Marisha Pessl

Having moved from one academic outpost to another throughout her childhood at the side of her aphorism-prone father, Blue van Meer attends the elite St. Gallway School in her senior year, where she falls in with a charismatic group of friends before the deaths of a teacher and student awaken her analytical instincts. A first novel. 50,000 first printing.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Martha F.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to be sucked in, transformed, wowed and amazed.

It didn't work for me, though. The language is incredible, that's for sure, but it felt gimmicky on more than one occasion. I stopped trusting the narrator in the first few chapters. If there hadn't been the promise of "intrigue" later one, I might have been tempted to give it up.

Colleen

4 Stars

Special Topics in Calamity Physics was recommended to me. It took me a while to get around to reading it, but I am glad I did! It was well written, interesting, and distinctive.

My first thought was that the title was a bit confusing. It immediately brought to mind Gravity's Rainbow although I can't say exactly why. So I went in half expecting something dense. The reality was quite different, although I am somewhat at a loss about how to describe this book. It does not fit neatly into any category which to be fair is part of what makes it stand out. If pressed, I might label this as a Literary Mystery. 

The story opens with the main character, Blue (yes, that's her real name), recalling the death of someone she knew. It is not readily apparent who this person is or what led to her death only that at the start of the story, something has triggered Blue to write down everything that led up to those events. It was a bit nebulous and hazy at first. But the farther along you go, the more it is revealed how everything ties together.

Comparisons to The Secret History are inevitable. To be fair, practically every book that in any way concerns elite prep schools or Ivy League colleges get compared to The Secret History. On the very surface, the two books do share an outline. There is the elite school setting, the opening death that will slowly be explained, the intellectual highbrow tone with lots of literary references, the outsider grudgingly accepted into an inner clique of snobby students who think they are above everyone and everything. It would be fair to say that The Secret History influenced or inspired Special Topics in Calamity Physics in some way. However once you get past the surface similarities, these two books are very different in tone and writing style. While I thought The Secret History was alright, I definitely did not see why it has such a massive cult following and certainly preferred Special Topics to the former.

Pessl's writing style is a smooth, languid flow with a definite Southern flair. Nearly every sentence contains some sort of simile or hyperbolic description. The inflated imagery does overload the narrative at times. If you are looking for a fast-paced mystery then this probably is not a book for you. But if you just sit back and enjoy the rich nuances of the writing then it is definitely a treat. Often it felt like floating down a lazy river on a hot summer day; sometimes you float so slowly that you aren't sure if you are moving, but you have to just relax and enjoy the trip. (See, I've caught the analogy fever, haha!) It makes it even more enjoyable when the pace does pick up.

At times I grew weary with the cliché of bored rich kids wasting their lives on sex, drugs, and alcohol. I was not interested in those sections of the story. I was not always enamored of Blue either. She was a tad nasty sometimes particularly in her treatment of others. And I never fully understood why she continued to hang out with the Bluebloods. Would you hang out with mean snobs with whom you have nothing in common, do not enjoy being around, and who nicknamed you wretch?? Still there is plenty more to the story beyond rich kids partying. 

I can definitely see how the writing and the characters might not be to everyone's liking. It is very stylized writing and Blue's narration of the story is overly intellectual to say the least. But it worked for me. Because even when Blue's character was annoying or clearly overcompensating with her pedantic musings, I believed her character. Pessl was wrote a completely convincing sheltered, nerdy teen raised by her lofty professor of a father. Her whole life centers around her books and her enmeshed relationship with her father, so it makes perfect sense that she often quotes books and her father. (Side note: I was disappointed to learn that some of the books referenced are fake. Nerdy me tried to look some of the up because they sounded interesting, and I wanted to read them.) This book was certainly a more convincing portrayal of an erudite teen than say... The Fault in Our Stars which was obnoxiously self-aware and preposterous. Overall, Blue was an interesting character. Although I have to say that despite her father being a bombastic egomaniac, I did enjoy his character the most. And some of his assertions cause me pause. (I'll certainly never think about the phrase "True love conquers all" the same ever again.)

The plot was very slow burning and very nuanced. It kept me guessing, and I truly had no idea how it would all turn out. To be fair, I still don't know exactly how it all turned out because the ending is left open to interpretation. The story follows a syllabi/required reading/final exam format with the syllabus in place of the introduction, each chapter set up around a book from the required reading list, and the epilogue in the form of an "exam" with some multiple choice questions about what the reader thinks happened. This setup was a little gimmicky, but it did fit with the overall theme and tone of the book.

Pessl has a unique flair to her writing, and I am most definitely looking to reading more of her work!


RECOMMENDATIONS: Although I do prefer Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I would recommend reading The Secret History first. It clearly influenced this and other books and is worth checking out.

RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

She found her teacher dead - Hanging by a piece of electrical cord. The North Carolina police think it was suicide. Her former friends - the Bluebloods - blame her for being there. And her father tells her to leave it alone. But Blue van Meer is a student of books and can't let a mystery go. Because all her life puzzles both complicated and intricate have littered her path - her mother's death in a car crash; a childhood spent roaming from town to town; her dad's serial affairs. Are these the fantasies of a teenager too lonely or too clever for her own good? Or has Blue stumbled on something so dark, so devious, that her whole world is about to be flipped upside down?

Lauren Tabor

I need to think about this one for a minute. It was a lot to take in, but for now I’ll give it a 3.75 stars

Emma Friedheim

SUCH an interesting book. Well, the second half at least. Honestly the first 250 pages took me almost two weeks and then I read the final 250 pages in one day. Pessl has a unique style of writing that is equal parts refreshing and annoying. The metaphors were, to say the least, overkill. Having just read William Zinsser's brilliant "On Writing Well," it really took some time for me to stomach the paragraph-long sentences with seven or more commas. I definitely think this book would've benefited from a harsher editor who insisted on 50% fewer similes and 50% the length. And yes, you have to suspend disbelief and pretend high schoolers could possibly talk like seasoned academics and that any of these things would ever happen in real life (and boy was that concluding backstory - the Nightwatchmen - odd and only mildly interesting). BUT along with all the weird, there are some of kernels of good. I can't deny Pessl's talent as a writer and do love me a good murder mystery. So, on balance, a fun read that overcomes many of its flaws to make it worth reading [with reservations].

It's only 4 stars because I think it could have been a bit shorter but a wonderful and engaging novel about a girl who is so smart and yet not smart at all and the web that's spun itself around her life without her even noticing.

The mesmerizing "New York Times "bestseller by the author of "Night Film" Marisha Pessl's dazzling debut sparked raves from critics and heralded the arrival of a vibrant new voice in American fiction. At the center of "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" is clever, deadpan Blue van Meer, who has a head full of literary, philosophical, scientific, and cinematic knowledge. But she could use some friends. Upon entering the elite St. Gallway School, she finds some--a clique of eccentrics known as the Bluebloods. One drowning and one hanging later, Blue finds herself puzzling out a byzantine murder mystery. Nabokov meets Donna Tartt (then invites the rest of the Western Canon to the party) in this novel--with visual aids drawn by the author--that has won over readers of all ages.

Sarah Escorsa

I must say that this book really left me unimpressed. I found it to be rather pretentious and pointless. When I read it had been compared with Donna Tartt's excellent The Secret History I really failed to understand why. Using quotations and literary references to structure the book is a nice idea, but constantly using that device becomes quite annoying after a few pages. The plot is virtually non-existent and the pace... oh well, to be honest I have to say that I just found this book boring! I must admit I was glad to read other disappointed reader's reviews here because after reading so many rave reviews on other websites, I was beginning to wonder if I'd read the same book as the enthusiastic reviewers had;)

Kwan Ann Tan

I finished the rest of the book in one sitting and-- by god, this is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read, comparable almost to The Secret History itself, possibly because the two are so similar yet so different-- where TSH is all style and class, Special Topics is like the love child of Donna Tartt & Bret Easton Ellis, all high-flown references and brat-pack riche nouveau, mixed up with conspiracy theories of the early 2000s. 

The novel is first and foremost, an acceptance of the mysterious. An acceptance that sometimes, you don't need to find the answers. Indeed, finding the answer is a key theme, as well as blurring of the truth. You can't help but feel a distinction between Blue and everyone else-- she is the true outsider, from the world of adults to the tight-knit clique of friends that Hannah Schneider draws her into. 

And even though nothing is truly resolved at the end, I feel so satisfied because Blue has come to accept this life, and she moves on-- it's time for the reader to as well.

Having moved from one academic outpost to another throughout her childhood, Blue van Meer attends the elite St. Gallway School in her senior year, where the deaths of a teacher and student awaken her analytical instincts.

Jade Flynn

This book is the literary equivalent of playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, reciting Moby Dick off by heart whilst simultaneously trying to cross a busy road. If you're an over-reader, a lover of academia and a nutcase you'll love this book. Very clever.

Ruby Huber

Fantastic book! I read this at a time when I wished to be reading The Secret History again for the first time, and while it is a similar kind of setting and vibe.... it was actually way different. So good, so many twists not only in who committed the crime but also what the crime even actually is?? And the chapters are all named after different well known books that relate to the chapter. Honestly so fun I loved this book that’s all I can say.

Anastaciya

Joshua Line

As the review indicates, this book was just 'ok.' I found most of the cast of characters to be one dimensional and couched in the materialist crust of classist dwelling. The plot really felt as if it were dwelling in the swamp for the first 390 pages, only to speed to a hastily manufactured climax, the aftermath, the loss, and so on.

Angi Cox

Could have been a decent book but it was just too much. Too long, too descriptive, too pretentious. Could have cut 30% out by removing half the over the top metaphors and useless references. I liked the book at the beginning but very quickly started skimming for dialogue only.

serena maeve.

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.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

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