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The Schrödinger Girl: A Novel
Set in the 1960s, this novel exploring the mysteries of the multiverse—and of human identity—is “a rare page turner that avoids the obvious traps.” —The New York Times Book ReviewGarrett Adams, an uptight behavioral psychology professor who refuses to embrace the 1960s, is in a slump. The dispirited rats in his latest experiment aren't yielding results, and his beloved Yankees are losing. As he sits at a New York City bar watching the Yanks strike out, he knows he needs a change. Then, at a bookstore, he meets a mysterious young woman, Daphne, who draws him into the turbulent and exciting world of Vietnam War protests and the music of Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and he starts to emerge from the numbness and grief over his father’s death in World War II.But when Daphne evolves into four separate versions of herself, Garrett’s life becomes complicated as he devotes himself to answering the questions about character and destiny raised by her iterations—an obsession that threatens to upend his relationship with a beautiful art historian, destroy his teaching job, and dissolve a longtime friendship. The Daphnes seem to exist in separate realities that challenge the laws of physics and call into question everything Garrett thought he knew. Now he must decide what is vision, what is science, and what is delusion.“[A] mind-bending experimental thriller.” —CrimeReads“An immensely interesting concept . . . dig[s] deep into psychology, philosophy, physics, and, most importantly, politics as Daphne shakes Garrett out of his indifference toward the cultural turmoil of the late ’60s.” —Kirkus Reviews“Brett's imaginative, amusing debut will appeal to fans of Nell Zink.” —Publishers Weekly“This absorbing novel vividly mines the physics and psychology of reality, and the reader’s reward is a moving story of love and loss.” —Hilma Wolitzer, author of An Available Man
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2020
46 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
Laurel Brett
2 books12 followersLAUREL BRETT a refugee from the 1960s, was born in Manhattan in the middle of the last century. Her passionate interest in the arts and social justice led her to a PhD and a long career as a community college professor. She expanded her award-winning dissertation on Thomas Pynchon’s work into a groundbreaking analysis, Disquiet on the Western Front: World War II and Postmodern Fiction, which was published by Cambridge Scholars. She lives in Port Jefferson, New York. The Schrödinger Girl is her latest novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 22, 2020
My Review
The blurb on this book immediately caught my attention: I have always been fascinated by the paradox of Schrodinger’s cat: the ambiguity, the being/not being. In addition, I loved for years in the location the book takes place in, New York City and a few blocks away from the bookstore I believe the protagonist and the eponymous girl meet in. The time is the 1960s—a time when I was a teenager trying to make sense of the world.
Garrett Adams is a behavioral psychologist feeling uninspired and discouraged in his career, his relationships, and his life. He can’t make sense of or embrace the time he is living in: the 1960s. He is boring and bored. Then he meets teenage Daphne in a bookstore. They are both looking for a book on quantum physics. This fact draws them together and they continue to meet and explore New York City. But Daphne seems a little different at each meeting. We come to understand that this is a book of parallel worlds and multiple beings.
His experience of these worlds and new perspectives dislodges Garret from his depressed state and awakens him to his own life. He begins to examine his relationships, including the wished for one of being a father. He begins to come to life.
Although slow moving at times, I was engaged by the premise of the book and how it is worked out. Garrett is not a likable character—not repulsive but boring (as he is bored) but becomes more interesting as the book progresses. I found myself looking forward to each of Daphne’s appearances, to see who she is now: always a little different yet still the same.
An interesting look at what the world could be—and perhaps, in fact, is. Many worlds beyond our imagination. My thanks to Akashic Publishing, Ariel Gore, and LibraryThing for providing me with a copy free of charge.
The blurb on this book immediately caught my attention: I have always been fascinated by the paradox of Schrodinger’s cat: the ambiguity, the being/not being. In addition, I loved for years in the location the book takes place in, New York City and a few blocks away from the bookstore I believe the protagonist and the eponymous girl meet in. The time is the 1960s—a time when I was a teenager trying to make sense of the world.
