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Schrodinger's Ball

by Adam Felber

Schrodinger's Ball Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Four friends set out into the night in Cambridge, Massachusetts, undeterred by the fact that one of them might actually be dead. Deb has perfected the half-hour orgasm. Grant, a geek, desperately desires Deb. Depressed Arlene has just improbably slept with Johnny, their leader, who recently and accidentally shot himself to death.

But is he (or anyone) alive or dead until he's observed to be by someone else? Maybe not, according to Dr. Erwin Schrödinger, the renowned physicist (1887–1961) who is, strangely, still ambling through the Ivy League town, offering opinions and proofs about how our perceptions can bring to life — and, in turn, reduce and destroy — other people and ourselves. And what does Schrödinger have to do with the President of Montana, who just declared war on the rest of the country, or the Harvard Square bag lady who is rewriting the history of the world? What's the significance of the cat in the box, the "miracle molecule," or the discarded piece of luncheon meat?

Answer: All will collide by the end of this hypersmart, supersexy, madly moving novel that crosses structural inventiveness with easygoing accessibility, the United States with our internal states of being, philosophy with fiction. In Adam Felber's dazzling debut, science and humanity collide in a kaleidoscopic story that is as hilarious as death and as heartbreaking as love.

Review:

"Few novels attempting a deliberately bad explanation of the uncertainty principle could surpass this inspired romp from first-time novelist Felber, a comedian and TV writer. Several characters' disparate lives intersect in a Rube Goldbergesque sequence of events. There's Dr. Erwin Schrdinger, Nobel prize winner in physics, who demonstrated the fallacy of Heisenberg's theory of quantum uncertainty via his famous cat experiment, and the President of the Free State of Montana, who is fleeing to Cambridge, Mass., after an off-the-grid shootout with the Feds. Meanwhile, in Harvard Square, Johnny Felix Decat, a young musician who is both dead and not dead (like Schrdinger's theoretical cat), is acting in ways that puzzle his friends; homeless woman Brenda is rewriting the history of the world; and the Prophet Bernie, a schizophrenic homeless man, is waiting for God's command to cross the street. All come together via a freakish truck crash that has lasting impact for all. Felber's debut is illogically, warmly entertaining. (Aug. 15)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Take 20th-century physics, add Johann Strauss, the Waltz King, and you have the first quantum operetta. Or in this case, Schrödinger's Ball." New York Times

Review:

"[Felber's] wit and linguistic acrobatics make this clever mind-bender worth the ride." Booklist

Review:

"Felber's extensive use of physics as metaphor may require multiple readings of the same paragraph, but he pulls it off nicely with his intelligence and ability to evoke reader empathy." Library Journal

Review:

"Felber has embraced postmodern fiction's favorite themes...and turned it into a work of broad comedy instead of a fit of fatalistic handwringing. All over the place, but that's the point." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"It's smart, it's funny, it's got heart. All this and an umlaut too! Schrödinger's Ball is thoroughly lively." Roy Blount Jr., author of Roy Blount's Book of Southern Humor

Review:

"Schrödinger's Ball is as funny as hell, charming and kind, and perceptive and moving. Adam Felber has an amazing feel for the interior lives of his characters, even while using the shifting points-of-view of a David Foster Wallace." Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Review:

"There's no uncertainty about it. Schrödinger's Ball once and for all proves the Adam Felber theory of comic novel writing: a book can be rollickingly funny, sharply satirical, romantic, and endearing–and involve quantum physics." Mo Rocca, author of All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over

Synopsis:

If Einstein and John Cleese had written a novel together, this would be the result: a marvelously smart, wacky, and touching comic work about four twentysomething friends in Cambridge, Massachusetts, secessionists in Montana, and the physicist Erwin Schr]dinger (who has apparently come back to life).

Synopsis:

“Tender, hilarious, and packed with delightful surprises . . . If Einstein and John Cleese had written a novel together, this would be it.”

