Special Topics in Calamity Physics
- 514
- Pages
- about 9 h
- Reading time
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Our view
Blue, the sharp-eyed and precocious narrator of “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”, tells a bookish mystery in exuberant prose. Some readers find its 514 pages slow, the stylistic conceit overextended and the characters irritating. Marisha Pessl’s debut, set in an academic world, is as much about reading and writing as about its puzzle, and mixes feeling with comedy. Some of those worn down by the length still find the mystery gathering speed toward the end.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006) is the debut novel by American writer Marisha Pessl.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.3 across 98 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 40% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Crime & mystery average of 7.6. That is how 7.5 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.3 | 98 | 100% |
Frequently asked
How long is Special Topics in Calamity Physics?
It has 514 pages — longer than 88% of the ranked books in Crime & mystery.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Crime & mystery — and a score of 7.5, the closest to this book.