Garrett Adams is a behavioral psychologist feeling uninspired and discouraged in his career, his relationships, and his life. He can’t make sense of or embrace the time he is living in: the 1960s. He is boring and bored. Then he meets teenage Daphne in a bookstore. They are both looking for a book on quantum physics. This fact draws them together and they continue to meet and explore New York City. But Daphne seems a little different at each meeting. We come to understand that this is a book of parallel worlds and multiple beings.
His experience of these worlds and new perspectives dislodges Garret from his depressed state and awakens him to his own life. He begins to examine his relationships, including the wished for one of being a father. He begins to come to life.
Although slow moving at times, I was engaged by the premise of the book and how it is worked out. Garrett is not a likable character—not repulsive but boring (as he is bored) but becomes more interesting as the book progresses. I found myself looking forward to each of Daphne’s appearances, to see who she is now: always a little different yet still the same.
An interesting look at what the world could be—and perhaps, in fact, is. Many worlds beyond our imagination. My thanks to Akashic Publishing, Ariel Gore, and LibraryThing for providing me with a copy free of charge.
February 11, 2020
In all honesty, this book sounded much better than it actually was. It was slow and the characters were flat. The entire Daphne storyline grated on my nerves. The unending pages of the same questions...How many Daphne's are there? Are they each real people? Are they figments of an imagination? Are they separate personalities inside one Daphne? And on and on, over and over again. Garrett's obsession with Daphne was beyond creepy. I had a hard time wanting to continue reading this book. Then once politics was stirred into the mix...ugh!
I received this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's giveaway.1-1/2 stars.
I received this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's giveaway.1-1/2 stars.
June 30, 2023
Neat story! The author manages to take some heavy topics and weave them into a somewhat light historical fiction novel. Garrett would have been my grandmother's age and Daphne my mother's, and it was fun to think about that as I read.
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March 17, 2020A promising premise that did not totally deliver for me
I was intrigued by the ideas this novel explored but unsatisfied by the way they were resolved, although it's not as if I have a better idea for how I would have wished it to be done. The novel raises questions that can only be answered, within the realm of fiction, either by some unexpected blend of magical realism and science fiction, or by simply a throwing up of hands and saying idk.
Essentially it chooses the latter, which could work. I think for me the reason it didn't entirely was that I had trouble getting on board with this narrator. He delivers his observations in entirely too obvious a manner, a sort of faux-naivete that grated on me even though one of the movements of the story, maybe the key movement, is his gradual transition from clueless, buttoned-up 50s man to groovy, intuitive 60s man. It probably would have worked better told in close third person.
I did enjoy the descriptions of his LSD trips and thought they were very well done and helped make his change in outlook seem more plausible.
I was intrigued by the ideas this novel explored but unsatisfied by the way they were resolved, although it's not as if I have a better idea for how I would have wished it to be done. The novel raises questions that can only be answered, within the realm of fiction, either by some unexpected blend of magical realism and science fiction, or by simply a throwing up of hands and saying idk.
Essentially it chooses the latter, which could work. I think for me the reason it didn't entirely was that I had trouble getting on board with this narrator. He delivers his observations in entirely too obvious a manner, a sort of faux-naivete that grated on me even though one of the movements of the story, maybe the key movement, is his gradual transition from clueless, buttoned-up 50s man to groovy, intuitive 60s man. It probably would have worked better told in close third person.
I did enjoy the descriptions of his LSD trips and thought they were very well done and helped make his change in outlook seem more plausible.
November 12, 2019
What fun! Fans of cutting-edge science and alternate universe theories will love this novel. Daphne is different. She is about to become four different Daphne’s. The mystery for Professor Garrett Adams to solve is whether her split is a result of her living in separate realities or….. is he having visions, or…… is someone delusional. The question for readers to answer is whether Garrett will come out of this new-found relationship unscathed or if everything and everyone around him will fall apart. There’s nothing like a little psychological challenge to widen your thinking.
