Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl


finished 5/14........ contemp fiction ......... rating 6

I really disliked this book until I got about half-way through. The first half is nothing but a couple of fairly interesting characters traveling from one college to another so Dad can teach on a temporary basis in various colleges. The first person narrator is the 17 year old daughter of the traveling professor. She has read way too many books and Pessl wants us to know that. Literary allusions clutter every page. And our precocious narrator is also quite the artist for some reason and her drawings dot the narrative landscape in a totally extraneous way. And Pessl doesn't skimp on the metaphors either, sprinkling them like extra cheese on pizza. The first half of this debut novel is pretentious, over-written and over-hyped.

Then I got to the violent deaths - were they accidents or suicides or murders? Why? My interest in the book left the runway, it actually took off for a few hours of enjoyable reading. We never soared but we flew for awhile and landed safely (I think) although I'm not sure of sound. Pessl is a fine author, I hope we hear more from her.

Posted: Mon - May 14, 2007 at 08:24 PM        

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