Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
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Special Topics in Calamity Physics is the sumptuous literary debut of Marisha Pessl, a young prodigy who boldly sent her manuscript unsolicited to Jonathan Franzen’s agent. Pessl received a hefty contract, engendering envy and skepticism among her fellow authors.
The skepticism, at least, will be dispelled quickly upon picking up this astonishing new novel. Part Bildungsroman, part thriller, and part road trip through a Great Books curriculum, Pessl deftly blends high and low art, a divine mix of classical allusions with a patina of pop culture.
Pessl structures the book with chapters named after a range of mostly Western canon works. Metamorphoses, Othello, Wuthering Heights and The Big Sleep are among the thirty-six chapter titles. Pessl also takes the advice given to the narrator, Blue Van Meer, by her father Gareth: “And remember. Always have everything you say exquisitely annotated, and where possible provide staggering visual aids…” The novel’s copious annotations reference both real and fictional publications, authors and films. Fans of Franzen, Claire Messud, and Dave Eggers should fasten their seatbelts and prepare for the vertiginous, manic style – while minimalists may want to take a pass. Pessl adds visual aids as well; – perhaps in a nod to the growing popularity of Graphic Novels – many of which can be viewed at the website.
Like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Special Topics is set at an elite progressive school - St. Gallways in North Carolina, which “boasts the highest number of students who have gone on to become revolutionary performance artists.” The action centers around an über-cool clique called “the Bluebloods” and the untimely demise of their adviser/muse/teacher – mostly of Italian film -Hannah Schneider. Blue and Gareth, an itinerant Political Science professor at schools “no one has ever heard of” have ended up in North Carolina after traversing 39 academic outposts in 33 states. Gareth is mostly devoted to educating Blue, and relentlessly instructs her. “Sonnet-athons,” “Attempting to Memorize ‘The Wasteland’,” and “Author Analogies” are among the games that have prepared Blue well for St. Gallways and someday, Gareth hopes, Harvard. Gareth is at his best when making sardonic, portentous statements about human nature and the fate of mankind and at his worst when sinking into “Bourbon Moods” and avoiding commitments to women (named “Junebugs” by Blue) as only a truly charismatic bounder can.
The death of Hannah Schneider is announced at the outset of the book, and the real mystery is the unraveling of Blue’s relationship with her and the manner of Hannah’s death. Blue first sees Hannah in the frozen foods section of a grocery store in a cinematic scene, and the reader experiences the walk-by in slow motion, just as staged as spying expedition to the locker of one’s junior high paramour. This first glimpse of Hannah is one of many clues that things are not as they seem. A costume party, a second murder worthy of Hitchcock, a spurned Junebug on a rampage, a trip to Paris and an ill fated camping trip in a chapter entitled “Deliverance,” (with a bit of Blair Witch suspense as well) propel this tragicomedy forward.
Every great student is able to make the leap to original thinker, and Blue is clever enough to deviate from Gareth’s syllabus, perusing his bookshelf to help resolve part of the mystery. Not everything is wrapped up neatly – the books ends with a final exam to which there are no right answers, only well answered thoughtful essay questions. The movie rights have been sold to Scott Rudin (The Queen) and we look forward to seeing an adaptation on screen.
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