|
|
Kim
Rating:
 
Review
Each chapter in this 514 page debut novel of Ms. Pessl's is cleverly labeled with literature's great titles, which was not as ostentatious as one might think, and actually tied into the story exceptionally well. The narrator is Blue Van Meer, a high school senior with Harvard in her future, who lives with her dad, Gareth, a professor drawn to teaching at smaller colleges in the United States. For her last year of high school, Blue and Dad settle in North Carolina, where Blue falls in with a group of friends (a first for her) with an unlikely ally in teacher Hannah Schneider. The story revs up after a seemingly accidental drowning at Hannah's home, and when Hannah is found dead, this reader was sideswiped by a who-done-it turn that was fascinating and sad at the same time. I was initially concerned about this book, because the jacket description was rather vague, but by page 50 I found it interesting enough to continue on, and gladly. The size of this book may seem daunting, but it's worth the ride.
Best Line:
"May you fight for truth – your truth, not someone else's – and may you understand, above all things, that you are the most important concept, theory and philosophy I have ever known."
Suzanne
Rating:
Review
"Calamity Physics" – sounds dark and intriguing, doesn't it? Well it is, in an enticing kind of way. Sort of like a college course in Deviant Behavior or some such thing. It's actually a mystery of sorts about one year in the life of ultra smart high school senior Blue Van Meer – a year which turns out to be the end of the world as she knew it, with all kinds of kinks and new experiences along the way. Blue and her brilliant professor father Gareth live in their own little world, quoting lines from famous literature back and forth to each other, and travelling around from school to school. She breaks out of their cozy twosome when she falls in with a popular clique reminiscent of the twisted 1989 movie "Heathers". The group is mentored and led by the charismatic Hannah Schneider, a young Intro to Film teacher, whose maddeningly enigmatic life culminates in the even greater mystery of her death by hanging. The first half of the book would be better if it were edited down a bit, but the ending was a satisfying shock, and left me thinking of that old saying, "Ignorance is bliss". A bloody good read, and I enjoyed the illustrations by the author, too.
Best Line:
"At this point, Dad wasn't bothering to hide his You've-Got-to-Be-Kidding look, which I ignored, though it quickly dissolved into his This-Is-the-Winter-of-My-Discontent look, and then, Shoot-If-You-Must-This-Old-Gray-Head." (pg. 205)
|
|
