Schrodinger's Ball: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: wicker duck, strange swirl, Adam Felber, Johnny Felix, Deborah Johnstone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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 Schrödinger, 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 Decaté, a young musician who is both dead and not dead (like Schrödinger'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)
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From Booklist

Felber, comedian, television writer, and panelist on NPR's Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me, frolics in the fields of science in this wacky tale revolving around four friends in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the late celebrated physicist Erwin Schrodinger, and a cat that may be alive or dead, depending on one's perspective. The cast of this crackling comic novel fills two pages and includes Earl Anderson, president of the Free State of Montana, summarily deposed after declaring war on the rest of the U.S.; Johnny Felix Decate, a musician with gun-cleaning skills that leave much to be desired; and temporary employee Deborah Johnstone, whose marathon orgasms belong in Ripley's Believe It or Not. Like physics itself, the manner in which these characters' lives intersect defies simple description. Suffice it to say, Schrodinger's Ball bounces among love, madness, and the invention and promotion of the World's Largest Molecule. While Felber's narrative antics are tiresome at times (like the mentally unbalanced character of Brenda, who rewrites the history of the world), his wit and linguistic acrobatics make this clever mind-bender worth the ride. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812974425
• ISBN-13: 978-0812974423
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #409,059 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing!, August 17, 2006

By	Harold Francis Jenkins Jr. (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

THE LONG VERSION:
Schrodinger's Ball is an amazing first novel by writer and satirist Adam Felber. It features absurdist humor, charming and delightful characters (at least one of whom spends most of the story being at once dead and not-dead), a healthy dose of quantum physics, a happy mix of first-, second-, and third-person narratives, and a writing style that easily slips into pseudo-Biblical and faux-Shakespearean and, at least once, breaks down completely.

Others have tried to write in this genre; A.C. Weisbecker's Cosmic Banditos, for example, or Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. But Felber has the chops to bring it off: he knows of what he speaks, and he knows how to say it well.

Readers not familiar with quantum physics need not be intimidated - characters ranging from the President of Montana to a hapless sparrow to Dr. Schrodinger himself will help guide you through. The physics is a backdrop, the music to the dance in which the characters engage, a dance which brings them all together in a smashing climax. A dance that can be called...Schrodinger's Ball.

THE SHORT VERSION:
Good book. Buy it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Postmodern Magic, August 19, 2006

By	Geraldine Zurek (Winston-Salem, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Adam Felber's first novel is a delightful jumble of physics, romance and comedy, written in a manner that stretches the conventions of language and plot to glorious lengths. It reminds of me early Tom Robbins, especially "Still Life With Woodpecker." Don't be intimidated by Cast of Characters or the physics: it's all knit together so subtly that the reader is unaware of being drawn in until it's too late - you're turning pages and laughing out loud, on your way to an enchanting and satisfying conclusion.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Felberpalooza, September 6, 2006

By	Steven Cooper Bumgarner "cooper" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having been a fan of Adam Felber from his many stints on NPR's "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!", I've appreciated his wit and wisdom for quite a while. When I learned he had written a book, well, it just couldn't have been published quickly enough to suit me. The wait was worth it! What a story and what a cast of zany, intriguing characters, some of whom know each other and some of whom are like ships passing in the night, brought together by chance occurance.

Mr. Felber is a great student of life, history and science and I tell you, Quantum Mechanics was never this fun in college. The supporting characters are delightfully eccentric and hopefully, fodder for future books. This is a book that should be read over and over, each time absorbing a deeper meaning to the humorous escapades. Go to a book signing and meet the author, if you can. A most generous, gracious and intelligent credit to the human race. Plus, he's a funny guy.