Paperback, 400 pages
English language
Published March 29, 2016 by Penguin Books.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet is the debut novel by American author Reif Larsen, first published in 2009. The book follows the exploits of a 12-year-old mapmaker named T.S. Spivet, who lives on a ranch near Divide, Montana, as he receives a prestigious award and accepts it, hitch-hiking on a freight train for the acceptance speech in Washington D.C.. The book is noteworthy for its unique design; the plot-line is illustrated with images which further the narrative by providing charts, lists, sketches, and maps accompanying each page, mirroring T.S.'s cartographic interests and his minute attention to detail. Vanity Fair claims Larsen received just under a million dollars as an advance from Penguin Press following a bidding war between ten publishing houses.
An interesting concept for a novel (adolescent boy obsessed with mapping out every aspect of his life) with wonderful illustrations, but the problem with a novel that seems to want to be like a David Foster Wallace novel is that there was only one DFW.
Intriguing ideas, and a great first half. I'm glad I read this, but it has the most abrupt and unsatisfying end of any book I've read since The Diamond Age.
