or not it was an enjoyable book, it was an excellent piece of writing.

As for the characters, they were remarkably real-to-life. If you're looking for a happy ending or beautiful, romantic characters, there isn't a single one to be found. All the characters are either depressingly shallow people (note: I said people, not characters. The characters are very round.) or else they are a lying caricature of themselves. It's difficult to find a single character to sympathise with, to care about. Mostly, as the reader, I found that I wanted answers. That was why I kept reading. But I didn't read the last chapter, which was in the format of a "final exam". I had read enough, and I think that even without that supposedly knowing the deepest, darkest secret that chapter may reveal, I know enough.

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  • Started reading
  • 28 February, 2011: Finished reading
  • 28 February, 2011: Reviewed