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
February 9, 2020
I absolutely loved this book. I found it incredibly engaging and profound. It is the perfect mix of accessible and intricate, presenting fascinating and complex ideas in a straightforward and down-to-earth way. The characters are extremely relatable and I could not wait to find out their fates. I am so thrilled that I picked up this book and will be recommending it highly to everyone I know.
February 7, 2020
This intriguing story will stick with you well after the final page. I really enjoyed accompanying Garrett on his journey to try to figure out his multiple Daphnes mystery, from his flashes of discovery to his lows of despair. Sometimes you need a great novel to take you to a place you've never been, to open your mind to the possibilities of alternate realities that *might* indeed exist. The Schrodinger Girl did just that for me. Fascinating stuff to think about! A creative and wonderful debut.
January 8, 2020
I just finished reading The Schrodinger Girl...straight through without distractions. It was that good! Wow, it took me only 30 pages to get hooked and held me until this quantum physical mystery love story came to a satisfying payoff at the end. Kudos to Laurel Brett and I highly recommend it for an entertaining read!
December 25, 2019
The Schrödinger Girl by Laurel Brett
Set in 1960's New York, Garrett Adams is a behavioral psychologist. He is dealing with the loss of his Father, a strained friendship with his long time friend Jerry and is in a new relationship with Caroline. He meets a mysterious young lady (Daphne) in a book store, as they both are reaching for the same book. Things begin to change when it appears (to him that) Daphne may exist in separate realities. This becomes an obsession for him as it challenges everything he believes in.
A fast paced original story, emotionally and psychologically charged. Garrett has personal struggles to overcome, as well as the newfound possibility of more than one Daphne. Combining psychology with physics was fascinating and kept me at the edge of my seat. Add the 1960's setting, songs and politics from the era was a refreshing "blast from the past". I was hooked from the first page up until the end. A true five star read. Highly recommend to all.
Set in 1960's New York, Garrett Adams is a behavioral psychologist. He is dealing with the loss of his Father, a strained friendship with his long time friend Jerry and is in a new relationship with Caroline. He meets a mysterious young lady (Daphne) in a book store, as they both are reaching for the same book. Things begin to change when it appears (to him that) Daphne may exist in separate realities. This becomes an obsession for him as it challenges everything he believes in.
A fast paced original story, emotionally and psychologically charged. Garrett has personal struggles to overcome, as well as the newfound possibility of more than one Daphne. Combining psychology with physics was fascinating and kept me at the edge of my seat. Add the 1960's setting, songs and politics from the era was a refreshing "blast from the past". I was hooked from the first page up until the end. A true five star read. Highly recommend to all.
December 25, 2019
I really liked this book about a rather suppressed and isolated professor in the 60's coming back into his life. Garrett Adams has been just coasting through life without feelings until he meets Daphne. But Daphne isn't what she seems, leading him to research physics, learn about Schrodinger's cat and launch into new and interesting psychology research. I love psychology, reading about psychedelic research that occurred back in the 60's and all of the 60's music references. So many things here to love!
February 13, 2020
What an interesting read! Highly recommended. Intelligently Addresses several facets of life and consciousness with page turning interest. Quite a mysterious intricate adventure. Works as a “light read” and a thought provoking experience.
February 15, 2020
Really enjoyed meeting the protagonist in this book -- highly recommend it as I know you will too. Kudos to Laurel Brett for keeping me entertained - and - stimulated.
February 13, 2020
I was given an ARC by the publisher to review, and I was interested in reading as it's gotten very good reviews. There are many problems with this book. One was the review copy I got was riddled with typos. The story itself is vaguely interesting but not very believable. The other issue is it's just kind of creepy. Daphne, the young girl, goes around New York soliciting older men until she finds a taker. Then the main character obsesses about her, and that just adds another level of creepy behavior.