–Joseph Weisberg, author of 10th Grade

Four friends set out into the night in Cambridge, Massachusetts, undeterred by the fact that one of them might actually be dead. Deb has perfected the half-hour orgasm. Grant, a geek, desperately desires Deb. Depressed Arlene has just improbably slept with Johnny, their leader, who recently and accidentally shot himself to death.

But is he (or anyone) alive or dead until he’s observed to be by someone else? Maybe not, according to Dr. Erwin Schrödinger, the renowned physicist (1887—1961) who is, strangely, still ambling through the Ivy League town, offering opinions and proofs about how our perceptions can bring to life–and, in turn, reduce and destroy–other people and ourselves. And what does Schrödinger have to do with the President of Montana, who just declared war on the rest of the country, or the Harvard Square bag lady who is rewriting the history of the world? What’s the significance of the cat in the box, the “miracle molecule,” or the discarded piece of luncheon meat?

Answer: All will collide by the end of this hypersmart, supersexy, madly moving novel that crosses structural inventiveness with easygoing accessibility, the United States with our internal states of being, philosophy with fiction. In Adam Felber’s dazzling debut, science and humanity collide in a kaleidoscopic story that is as hilarious as death and as heartbreaking as love.

Praise:

“A jangle of provocative absurdities playing off a pair of lovers so winning that readers, like the audiences at the old Hollywood romantic comedies, will all but rent ladders to uncross the stars that guide and misguide their efforts…. [Schrodinger’s Ball is] a romantic fantasy in three-quarter time, as brainy as it is airy, and unhinged either way.”–The New York Times

“Felber has done the impossible: he’s made quantum theory seem hysterically funny and Cambridge, Massachusetts seem like a place of strange magic. Schrödinger’s Ball is a great read that will blind you with science and laughter.”–Chris Regan, writer for The Daily Show and co-author of America (The Book)

“[A] crackling comic novel…[Felber] frolics in the fields of science....His wit and linguistic acrobatics make this clever mind-bender worth the ride.–Booklist

 

“It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s got heart. All this and an umlaut too! Schrödinger’s Ball is thoroughly lively.”–Roy Blount Jr., author of Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor

“If Einstein and John Cleese had written a novel together, this would be it. Felber creates a world that is both completely real and totally enchanted. Tender, hilarious, and packed with delightful surprises, Schrödinger’s Ball is even more original than other really original books.”–Joseph Weisberg, author of Tenth Grade

“There’s no uncertainty about it. Schrödinger’s Ball once and for all proves the Adam Felber theory of comic novel writing: a book can be rollickingly funny, sharply satirical, romantic, and endearing–and involve quantum physics.”–Mo Rocca, author of All the Presidents’ Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over

 

 ”Schrödinger’s Ball is as funny as hell, charming and kind, and perceptive and moving. Adam Felber has an amazing feel for the interior lives of his characters, even while using the shifting points-of-view of a David Foster Wallace.”–Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

“[A] raucous, willfully absurd debut…designed to expose the beautiful randomness of existence….Felber has embraced postmodern fiction's favorite themes…and turned it into a work of broad comedy instead of a fit of fatalistic handwringing.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Few novels attempting a deliberately bad explanation of the uncertainty principle could surpass this inspired romp….Felber's debut is illogically, warmly entertaining.”–Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Adam Felber is a political satirist, author, radio personality and actor. He is a regular panel member of the NPR radio quiz show, "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" Felber is the author of Schrodinger's Ball. He has also written for several television shows.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
czelticgirl, September 1, 2006 (view all comments by czelticgirl)
How to make quantum physics fun and easy-to-understand: Add one musician who may or may not be dead; trigger-happy members of the Free State of Montana; a few half-hour orgasms; a cat (who also may or may not be dead) and one bag-lady historian. Mix well. Sit back and get ready to laugh. If only someone could figure out how to make all scientific theories this entertaining.
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(7 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780812974423
Author:
Felber, Adam
Publisher:
Random House Trade
Author:
Adam Felber
Author:
Adam Felber
Subject:
Friendship
Subject:
Cats
Subject:
Humorous
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Subject:
Physicists
Publication Date:
August 2006
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
244
Dimensions:
8.25x5.25x.50 in. .42 lbs.

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