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Review
"An endearing and original coming-of-age story"--Margaret Reynolds, The Times
"...a wilfully original and diverting book, full of carefully penned ephemera."--Tim Adams, The Observer
"The tale of map-obsessed outcast TS Spivet is captivating but it's the intricate illustrations...that make this a rewardingly unique read"--Shortlist
"Larsen's achievement is to have created a quirky, engaging, painfully vulnerable hero... a book that's truly lovely to look at..."--Daily Mail
"...the real star of the show is Reif Larson, a first time American novelist… Some of the sly coming-of-age humour is reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, but it is also very much a modern novel"--Sunday Telegraph
"...a wilfully original and diverting book, full of carefully penned ephemera."--Tim Adams, The Observer
"The tale of map-obsessed outcast TS Spivet is captivating but it's the intricate illustrations...that make this a rewardingly unique read"--Shortlist
"Larsen's achievement is to have created a quirky, engaging, painfully vulnerable hero... a book that's truly lovely to look at..."--Daily Mail
"...the real star of the show is Reif Larson, a first time American novelist… Some of the sly coming-of-age humour is reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, but it is also very much a modern novel"--Sunday Telegraph
Review
'Terrific and frequently hilarious. A novel in which truth and love throb at the corners of our eyes.'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet is a twelve-year-old genius living on a farm in the midwest. His mother, Dr. Clair, is a scientist searching for a rare beetle. His father is a farmer and cowboy. T.S. likes to think of himself as a mapmaker. He doesn't just draw maps of land, though, he draws maps of everything from facial expressions to gunshots. One day, he takes a phone call from the Smithsonian Institute and discovers that he has been selected for the prestigious Baird award, for which his friend Dr. Yorn has nominated him. That phone call prompts T.S. to sneak on trains in his quest to get to Washington, D.C., to give a speech and accept his award. Along the way, he meets a number of strange characters and makes a series of important realizations about his life, his age, and most importantly, his family.
I'm not sure there are words to describe how I felt about this book. I haven't seen many blog reviews around and I'm really wondering why. This book is phenomenal. T.S. is a stunning character. He is clearly a genius but clearly a child at the same time; he makes amazing conclusions but then his child-logic can't always keep up with his scientific mind. I found this fascinating. I'm no genius, but I truly felt that with T.S. I was having a peek into the mind of someone like Stephen Hawking, although much more understandable.
This book isn't for people who dislike footnotes, though. Me, I love footnotes, and this book is full of them, although usually on the sides, along with T.S.'s maps and observations. In my opinion, these little asides added immeasurably to the main story even if they required me to read a little bit slower. They flesh out this little boy's world and show us how he works, who he is friends with, and sometimes illuminate larger questions in the novel; for example, his facial diagrams allow us to see the way his father appears when he looks at T.S. in a way that words could not really match. The maps allows us to slowly feel the depths of pain which T.S. has been experiencing since his brother, Layton, killed himself; so much is revealed in that sibling relationship not through words, but through the implied sharing and affection in certain maps and footnotes. My favorite of all of the asides, though, was probably the three-prong diagram of why McDonald's appeals to adolescent boys.
I also really, really loved the backstory behind T.S.'s family which is covered towards the middle of the book in sections which were from a notebook T.S. stole from his mother. Having had no inkling of his mother's writing talent, T.S. is startled to discover that she has been writing a novel of the life of one of his ancestors. I loved this story-within-a-story, both because it felt like historical fiction, my favorite genre, and because it revealed so much to T.S. about his mother, who has many more secrets than she lets on. I can't say that it moved the plot forward, but I never minded at all.
In the end, this was a wonderful, quirky, endearing story about a boy who figures out what his family means to him and, in the meantime, starts to grow up on his journey east. It might not be for everyone, considering the lengthy footnotes and digressions from the main plot, but I loved every minute, especially after T.S. sets off. I was in the mood for an ambitious story and I certainly got one. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
I'm not sure there are words to describe how I felt about this book. I haven't seen many blog reviews around and I'm really wondering why. This book is phenomenal. T.S. is a stunning character. He is clearly a genius but clearly a child at the same time; he makes amazing conclusions but then his child-logic can't always keep up with his scientific mind. I found this fascinating. I'm no genius, but I truly felt that with T.S. I was having a peek into the mind of someone like Stephen Hawking, although much more understandable.
This book isn't for people who dislike footnotes, though. Me, I love footnotes, and this book is full of them, although usually on the sides, along with T.S.'s maps and observations. In my opinion, these little asides added immeasurably to the main story even if they required me to read a little bit slower. They flesh out this little boy's world and show us how he works, who he is friends with, and sometimes illuminate larger questions in the novel; for example, his facial diagrams allow us to see the way his father appears when he looks at T.S. in a way that words could not really match. The maps allows us to slowly feel the depths of pain which T.S. has been experiencing since his brother, Layton, killed himself; so much is revealed in that sibling relationship not through words, but through the implied sharing and affection in certain maps and footnotes. My favorite of all of the asides, though, was probably the three-prong diagram of why McDonald's appeals to adolescent boys.