August 1, 2022
Zaujímavé ale celkom som nepochopila ten koniec.
February 13, 2020
I loved the Schrodinger Girl! Highly recommend for a fun read that makes you think
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May 9, 2024this is the most “man-writing-women” novel i’ve ever read, except the author is a woman which makes this a thousand times more disappointing. complete with middle-aged men’s weird obsessions with underage girls, a guy dropping psychedelics and discovering empathy for the first time, and a woman who has “the flattest stomach” (real quote) and is often characterized by her beautiful looks, who, of course, wants to date the creepy, below-mediocre male main character. not to mention, a sprinkling of physics and psychology throughout the novel that may or may not pertain to anything happening during the plot— who really knows if it’s pertinent, so schrödinger-esque! truly, a real study in how women can do anything men can.
August 3, 2021
I truly enjoyed this book.
Keep me intrigued and an easy read.
Keep me intrigued and an easy read.
July 23, 2024
Garrett Adams is stuck in his ways at the beginning of Laurel Brett’s The Schrödinger Girl. It’s 1966 but it might as well be 1956 or 1946 for all Garrett knows. He’s never listened to the Beatles, doesn’t care about politics, and just plugs along as a professor of behavioral psychology. He might have gone on like this forever if he hadn’t made a bonkers promise to himself: that he would invite out to coffee whoever decides to buy the book about Schrödinger’s feline thought experiment that he has just picked up in a New York bookstore. The next person to pick up that book is a young girl named Daphne and Garrett’s life is never the same...
Read the rest of my review A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
October 24, 2020
An attractive title, an attractive beginning: an uptight behaviourist in the swinging sixties, a mysterious girl with an evocative name who seems to branch off in a multiplicity of chosen destinies, each choice creating a new split, each branch growing independently. And then ... things get repetitive and confusing, though there are enough good sparks to keep one going. A good read, though the title promises more than it actually delivers.
July 22, 2020
Masterfully crafted, The Schrödinger Girl transports the reader to the heyday of the 60s. I found it easy to relate to Daphne's many iterations, as they felt like different pieces of myself. However, I also empathized with Garrett's struggle to discover who he is, what world he lives in, and how to reconcile the two. Definitely pick up this book if you're looking to have an adventure!
April 13, 2022
This must be the most boring book on alternate universes to ever have been written. I seriously don’t understand how something that has such a cool concept can be quite so dry and annoying to read. And the worst thing about this book is that usually when I finish something I hate, I’m relieved it’s over and excited to write a review and finally be able to rant about why it was so horrible. But with this one I feel neither of those things, only extremely burned out.
There was literally nothing I enjoyed about this book. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of at least one positive thing to say for at least ten minutes now, and nothing comes to mind. The writing? Dry as fuck. The setting? Theoretically interesting but ruined by the dry writing and overall bad story. The characters? Definitely the worst part of the book, and I’m going to talk about that in detail in a second. The plot? Meandering and boring. The themes? All over the place and again discussed in the most boring way possible. This book literally just felt like the ramblings of some random extremely unlikable guy who’s so unhappy with his life he needs to make everyone else miserable by boring them to death with it (I’m obviously talking about the main character here, not the author).
First of all, despite the title, this book barely talks about physics at all, which was pretty disappointing to me. It tried to go this weird in-between way of saying the situation didn’t make sense with physics, but the characters still wanted to find an explanation in physics, but without ever really diving too much into physics at all? It just didn’t make any sense. It’s a little more about philosophy and psychology, but the conversations there didn’t make a whole lot of sense either, and, again, were super dry.
Plot-wise this was one of the most uneventful books I’ve read in a long time. And I don’t even mind books where not a lot is happening, but then I need some interesting characters, which we didn’t get here. And the way this mentioned a few things from the sixties but failed to create any good sense of setting with it was rather disappointing too.
