Special topics in calamity physics
Being an
avid reader there are few books which keep my attention (about every fifth even
after pre-scrutinization of the cover information at the local library). Marisha Pessl (Penguin Books, 2006) did it big style. Not only did she keep me shackled
to hundreds of pages, small print, spiked with quotations (science-style referencing
complete with page numbers) of the life of a teenager (an unusual one, I give
you that, but still – I am from the dinosaur generation), she also placed a
constant (inward) grin on my face (I have not entirely figured out how that
works). She managed to have me fully content reading on about the routine day
of a high-schooler (quite an achievement, if you know, what I mean) so that I
found it completely superfluous when the story suddenly (after 2 cm paper worth
of introduction) became a crime novel (unthinkable, since most what I read in
my off-time are thrillers (sorry, cannot stomach Virginia big W. and Rilke after
a full day at work)), and was almost angry, when on top of everything political
issues were brought in. However, Marisha managed the perfect ending which left
me sort of flabbergasted (although I did not appreciate the final finish of the
end – well, one cannot have it all). This is a book I can relate to (like I can
to the “Big Bang Theory” (the soap; and the theory, come to think of it, but
this is not relevant here)) and would wish to study for its craftsmanship (if I
were not so eager for the next new book on the library shelf). There are a
number of Pessl-quotations I am happy to go along with and which I should have
written down for further use like (I will mess it up now having the memory of a
sieve): “I have been raised a sceptic not believing in anything until the
evidence lines up like presents under a Christmas tree.” Or so.
Being an
avid reader there are few books which keep my attention (about every fifth even
after pre-scrutinization of the cover information at the local library). Marisha Pessl (Penguin Books, 2006) did it big style. Not only did she keep me shackled
to hundreds of pages, small print, spiked with quotations (science-style referencing
complete with page numbers) of the life of a teenager (an unusual one, I give
you that, but still – I am from the dinosaur generation), she also placed a
constant (inward) grin on my face (I have not entirely figured out how that
works). She managed to have me fully content reading on about the routine day
of a high-schooler (quite an achievement, if you know, what I mean) so that I
found it completely superfluous when the story suddenly (after 2 cm paper worth
of introduction) became a crime novel (unthinkable, since most what I read in
my off-time are thrillers (sorry, cannot stomach Virginia big W. and Rilke after
a full day at work)), and was almost angry, when on top of everything political
issues were brought in. However, Marisha managed the perfect ending which left
me sort of flabbergasted (although I did not appreciate the final finish of the
end – well, one cannot have it all). This is a book I can relate to (like I can
to the “Big Bang Theory” (the soap; and the theory, come to think of it, but
this is not relevant here)) and would wish to study for its craftsmanship (if I
were not so eager for the next new book on the library shelf). There are a
number of Pessl-quotations I am happy to go along with and which I should have
written down for further use like (I will mess it up now having the memory of a
sieve): “I have been raised a sceptic not believing in anything until the
evidence lines up like presents under a Christmas tree.” Or so.
Oh, and
yes, here is more on potato net couture.
