Subject
[Nabokov-L] Old sighting,
now through a summary of its reviews: Marisha Pessl
now through a summary of its reviews: Marisha Pessl
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Marisha Pessl's 2006 novel "Special Topics in Calamity Physics,"seen through some of its snipetted book-reviews::
1. "If Vladimir Nabokov had created a female Holden Caulfield, he might have written this delightful fiction debut." (The Dalls Morning News);
2. "Her exhilarating synthesis of the classic and the modern, frivolity and fate - Pnin meets the O.C - is a poetic act of will... And this skylarking book will leave readers salivating for more." (The New York Times Book Review);
3. "A satiric tour de force...at once funny and dark, Marish Pessl's high-spirited first novel is an atypical coming-of-age novel...The flesh of the novel, line to line, presents a knowing, sardonic picture of contemporary American surfaces and styles, people and al, highly reminiscent of Nabokov's in, say, Lolita..." ( The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Nabokov's novel Pessl explicitly mentions right at the beginning in "Core Curriculum (Required Reading)" is Laughter in the Dark." *
It's too early to opine ( I'm on page 34), but I'm already pining and pained, after having started in high-spirits and musical expectations.
I haven't yet waded thru its wholesome Americana background of Sandra Dee, Swoonatra and frosted angel-cake to reach the promised detective story, but I know I'll get there in time.
Marisha's Holden-Nabokov is clogged and cloying by excessive analogies (praised in the beginning as representing something good and clever), status-conscious judgemental talk and too little orange sunbursts. Marvellous little finds, though, clever descriptions.Good sporadic laughs with a charming papa and his orphaned sultry precocious daughter pairing while travelling the states...
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* Pessl's book, as a sighting, with positive and negative reviews, was brought up in the List: NABOKV-L Archives - August 2006 listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind0608&L=nabokv-l NABOKV-L Archives -- December 2006 (#68) (#79) ; Special Topics in Calamity Physics By : Marisha Pessl : 4/8/08 A ... listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A3=ind0804&L...) re
Search archive with Google:
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Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
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1. "If Vladimir Nabokov had created a female Holden Caulfield, he might have written this delightful fiction debut." (The Dalls Morning News);
2. "Her exhilarating synthesis of the classic and the modern, frivolity and fate - Pnin meets the O.C - is a poetic act of will... And this skylarking book will leave readers salivating for more." (The New York Times Book Review);
3. "A satiric tour de force...at once funny and dark, Marish Pessl's high-spirited first novel is an atypical coming-of-age novel...The flesh of the novel, line to line, presents a knowing, sardonic picture of contemporary American surfaces and styles, people and al, highly reminiscent of Nabokov's in, say, Lolita..." ( The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Nabokov's novel Pessl explicitly mentions right at the beginning in "Core Curriculum (Required Reading)" is Laughter in the Dark." *
It's too early to opine ( I'm on page 34), but I'm already pining and pained, after having started in high-spirits and musical expectations.
I haven't yet waded thru its wholesome Americana background of Sandra Dee, Swoonatra and frosted angel-cake to reach the promised detective story, but I know I'll get there in time.
Marisha's Holden-Nabokov is clogged and cloying by excessive analogies (praised in the beginning as representing something good and clever), status-conscious judgemental talk and too little orange sunbursts. Marvellous little finds, though, clever descriptions.Good sporadic laughs with a charming papa and his orphaned sultry precocious daughter pairing while travelling the states...
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
* Pessl's book, as a sighting, with positive and negative reviews, was brought up in the List: NABOKV-L Archives - August 2006 listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind0608&L=nabokv-l NABOKV-L Archives -- December 2006 (#68) (#79) ; Special Topics in Calamity Physics By : Marisha Pessl : 4/8/08 A ... listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A3=ind0804&L...) re
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/