Garrett’s obsession with Daphne is creepy. This book is trying to convince us it’s not, because there’s nothing sexual about it, but there are a lot more ways to be creepy than just being attracted to a sixteen-year-old. For example stalking her and keeping a whole pile of notes on her. And while there is another character who kind of points that out, that whole situation gets ruined by the fact that she’s Garrett’s love interest and it ends up coming across as jealousy much more than anything else. I definitely couldn’t see any concern for the SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL HER BOYFRIEND WAS LITERALLY STALKING in any of what she said. Honestly this book should have gone a completely different way, and been commentary on how when someone or something seems unusual people forget all basic morality trying to “figure them out”.
Talking about the love interest, this had one of the worst romances I’ve ever read (and unfortunately quite a lot of the book focused on that romance). I know I say in almost every single one of my reviews that the couple in the book has no chemistry, but compared to the two people in this book, all those other couples are soulmates. This wasn’t just zero chemistry, this was negative chemistry. This was never-bring-these-two-characters-together-or-you-might-make-the-reader-throw-up (I’m not exaggerating, I genuinely felt like I was getting sick because of that romance several times during this book). It had the most ridiculous and unbelievable first “I love you”s I ever read, some of the most cringey sex scenes and talk of sex, and the way those people, mainly the love interest, thought about marriage literally gave me a headache. It really took all the stupid things heterosexual people tend to do and say, amplified them to the max, and put them into a relationship that also lacked any positive parts completely.
There was literally nothing I enjoyed about this book. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of at least one positive thing to say for at least ten minutes now, and nothing comes to mind. The writing? Dry as fuck. The setting? Theoretically interesting but ruined by the dry writing and overall bad story. The characters? Definitely the worst part of the book, and I’m going to talk about that in detail in a second. The plot? Meandering and boring. The themes? All over the place and again discussed in the most boring way possible. This book literally just felt like the ramblings of some random extremely unlikable guy who’s so unhappy with his life he needs to make everyone else miserable by boring them to death with it (I’m obviously talking about the main character here, not the author).
First of all, despite the title, this book barely talks about physics at all, which was pretty disappointing to me. It tried to go this weird in-between way of saying the situation didn’t make sense with physics, but the characters still wanted to find an explanation in physics, but without ever really diving too much into physics at all? It just didn’t make any sense. It’s a little more about philosophy and psychology, but the conversations there didn’t make a whole lot of sense either, and, again, were super dry.
Plot-wise this was one of the most uneventful books I’ve read in a long time. And I don’t even mind books where not a lot is happening, but then I need some interesting characters, which we didn’t get here. And the way this mentioned a few things from the sixties but failed to create any good sense of setting with it was rather disappointing too.
Garrett’s obsession with Daphne is creepy. This book is trying to convince us it’s not, because there’s nothing sexual about it, but there are a lot more ways to be creepy than just being attracted to a sixteen-year-old. For example stalking her and keeping a whole pile of notes on her. And while there is another character who kind of points that out, that whole situation gets ruined by the fact that she’s Garrett’s love interest and it ends up coming across as jealousy much more than anything else. I definitely couldn’t see any concern for the SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL HER BOYFRIEND WAS LITERALLY STALKING in any of what she said. Honestly this book should have gone a completely different way, and been commentary on how when someone or something seems unusual people forget all basic morality trying to “figure them out”.
Talking about the love interest, this had one of the worst romances I’ve ever read (and unfortunately quite a lot of the book focused on that romance). I know I say in almost every single one of my reviews that the couple in the book has no chemistry, but compared to the two people in this book, all those other couples are soulmates. This wasn’t just zero chemistry, this was negative chemistry. This was never-bring-these-two-characters-together-or-you-might-make-the-reader-throw-up (I’m not exaggerating, I genuinely felt like I was getting sick because of that romance several times during this book). It had the most ridiculous and unbelievable first “I love you”s I ever read, some of the most cringey sex scenes and talk of sex, and the way those people, mainly the love interest, thought about marriage literally gave me a headache. It really took all the stupid things heterosexual people tend to do and say, amplified them to the max, and put them into a relationship that also lacked any positive parts completely.
