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Schrödinger's Ball
by
Adam Felber
“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 de
Paperback, 244 pages
Published
August 15th 2006
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
(first published January 1st 2006)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
I disagree with nearly every Goodreads review I've read of this book--I find it touching, hilarious, and with something much more profound to say than the toss-off reviews people gave it. This was a re-reading, and it's one of my favorite books, and I utterly adore it. People gave it bad marks for being disjointed, but they are missing the point--the book is a celebration of the way all these disparate, singular moments and events collide into larger moments--one big Rube Goldberg machine, as
...more
Boy, how to describe this book. I’ll let the back cover summary fill you in on the plot: “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 charismatic Johnny, who recently and accidentally killed himself.” Um, so yeah. The plot uses as its basis the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, quantum
...more
Reminded me a bit of Kurt Vonnegut's writing in that you laughed while reading it but couldn't remember anything after you finished the book because there was no plot to hang any details on. Could have been titled, 'a heartbreaking work of staggering goofiness.' Kinda lost steam at the end. I got tired of the bag lady's perspective and the street guy's 'biblical' style musings. The writer is an improv comedian and it shows. Sometimes it was so funny you'd pee your pants and other time it's just
...more
Pretentious. Plus the construction of this book was messy. I was maybe 5 pages in and still unsure of what the hell was going on. I like confusion, but NO ONE likes to be confused at the beginning. Why bother reading more? And confusion really only works in mysteries or thrillers or fantasies. This was one of those books about the academic world, and like most academic-satire books, it's pretentious, not funny. Sometimes people think that just cuz they're making fun of something pretentious
...more
It took me forever to read this book. I put it down, I picked it up, I read a bunch, and down again it went. Then I got into it, and did a little research on the Uncertainty Principle, and suddenly I was hooked. So an extra half-star for the nerd factor.
I didn't finish this before it had to go back to the library. It's not bad, but it's quite weird (probably the correct word is absurdist), to the point of being hard to get into. I won't rule out returning to it someday, but it's not a priority.
(Made it to the end of Ch. 5 if I pick it back up again.)
Quotes:
"Stevie just has this glow around him. It actually LOOKS like a glow to me--I see it. That's almost definitely because I'm crazy and I spend too much time in my own head, but maybe that's jus ...more
(Made it to the end of Ch. 5 if I pick it back up again.)
Quotes:
"Stevie just has this glow around him. It actually LOOKS like a glow to me--I see it. That's almost definitely because I'm crazy and I spend too much time in my own head, but maybe that's jus ...more
I wanted to like this book far more than I did. As it is, Felber writes an incredibly witty book. I fully understand the fact that his main thesis of existence in multiple states is the glue that holds things together and that thesis works very well, on multiple levels. But this just makes for a clever book rather than what I would deem a good novel. In fact, I am somewhat in awe that the author could write such a unique book and for that I almost give him another star.
As to my criticism of it, ...more
As to my criticism of it, ...more
One of our favorite weekend events is tuning into NPR's weekly news quiz show, "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" The wit and repartee of the rotating panel, host Peter Sagal and the ever amazing Carl Kasel (official scorekeeper, judge and announcer) is really good listening fun. Adam Felber is a frequent panelist, and so when I found this book, I was eager to read it, as he is very entertaining on the show.
The book was not at all what I expected. Quirky, witty, very funny in places, and extremely q ...more
The book was not at all what I expected. Quirky, witty, very funny in places, and extremely q ...more
I should admit, up front, that I'm a huge Adam Felber fan.
You probably didn't know those existed. You may have been vaguely aware of him on "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me" (the humorous NPR news quiz), but may not have noticed the incredibly wit, or the fact that he figures out answers to the most bizarre questions. Or know that some of us want to sit in the audience and hold up signs saying, "Go Adam!"
