Special Topics in Calamity Physics
by Marisha Pessl · first published 2006
3mentions
1recommended by
3HN commenters
2019first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
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
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…the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; I have no words for this except that it was profound and I was ready for it. 2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team; a classic where history knows better than we do. 3. Special Topics in Calamity Physics; a fictional tale that shows you how damn easy it is to get lost in conspiracy and speculation. 4. House of Leaves; you can't beat a mind-bending horror like that. I live for this stuff. 5. Siddhartha…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…format and enjoyed so much that I want to own one (or in some cases, more than one; usually when my search reveals something unusual - for example, when I went looking for a copy of Marisha Pessl's "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" I found a hardback ARC print that came with some extra bit n' pieces - a little pack that must have been sent to a reviewer by the publisher). Sometimes the good printings sold out years before and I…
on “Publishers Determined to Kill E-Books” ↗Someone mentioned Special Topics in Calamity Physics, so I looked it up. MSRP for the paperback is apparently $18 (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297621/special-topi... on Amazon the Kindle version is $13.99 while the paperback is $11.39. On the…
on “Publishers Determined to Kill E-Books” ↗