January 25, 2020
Garrett Adams is a behaviorist, a college professor whose life consists of operant conditioning of rats and occasional nights of drinking with his old college buddy Jerry, a Freudian. It is the Sixties and he is so outside the flow of life he did not know The Beatles. That is until the day he is intrigued by a book about Schrodinger’s Cat at the bookstore. He picks up a copy and on a whim decides to ask the first person to also pick up the book to lunch. That was Daphne, a fifteen-year-old girl who is too eager to grow up and who makes a pass at Garrett. Feeling avuncular, he gets her to promise to hold off on propositioning older men for a few weeks until they can have another lunch. They continue to meet and she educates him on The Beatles, the Vietnam War, and art.
Except it’s not just the first Daphne. He keeps meeting more Daphnes, all identical in appearance, all of whom remember their first meeting at the bookstore, but all of whom have very different lives from the first Daphne. He thinks of Daphne as The Schrödinger Girl.
Meanwhile, Garrett pursues a relationship with Caroline, someone much closer to his age. They are inching towards love, but Caroline has no space for Daphne and thinks Garrett’s idea that they are multiple versions of the same young woman splitting into different lives is either crazy or an unhealthy obsession at best. But Garrett knows he is not crazy, can he let the Daphne question go unanswered?
The Schrödinger Girl has an original concept and is well-written. I like that even though the focus of the book is Garrett and everything is from his point of view, the Daphnes and Caroline are strong women. In fact, they influence him greatly and Garrett at the end is a very different man from Garrett at the beginning. They change as well, and their stories make sense even if their existence does not.
I enjoyed The Schrödinger Girl and found the underlying idea intriguing but confess it was too easy to set aside. I kept picking up other books to read. I think it was because for much of the book Garrett was sort of drifting through life and not as interesting as he became later. The last quarter I read in one fell swoop, but the first three-quarters I dallied through slowly, a bit impatient with Garrett. I almost gave up on it, but I am glad I did not because I loved it at the end.
I received an ARC of The Schrödinger Girl from the publisher through LibraryThing
The Schrödinger Girl at Akashic Books
Laurel Brett author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Except it’s not just the first Daphne. He keeps meeting more Daphnes, all identical in appearance, all of whom remember their first meeting at the bookstore, but all of whom have very different lives from the first Daphne. He thinks of Daphne as The Schrödinger Girl.
Meanwhile, Garrett pursues a relationship with Caroline, someone much closer to his age. They are inching towards love, but Caroline has no space for Daphne and thinks Garrett’s idea that they are multiple versions of the same young woman splitting into different lives is either crazy or an unhealthy obsession at best. But Garrett knows he is not crazy, can he let the Daphne question go unanswered?
The Schrödinger Girl has an original concept and is well-written. I like that even though the focus of the book is Garrett and everything is from his point of view, the Daphnes and Caroline are strong women. In fact, they influence him greatly and Garrett at the end is a very different man from Garrett at the beginning. They change as well, and their stories make sense even if their existence does not.
I enjoyed The Schrödinger Girl and found the underlying idea intriguing but confess it was too easy to set aside. I kept picking up other books to read. I think it was because for much of the book Garrett was sort of drifting through life and not as interesting as he became later. The last quarter I read in one fell swoop, but the first three-quarters I dallied through slowly, a bit impatient with Garrett. I almost gave up on it, but I am glad I did not because I loved it at the end.
I received an ARC of The Schrödinger Girl from the publisher through LibraryThing
The Schrödinger Girl at Akashic Books
Laurel Brett author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
August 19, 2020
I started The Schrodinger Girl Saturday night. I didn't feel I was concentrating properly, so I started it again Sunday morning. And I finished it late Sunday afternoon. It's the kind of book that's so absorbing, that so brings in a reader, that it can, or, in my case, must, be read in a day.
