Reif Larsen

Appropriately enough, this book was better for the journey than the arrival. I don't mean to get hung up on the scoring, but as I was reading it I though it would end up as a 4.5. but as it was concluding it felt more like a 3-3.5. Overall, I think its initial ambition and its innovativeness demands a 4.

Our hero, T.S. Spivet, is a 12-year old living on a farm in Montana, who is a very precocious and accomplished map-maker. Well, he calls them maps, but really they are any systematic diagram - essentially he uses "maps" to encompass anything that would be called "infographics". I prefer T.S.'s terminology. His accomplished diagrams draw the attention of the Smithsonian, who wish to award him a prize - so he sets off for Washington.

The book is oversized, and it needs to be, as the margin of most pages contains either examples of T.S.'s drawings, or his asides (or both). I found these pretty delightful, and they complimented the story very well. They certainly made the book an involving and lengthy read.

My issue with the book is that it sets up so much promise of this wunderkinder map maker travelling across the States, but that kinda peters out, in a jarringly perfunctory fashion (as far as something can peter out jarringly). And as it does so, slightly fantastic elements start to creep in. Secret societies, things verging on the paranormal. Not that they weren't enjoyable, but the earlier sections needed no such embellishments to keep them compelling and for me these elements detracted from the rarefied, contemplative atmosphere of the first part of the book. Once Larsen started to introduce more characters the book became much more mundane. It kinda felt like he lost faith (or possibly interest), and moved on to a resolution as quickly as possible. And in the final analysis, there actually wasn't a huge amount of plot.

That said, my depth of disappointment was due to my heightened expectations from how good the earlier parts of book were. And even as things plodded on to its perfunctory denouement there was still plenty of T.S.'s maps and personality to enjoy.

A couple of interesting points:
I bought this from a comics shop (Gosh! since you ask). This book isn't comics, but the illustrations are a bit more integral than a traditional illustrated story.
I really wonder what an ebook version would be like. Does it exist? [Apparently not]

(I'm also disappointed that the UK paperback cover is not available to be selected on Goodreads. I liked the illustration a lot).

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I'm usually very deliberate about my book rankings. I think about what I like and what I didn't like and assign and deduct points to come up with a final opinion. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet is NOT that kind of book. T.S. Spivet gets five stars for the room-feeling of the book. Yes, it deserves them for introducing concepts such as room-feelings, for its unique approach, and for its gutsy nature. Yes, it deserves high recognition for depicting the portrait of the scientist as a young man - the coming of age of one young scientist from a obsessive prodigy who values science above all else into a nuanced adult who seeks to be a part of the world as well as depict it. It is amazing to me that I have never even heard of another book focusing on the development of a scientific mindset within a character in a way that is nuanced and treats science respectfully, rather than a foil for robotic rationalism or an idol for intelligence. Larsen uses every single trope of a conventional coming of age story, which adds to the power.

12 is such a perfect age for a child protagonist. Larsen depicts the emergent adulthood of a 12 year old almost perfectly (there are a few stumbles). Like a true tween, T.S. at times acts like an adult and at others acts like a toddler, with very few in between moments. It's rare to capture the true granular nature of coming of age, where childhood falls away chunk-by-chunk and memes of adult life settle in, rather than as a linear progression.

But despite all of that, the best thing about T.S. Spivet is simply a ton of fun. We're having a bad week at work. Everyone is cranky. Usually, the worse of a mood I'm in, the less I read (and the more I use pure escapism that doesn't require reflection) But even after long, cranky calls, all I wanted to do was read about T.S. I laughed out loud at points on his reflection on adulthood, science and cross-country travel. I flipped through to find my favorite illustrations. I smiled when he name-checked Paul Ekman (a Duchenne smile, of course.) Pure enjoyment.

There are a lot of criticisms that one could level at T.S. Spivet: it is a pretentious novel, built on a schtick. In fact, built on a ton of schticks. It's like someone got a deal on schticks: there's the child protagonist, who is a prodigy, and may also have an autistic spectrum disorder, the maps/illustrations, secret societies, a book-within-a-book, just to name in a few. Luckily, I am a sucker for pretentious novels built on schticks, so it is going to go right next to [b:Special Topics in Calamity Physics|3483|Special Topics in Calamity Physics|Marisha Pessl|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309200115s/3483.jpg|910619] on my shelf.

More bitingly, there are several narrative threads in T.S. Spivet that never satisfyingly come together on the level of the plot: the Emma thread, the Mother as a Writer and Mother but Not as a Scientist thread, the Wormhole thread and to be honest, the Layton is Dead thread. They are all tied up from a thematic level, but I would have liked more literal closure.… (more)

I am Radar by Reif Larsen is a character study of a black man born to white parents.

This book was very slow and hard for me to read, I have to be upfront about that. The book is written beautifully and Reif Larsen is a terrific writer, but I just couldn't get into this book. It took me months to get through because it's so packed full of narrative. It is packed full of science, relationship drama, history and major character conflicts and soul searching.

I wish I would have loved this book more, because I am amazed at Reif's writing style. I fell in love with these characters, but then the story would switch up and go somewhere else. I just got devoted to Radar and his parents and then the story switched around and took me somewhere I didn't want to go. I wanted to watch Radar's life tumble in front of my eyes, but I didn't get that. Honestly though, Radar and his parents were my favourite part of this story. Watching them grow and react to life was a real gem. I wanted way more of that, because I absolutely loved them.

If you like books that follow the entire story of a person, including their backstory and their family's story - you'll love this book. It truly is a cool character study. Following Radar is the main purpose of this book, but we learn so much more about other characters as well. It's a fictional drama story that is written beautifully. That's where it stands with me. It also includes great illustrations and historic notes making it feel more non-fiction than fiction at times. Oh, and did I mention lots and lots of science and radio waves?

I would definitely suggest this as a book for an English class. I'd love to see someone pick it apart and explain it to me. I was just not invested enough to re-read sections and to go back and understand a lot of the book. It's not a book to just sit down and binge - it's too full of knowledge and information. You have to be willing to go back and understand everything that's happening to really get it. So, it's just not for me at this point in time.

Overall, the over 600 pages were not my cup of tea. I think Reif is a wonderful writer and I hope he finds his readers! He's too talented, I don't want it to go to waste! Pick up this book if you love a good drama full of science and knowledge. I'm honored to have read this book, because it is really cool. I'm just not his ideal reader.

Two out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (more)