Pessl, Marisha 1978(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1978, in Detroit, MI; daughter of Klaus (an engineer for General Motors) and Anne Pessl; married Nic Caiano (a financial professional), 2003. Education: Attended Northwestern University; Barnard College, graduated.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Susan Golomb, Susan Golomb Literary Agency, 875 Avenue of the Americas, Ste. 2302, New York, NY 10001.

CAREER:

Writer, novelist, and financial consultant. Worked as a financial consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

WRITINGS:

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (novel), Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author Marisha Pessl's debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, is an "eclectically intellectual murder mystery," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic, "a whodunnit as much as a why-he-did-it," noted a reviewer in the Economist. In a book structured like a college class syllabus, Pessl tells the story of Blue van Meer, a teenage girl seeking some stability in her life after the death of her lepidopterist mother. Blue and her professor father are all but itinerant, traveling through a number of scenic college towns where he has accepted temporary teaching jobs, rarely staying longer than a full semester. With little to ground her but her studies, Blue develops her formidable intellect. Eventually, the two settle in Stockton, North Carolina, where they will stay for Blue's entire senior year of high school. At first, Blue struggles to fit in, running up against the impenetrable groups and cliques in her new school. When she is befriended by charismatic film studies teacher Hannah Schneider, however, Blue is accepted into a group of eccentric intellectuals nicknamed the Bluebloods. When the group crashes a party at Hannah's house, they witness a drowning death, which causes them to question their beloved teacher while they seek to find out more about her well-hidden private life. When Hannah herself dies, Blue and her young colleagues realize they are involved in a serious matter of murder. Blue applies all her intelligence and wit to discovering the people and reasons behind the deaths, to finding out why she was accepted so readily into the Blueblood clique, and to uncovering the truth behind the secret life Hannah shielded from outside view. The Kirkus Reviews critic remarked, "The writing is clever, the text rich with subtle literary allusion."

The Economist reviewer found the book "clever, erudite, and hugely amusing," while the Kirkus Reviews contributor called the novel "sharp, snappy fun for the literary-minded." Blue's story is a "sincere and uniquely twisted look at love, coming of age, and identity," remarked a Publishers Weekly contributor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bookmarks, November-December, 2006, review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, p. 46.

Bookseller, September 1, 2006, review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, p. 10.

Economist, August 19, 2006, "Clueless in Carolina; Literary Fireworks," review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, p. 71.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2006, review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, p. 541.

New York Times, July 31, 2006, Janet Maslin, "Name Dropper's Boarding School Intrigue," review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics; August 21, 2006, Dinitia Smith, "With Marisha Pessl, You Can't Judge a Book by the Photo on the Cover," profile of Marisha Pessl.

Publishers Weekly, May 22, 2006, review of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, p. 27.