So maybe I'm not the best judge, but I thought this book was great. Very light-hearted, brainy, ...more
You probably didn't know those existed. You may have been vaguely aware of him on "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me" (the humorous NPR news quiz), but may not have noticed the incredibly wit, or the fact that he figures out answers to the most bizarre questions. Or know that some of us want to sit in the audience and hold up signs saying, "Go Adam!"
So maybe I'm not the best judge, but I thought this book was great. Very light-hearted, brainy, ...more
May 20, 2008
Ellen
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
science fiction/magic realism fans
Recommended to Ellen by:
Dave
At first I thought I was not going to like this book, but Felber fooled me. He broke every rule of the novel -- no, he ripped the novel in half and then fourths and then kept going until he had only shreds left and then he stomped on them, all the time having an uproariously good time and making sure that the reader was there for most of it. That was my only criticism. The book seemed choppy at first, forcing you from scene to scene and introducing new characters, from a woman having a long
...more
Jun 27, 2009
Katie
added it
I had been looking forward to reading this for ages. I had such high hopes, but alas they were not to be realized. The premise is original, and I found the nonchalant use of different narrative styles to be fun. However, the book is way to clever for its own good, and sucks as a result. I did not find the primary storyline or characters interesting or compelling. The secondary plotline about the President of Montana was also not engaging. The Schrodinger scenes were just plain annoying, and the
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Start with the idea of Schroedinger's Cat, which is both dead and not-dead (or alive and not-alive) in its box, because no one's lifted the lid to observe the results of the experiment. Now apply that to a character in a novel. Weave in a second story line about a tax-evading governor who's declared his mansion to be a sovereign nation. Then toss in an occasional piece from a first-person plural narrator complaining about Dr. Schroedinger, who ought to be dead himself, making himself at home in
...more
I think Adam Felber is one of the funniest panelists on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me. So I was really excited to ready this books (because is also tangentially about science...and I think science is interesting). Unfortunately, I never really "got" this book. Couldn't get into the characters, it wasn't as funny as I expected (although there are some quite nice bits of wordplay) and the connections to the science were never made really clear. I was expecting P.G. Wodehouse meets Michael Frayn's Cop
...more
This one came highly recommended from a connection over at Random House, but I gotta say, I wasn't that blown away. It was an attempt at a Tom Robbins-esque wacky comedy about physics and an enormous cast, but it just didn't have the characters that a Robbins book has. If you want a book by a genius about geniuses that's 1000 times more engrossing, go with David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.
A too-clever fractured tale of the disastrous/fortuitous adventures of four friends after one shoots himself accidentally, but he kind of lives on because the body is not discovered for three days.
Simply put, this is a book built around an idea and Felber surrounded that idea with colorful characters but just the smallest trace of a plot.
And then the book ends by collapsing the conceit with an insultingly stupid device.
Overall, it's cute and funny, occasionally sexy, and at times poignant; BUT ...more
Simply put, this is a book built around an idea and Felber surrounded that idea with colorful characters but just the smallest trace of a plot.
And then the book ends by collapsing the conceit with an insultingly stupid device.
Overall, it's cute and funny, occasionally sexy, and at times poignant; BUT ...more
Four friends meet up in Cambridge, Mass for a night on the town...after one of them accidentally shot himself - but is he dead if no one else notices? Schrodinger is back from the dead spouting scientific theory and generally making a nuisance of himself. The self-appointed President of Montana has mutiny on his hands, and a cookie-flashing bag lady is rewriting the history books.
Crazy madcap adventure when these unique characters' lives combine. Reminds me of Jonathan Carroll, Jasper Fforde, an ...more
Crazy madcap adventure when these unique characters' lives combine. Reminds me of Jonathan Carroll, Jasper Fforde, an ...more
It doesn't really have a straightforward plot, so I will attempt to list the various things that happen early on in the book:
• We meet the President of Montana.
• We briefly meet a kid called Johnny as he is accidentally killing himself while cleaning his gun.
