The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

"[The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet] is like nothing you've ever picked up...Illustrated with witty marginalia (supposedly produced by its protagonist), it is also steeped in poignancy, humor, and wisdom." --Vanity Fair "As much a work of art as it is a warm, compelling story of family ties, science and the importance of understanding the world--and the human heart." --The Miami Herald "A mightily impressive debut, a wistful glimpse at that moment when adulthood threatens those last, vital days of youth." --Entertainment Weekly "[A] beautiful book. Each page is literally a work of art...." --Boston Globe

"[A]n ambitious and smart first novel ....This is a book to be read slowly, savored for its digressions and offbeat characters." --Newsday

"Brimming with idiosyncrasies....endearing and triumphantly original....[a] luscious piece of fiction." --Elle

"Larsen's instincts are extraordinary."--The Oregonian

"Spivet's narration is undeniably funny; not since Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close has a precocious young boy carried a novel so ably." --The Stranger

"Inventing a preternaturally bright child is always tricky, but Larsen imbues T. S. with his own creditable identity, making him every bit as doubting and overwhelmed as he is precocious and indomitable--he's a little bundle of paradoxes, with the proper literary DNA of any well-formed character. On top of that, he's a right laugh, which never hurts." --Book Forum

"The novel is a cabinet of wonders, an odyssey of self-discovery, a family romance, a symphony of topography, geology and American history. The book hardly seems able to stay between its covers, bulging as it is with so many astonishments, so many crossings of fictional lines." --Bookpage

"Reif Larsen has kicked off his literary career with a stunning and beautiful book....Larsen managed to write one of the most highly original novels of the year." --Bookslut

"Two predictions about The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet readers are going to love it as much as I did, and few if any will have experienced anything like it. I'm flabbergasted by Reif Larsen's talent, and I was warmed by his generosity. Here is a book that does the impossible: it combines Mark Twain, Thomas Pynchon, and Little Miss Sunshine. Good novels entertain; great ones come as a gift to the readers who are lucky enough to find them. This book is a treasure."--Stephen King