Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Marisha Pessl

Aug 2006 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

Reading this book was like watching someone knit a messy scarf, and then pull on the many loose thread ends, and it becomes a complex tapestry. The writing and the personality of the narrator are absolutely engaging, and the story reveals itself to be quite different than it seemed for most of the narrative.

A great book I read years ago but still love!

This book is very great and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading well written material.

About the author

Marisha Pessl is the author of Night Film and Special Topics in Calamity Physics, her bestselling debut, which was awarded the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize (now the Center for Fiction’s Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) and selected as one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review. She lives with her husband and daughter in New York City.