• We meet Dr. Schrödinger, who is magically alive many years after his death and who is explaining his cat theory to some people.
read more...
• We meet the President of Montana.
• We briefly meet a kid called Johnny as he is accidentally killing himself while cleaning his gun.
• We meet Dr. Schrödinger, who is magically alive many years after his death and who is explaining his cat theory to some people.
read more...
Schrodinger’s ghost- or the man himself in an alternate reality – wanders through a group of friends, some of whom may be dead, as they all work out their relationship issues. As love stories or physics based stories go- this novel doesn’t succeed overly well on either front. The differing reality are presented as a joy or of interest in and of themselves, and while the groups attempts to avoid the Doc’s nagging lectures are amusing- the book – by and large – wasn’t worth reading.
Feb 21, 2009
KC
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Science nerds who want to read some clever fiction
I liked this book a lot. I found it in my local library while searching for Thursday Next. The title appealed to me, me being one of the biggest nerds. This is a sometimes confusing story of four friends, a bag lady with a history interest, the President of Montana, and one very dead freeloading scientist and his cat. Very funny and heartwarming, and can I just say that I love Grant?
This was one crazy book, and I loved it. I was worried that the ending would be anti-climactic, but it was just what it should be. If you enjoyed "Even Cowboys Get the Blues", you'd love this one, too.
You really should read the Appendix even if you don't normally do that sort of thing.
This was an easy fun read, if you find "the cat experiment" interesting or just fun then you may enjoy this. It's silly and a little like reading candy.
This was an easy fun read, if you find "the cat experiment" interesting or just fun then you may enjoy this. It's silly and a little like reading candy.
I picked this one up randomly because another book I was hoping to grab at the library wasn't there. And I have enjoyed Adam Felber on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. The story was appropriately odd and confusing. I don't recommend reading it as you fall asleep - it might engender odd dreams.
Adam Felber is a very funny man -- He is hilarious on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. This book helped me realize how difficult it is to write a comic novel. I think that Adam Felber will one day write a very funny novel. THis is not a bad novel, just not a very good one.
Dropped due to lack of interest... I really need to get jump into a book/get drawn into it, etc. I kept finding myself trying to read it on the train and not reading it... back to the library for me!
Functions as a highly amusing microcosm of itself, but beware if you are turned off by an author patting himself on the back for his own quantum research. I read this in one day at the beach, and it was a good day.
Adam Felber is an absolute genius. Quantum Physics and fate, and cat and an old professor that may or may not exist. If you die, do you continue to live until someone finds you? I'd take a day off and read this book cover to cover. It's that good.
I adored this book and am about to re-read it. It has much more to say than most of the reviewers here realize. If you're going to read this book, leave your expectations at the door and enjoy the unexpected.
Strange, yet interesting. I really like the blend of physics theory with storytelling. It makes for a weird yet enjoyable book
This book has kind of a cool concept, but he didn't pull it off too well. It was enjoyable, just not something I'd read again.
Funny and interesting play on Schrodinger's Cat idea/theory. Nothing outstanding, no out loud guffaws, just a somewhat entertaining story of stories.
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“Dr. S didn’t notice. “Do you remember the cartoons of Rube Goldberg? An inventor of the most ludicrous contraptions. You know: a lever is pulled, causing a boot to kick a dog, whose bark motivates a hamster to run on a wheel which winds a pulley that raises a gate that releases a bowling ball and so on? Until, at the end, finally, the machine does something incredibly mundane, like making a piece of toast. Yes? Well, as it turns out, that’s the world. All these incredibly complex, inscrutably intertwined Rube Goldberg machines that can only be seen in retrospect when something happens.”
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“People want electrons to orbit atoms like tiny planets, hard and regular. They make sense that way. People like that....they don't want their electrons to exist only as a cloud of potentialities. But that's what we've got now, and we're stuck with it. Quantum mechanics isn't going to roll over and die as easily as God did.”
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