I also really, really loved the backstory behind T.S.'s family which is covered towards the middle of the book in sections which were from a notebook T.S. stole from his mother. Having had no inkling of his mother's writing talent, T.S. is startled to discover that she has been writing a novel of the life of one of his ancestors. I loved this story-within-a-story, both because it felt like historical fiction, my favorite genre, and because it revealed so much to T.S. about his mother, who has many more secrets than she lets on. I can't say that it moved the plot forward, but I never minded at all.
In the end, this was a wonderful, quirky, endearing story about a boy who figures out what his family means to him and, in the meantime, starts to grow up on his journey east. It might not be for everyone, considering the lengthy footnotes and digressions from the main plot, but I loved every minute, especially after T.S. sets off. I was in the mood for an ambitious story and I certainly got one. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I absolutely love this book. It is the story of T. S. Spivet, a twelve year old boy who is a genius at drawing maps. He lives in a ranch in Montana with his family, who are all deeply eccentric characters and who are all bound together by the loss of T. S.'s younger brother in a gun related incident a year earlier. T. S. gets the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. where he has been given an award for his drawings by the Smithsonian Institute. The trouble is that the Smithsonian have no idea that he is only twelve, and then T. S. decides to set off across the U.S. on his own to collect his award.
The story, told in T. S.'s words is wonderful. The author has really captured a child's way of looking at the world, sometimes wise, sometimes logical, sometimes completely illogical, and given T. S. an authentically believable voice. The text is littered with T. S. 's maps and drawings, which are also wonderful, although rather small, if your eyesight is not the best.
This book was funny, moving, and always compelling. I really look forward to seeing what Reif Larssen comes up with next.
The story, told in T. S.'s words is wonderful. The author has really captured a child's way of looking at the world, sometimes wise, sometimes logical, sometimes completely illogical, and given T. S. an authentically believable voice. The text is littered with T. S. 's maps and drawings, which are also wonderful, although rather small, if your eyesight is not the best.
This book was funny, moving, and always compelling. I really look forward to seeing what Reif Larssen comes up with next.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a very original book. The story of an eleven year old invited to take up a position with the Smithsonian Institute, who don't realise he is only a child. It is illustrated throughout with his doodles and maps because he's obsessed with mapping out and detailing everything he comes across, in order to help him make sense of life. At times, particularly at the beginning, you might think this is a children's book but the more you read the more you appreciate the worldliness and poignancy of his voice. Given that all the illustrations were done by the author this is a massive feat of both writing and art and I highly recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
genius
A wonderful book with very interesting characters which pull you in and completely surrounds you in this funny boys world. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lindsay Dovey
A Journey into an Illustrated World
This is a remarkable book. It is the story of a journey told by a 12 year old boy from Montana who on the one hand is a genius scientist and illustrator, but on the other hand is a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Howard Wright
Not quirky, not quaint, not adventurous and not fun
Compared with the works of Mark Twain by a reviewer, nominated for awards, printed in unusual size (text book large square rather than handy paperback), and with a title that... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Federhirn
Beautiful in every way
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet is a unique coming of age story with beautiful design - the ideal gift book released just in time for the holiday season. Read more
Published on 25 April 2010 by J. Shurin
Fails in so many ways
The Selected Works Of TS Spivet - A Novel fails in so many ways. Yet there is still just about enough to it to justify the effort of reading it. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2010 by MisterHobgoblin
good but not brilliant
After reading all the great reviews about this book i thought i would give it ago myself and i have recently finished it. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by K. power
This is why we read !
This is why we read books. It takes us where no other method of story telling could. Here is where imagination, travel,mystery, grief and love meet in a story that will be... Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by Michael J. Salt
Difficult to describe, this is a wonderfully unique book
Well this book is certainly unusual and therefore difficult to review!
The book's aesthetic appearance is outstanding and a work of art in itself. Read more
The book's aesthetic appearance is outstanding and a work of art in itself. Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2009 by J. Cooper
What a wonderful book
What a wonderful, wonderful book! It's unlike any other book I have read and yet I knew from the instant I picked it up that not only was the book itself a thing of beauty but... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2009 by D. Hopkins
Escapism,Escapism,Escapism
To me,fiction should allow us to get away from our everyday problems but always within the bounds of possibility. "The Selected Works of T.S.Spivet" fulfils this criterion. Read more
Published on 11 July 2009 by P. F. Dinneen
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