Anyone read "Special Topics in Calamity Physics"

[Patiod]

I enjoyed it immensely, and would love to find out what other folks think happened.

Although a little bit of editing might have helped, the last 1/3 of the book is a roller-coaster.

[LisaM]

1. Not yet - we're reading it for our book club in a few months though

I'll try to remember to field your question!

[Dorian Gray]

2. I agree about the last portion of the book...

Despite thinking almost every single character in the book was an asshole, I actually really liked the book. A lot. It was a page turner. I'd get frustrated with the characters, but, overall, I couldn't wait to see what the heck was really going on.

[jane_pippin]

3. I have it but have not read it yet. I've heard

good reviews from everyone I know who has read it though, so I should probably read it already.

[flamingyouth]

4. I just started reading this and like it so far.

Wanted to wait for it to come out in paperback.

[LisaM]

5. I just finished it last night. It was actually quite easy to read.

It was a very curious mix of "Lolita", "The Secret History", "The DaVinci Code", "Prep", and maybe a few others (the father reminded me very much of the father in "I Capture the Castle", at least till the end). And there was a little movie of the week thrown in. My main impression was that the writer didn't really know what book she wanted to write - it was a little all over the map in that regard - and the references became really tiresome (not as tiresome as the chapter titles) but I will give her credit for creating a main character with more than two dimensions, rare these days, IMO.

[SwissTony]

6. Very interesting book

but I don't know if I love it or hate it. As others have said, most if not all the characters are pretty unlikeable and the references and chapter titles are pretty pretentious. But it was a good read.

I don't know if Blue has read too many books, but Marisha certainly has.

[tigereye]

7. we read it for book group

some of our members hated it and refused to finish it. I hung on, but I found the characters unlikeable and shallow, and the structure too clever by half.... :shrug:

[arKansasJHawk]

8. "Clever"

I've heard this criticism (or something like it) about this book and others I liked (Eggers' AHWOSG included) and it always puzzles me. Just yesterday, I was recommending this book to a co-worker, and I said to her that some people thought Pessl was "too clever," and she made a face like - what's that even supposed to mean? - and all I could do was shrug.

It's like saying a sunset is too pretty, or a blanket is too soft. I want writers to be clever. Much better than dull, I think. Sure, you can admire the workmanlike, plodding along nature, of more "traditional" storytelling, especially when its turned in by a master like Hemingway, but I think it's great once in a while for artists to turn things on their heads.

More than great, I think its essential if an artform is to remain relevant. And if an experiment fails, it seems to me that we would say the artist in question wasn't being clever enough to pull it off.

[Flying Dream Blues]

9. I couldn't finish it, and that's unusual for me...

Maybe I should've hung on for the last 1/3! I think I quit a little less than halfway through; I just couldn't care about the characters.

[alarimer]

10. I am about halfway through the audiobook

The father is a complete pompous ass, that's for sure. I really don't like him.