Garrett's a little old for the 60's. He's in his late thirties, a Yankee fan in the team's losing era, a jazz aficionado who doesn't get rock'n'roll, a psychology professor whose specialty is unmotivated rats. (Yes, the book is funny, too.) Then he meets Daphne, a 16-year-old girl who is looking for a man to relieve her from her dull Long Island life. Garrett is not that kind of man, fortunately for Daphne, but he ends up spending time with her, partly to discuss psychology and physics. When they go to an art gallery and see a nude portrait of a girl that looks just like her, Daphne is shocked, claiming she never met or posed for the artist. Is she crazy? A liar? Does she have a long lost twin?
Or is the answer something else? Can the laws of physics somehow permit multiple selves?
The premise totally worked for me. I like the way Laurel Brett writes and enjoyed the company of her characters. Intriguing, moving, funny--and it gave me lots to think about. It's one of the best books I'll read this year.
Garrett's a little old for the 60's. He's in his late thirties, a Yankee fan in the team's losing era, a jazz aficionado who doesn't get rock'n'roll, a psychology professor whose specialty is unmotivated rats. (Yes, the book is funny, too.) Then he meets Daphne, a 16-year-old girl who is looking for a man to relieve her from her dull Long Island life. Garrett is not that kind of man, fortunately for Daphne, but he ends up spending time with her, partly to discuss psychology and physics. When they go to an art gallery and see a nude portrait of a girl that looks just like her, Daphne is shocked, claiming she never met or posed for the artist. Is she crazy? A liar? Does she have a long lost twin?
Or is the answer something else? Can the laws of physics somehow permit multiple selves?
The premise totally worked for me. I like the way Laurel Brett writes and enjoyed the company of her characters. Intriguing, moving, funny--and it gave me lots to think about. It's one of the best books I'll read this year.
August 25, 2022
If the synopsis didn’t catch your interest, then I don’t know what will ☺️
I can’t believe that this book made me go back and research about Quantum Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and read about Behaviourism to just grasp the fascinating theories in the novel 🤩
I was so hooked on the protagonist Garret, his character, his dullness, his passion, his disappointments, his past and present. As per the author in her first draft, the protagonist was supposed to be Daphne who is the eponymous of the novel, but I’m so happy that in the final one she went with Prof. Adams 👏🏼
I like it when a book makes me lose grip and not be able to tell the difference between the possible and impossible. I love how Laurel thinks and how she’s able to create a magical reality themed story so seamlessly.
To us it’s magical reality but to her it’s just reality.
The ending made me think about the beginning, about all 4 Daphne’s, the
1. Light-hearted and inquisitive
2. Elegant and aesthetic
3. Political angry and direct
4. Wounded and earthy
I know that every time I decide to read this again, I’ll end up with a different magical conclusion.
This novel reminded me of a quote from Lewis Carrol’s book: “Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't”.
I can’t believe that this book made me go back and research about Quantum Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and read about Behaviourism to just grasp the fascinating theories in the novel 🤩
I was so hooked on the protagonist Garret, his character, his dullness, his passion, his disappointments, his past and present. As per the author in her first draft, the protagonist was supposed to be Daphne who is the eponymous of the novel, but I’m so happy that in the final one she went with Prof. Adams 👏🏼
I like it when a book makes me lose grip and not be able to tell the difference between the possible and impossible. I love how Laurel thinks and how she’s able to create a magical reality themed story so seamlessly.
To us it’s magical reality but to her it’s just reality.
The ending made me think about the beginning, about all 4 Daphne’s, the
1. Light-hearted and inquisitive
2. Elegant and aesthetic
3. Political angry and direct
4. Wounded and earthy
I know that every time I decide to read this again, I’ll end up with a different magical conclusion.
