Schrödinger's Ball

April 10, 2006
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.

July 1, 2006
To give you an idea of the delightfully intellectual zaniness at work in comedian and television writer Felber -s novel, consider the book -s two juxtaposing themes: a group of aimless twentysomethings searching for love and direction in life and 1933 Nobel prize winner Erwin Schrö dinger -s theories on quantum mechanics. As a result, there are a number of headache-inducing plot twists, the main one involving Johnny, the musician in a quartet of friends who suddenly becomes more spacey and laid-back than normal. Yet the rest of the group -sex-bomb Deborah, awkward Arlene, and hopelessly geeky Grant -are nonplussed by Johnny -s new behavior. They would be downright stupefied if they knew, however, that their friend -s behavior stemmed from the fact that he -s actually dead, a victim of careless gun cleaning. In an apparent interpretation of Schrö dinger -s theories, Johnny isn -t completely dead until his body is discovered in his grandmother -s basement. Felber -s extensive use of physics as metaphor may require multiple readings of the same paragraph, but he pulls it off nicely with his intelligence and ability to evoke reader empathy. Recommended for most fiction collections." -Kevin Greczek, Ewing, NJ"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2006
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. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)