Special topics in calamity physics

by Marisha Pessl

Hardcover, 514 pages

English language

Published 2006 by Viking.

ISBN:: 978-0-670-03777-3
OCLC Number:: 62755674

(22 reviews)

A darkly funny 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 cinéaste to boot. In her final year of high school at the élite (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.--From publisher description.

10 editions

rclayton reviewed Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

3 stars

A mess, mostly. A smart 16-year-old spends her senior year at a private school. She (Blue van Meer) attracts the attention of the film studies teacher (Hannah Schneider), who invites her into a clique of five snobbish seniors (the Bluebloods). They strip van Meer out of her intellectual and social cocoon (they give van Meer her first cocktails, and after she throws up, they nickname her "Wretch" and "Hurl"). It's a coming-of-age story, except it's less coming into the new and more leaving the old behind. As the Bluebloods run van Meer through the wringer, Schneider becomes more erratic and the story starts becoming a horror-thriller. Schneider leads the Bluebloods on a over-night camping trip. Schneider takes van Meer deep into the woods, where they get spooked by something. Schneider goes after the something, and van Meer goes after Schneider. She finds Schneider dead, hanging by the neck (this is not a spoiler; van Meer mentions it on the first page). Now the story becomes a mystery. The police rule suicide, but van Meer believes it's murder. van Meer goes to the police to present her views, and the detective in charge gives her a convincing justification for suicide. Nevertheless, van Meer conducts an investigation, and the story diverts into conspiracy theory. As expected van Meer spirals down the rabbit hole until an event (which would be a spoiler if revealed) shocks her out of her pursuit. Then the story swerves back to coming-of-age with van Meer's graduation, in which she delivers a cynical valedictory in the Blueblood character (which she no longer is because Schneider is no longer there to plead van Meer's case with them).

The writing is pyrotechnic in style and in plot, often to no good effect, but it's tricky because the book is presented as van Meer's autobiography written while she's a first-year student at Harvard. It's not Pessl's writing, but Pessl's writing as van Meer's writing, which didn't help me understand why van Meer-Pessl used "Wretch" instead of the more fitting "Retch." It's almost certain this book has to be read at least twice, and it's almost equally certain the second read-through will be more like work than pleasure (I've read it once, and the next read-through is scheduled far in the future).

scifijack reviewed Special topics in calamity physics by Marisha Pessl

Review of 'Special topics in calamity physics' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

There are books I love. I don't love this book, but it's not just like, either. I have a crush on this book. It's so vibrantly written, the characters are all, without exception, interesting, I was so rooting for Blue during the whole thing ... that it never developed into more than a crush is just one of those things between a reader and a book. You know? I wish she'd hurry up and put out her second novel.

markgalassi reviewed Special topics in calamity physics by Marisha Pessl

Review of 'Special topics in calamity physics' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This book is quite remarkable: it has a density of good lines, good turns of phrase, and a certain erudition which I liked.

But the plot never really seems to happen. I finally had to give up after several hundred pages that seemed stagnant.

Ikwezi reviewed Special topics in calamity physics by Marisha Pessl

Review of 'Special Topics In Calamity Physics' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

All of the characters spoke in an irritating patios that was like monolingual Rushdie, except for the "Bluebloods," who were completely pointless. And the Big Reveal is lame. Might make a good movie, though.

settingshadow reviewed Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Review of 'Special Topics in Calamity Physics' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A classic coming of age tale meets a conspiracy theory thriller roughly at its peak and the two spark an entirely new type of story. Compelling and shockingly good.

AliCorbin reviewed Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Review of 'Special Topics in Calamity Physics' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I enjoyed it, but there were a number of critiques. It was thought to be too long, and needed some drastic editing. The characters for the most part were cartoonish, and the plot needed some tightening up. And an ambiguous ending is fine and good for a book espousing Great Truths, but not for a murder mystery. It was admitted that the premise was clever, however, and the word painting well-done. A pretty impressive debut novel.