"Special Topics in Calamity Physics" Post 1b

When I first started reading “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”, I was completely awed by the number and breadth of things referenced. In simply the first two pages, Blue talks of Mozart, Matisse, Churchill, Che Guevara, James Bond, Henry Higgins and Eliza from Pygmalion or My Fair Lady, The Aeneid, and even a takes a quote from J.B. Tower: “death is ‘seeing everything that has ever existed all at once’”. Pretty intense for a first two pages. A review of the novel from Publishers Weekly states: “Pessl's showy (often too showy) debut novel, littered as it is with literary references and obscure citations”. However, as the book continued on, the references did add to my enjoyment and understanding of the book. They definitely required some wikipeidia-ing (for example, Lepidoptera (18)) but it also forced me to recognize words that I did not understand and look them up instead of skimming over them. Also, these obscure references do add to one’s understanding of the true depth of Blue’s knowledge- she is definitely a gifted student with a wide basis of information. To gain this, the rigorous training that her dad must have put her through makes the reader question the quality of her childhood, as well as her ability to function in society. Someone who is constantly quoting page numbers and publication years doesn’t seem like an extremely social type. So in a way, the offhand way in which these figures and quotes are tossed about leads the reader to think more about Blue as a character. Also, there is the delight one feels when you realize you know what Blue is referencing already: some form of pride.