This novel reminded me of a quote from Lewis Carrol’s book: “Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't”.
September 29, 2020
It was a fun read, very hard to put down. What's not to love? A little science, a little psychology, a bit of Greek myths, a bit of art, a lot of Beatles lyrics. It was weird realizing that the protagonist/narrator was almost exactly my parents' age. We arrived back in the US from having two overseas tours (Japan then Africa) in 1967 and they were pretty shell-shocked by how much the country had changed. They got to know a lot of parents who were considerably younger than them from my youngest brother who was in kindergarten at the time. And while they weren't quite as daring as the narrator, much of what he experienced rang true. I remember vividly the awfulness of 1968 - I was in junior high at the time with many friends who cared about politics.
Quibbles? I thought it dragged at the 3/4 mark - at least one Daphne too many - but I rather liked the ending. I was both surprised and it felt right to me. I wish the narrator had been a bit more engaging, but I think that was partly deliberate - he's supposed to be a behavioral psychologist after all.
Quibbles? I thought it dragged at the 3/4 mark - at least one Daphne too many - but I rather liked the ending. I was both surprised and it felt right to me. I wish the narrator had been a bit more engaging, but I think that was partly deliberate - he's supposed to be a behavioral psychologist after all.
March 28, 2024
Schrödinger’s cat is the famous thought experiment where a cat is in a box with a radioactive particle that could kill the cat. According to the principles of quantum physics, without an observer the particle is in an indeterminate state meaning the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously. It is only by opening the box and observing it that the determination is made. This novel takes this principle as a jumping off point for a psychology professor in the late 1960s who starts seeing, meeting and interacting with a series of what seem to be the same girl but are also identifiably different in their character and trajectories in life. The professor is determined to solve this mystery but in doing so puts his romantic relationship, friendships, career and possibly his own sanity at risk. As he progresses through it, he himself is also affected by each of these girls in ways that open up his life in new and unexpected ways as he becomes more in touch with the culture around him that he previously ignored.
February 29, 2020
When it comes to relationships, sorting truth from fiction is hard enough. Now multiply that times four and you have Laurel Brett’s engaging novel The Schrödinger Girl. Garret Adams who describes himself as not into the sixties, unwilling to make up his mind about the Vietnam War, and a little nostalgic for the “neatness” of the fifties needs a shakeup. He is about to get at least one or two (or more) upheavals. Enter an unkempt-around-the-edges teenage girl with an interest in physics and he finds his something outside his constricted social sphere to care about deeply—obsessively. Brett kept me guessing in this non-romantic love story. Until the last paragraphs, I honestly did not know where Garret’s series of nested worlds were going to land. An excellent and surprising read!
Kaylie Jones Books does it again!
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Kaylie Jones Books does it again!
#AkashicBooks
#KaylieJonesBooks
July 6, 2020
How can we feel at once deeply attracted, but incredulous towards another person and still include them in our lives? It’s much easier to reject someone for not meeting the requisite of one’s emotionally acceptable metric. Laurel Brett brilliantly weaves a great canvas of human emotion with all its unanswered questions, betrayals and need for belonging, while allowing the characters of her novel to express their anxieties and discontent without the weight of excess prose. Her erudition of classical literature, music, quantum physics and the politics of the 1960s is electric, as much as it is a vehicle for the evolution of the novels ensemble of characters, but mainly it’s protagonist, Garrett Adams. The solutions to their relationships are psychologically and emotionally satisfying without being simplified. It’s an intriguing read.
January 1, 2022
If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. I like the idea of this book, and, actually, much about it--I wouldn't have kept reading if I hadn't. The premise: psychology professor Garrett Adams meets several versions of the same young woman, Daphne. To avoid spoilers, that's all I'll say.
What I liked about the novel: the vivid evocation of the mid-1960s; (some of) the discussion of quantum physics with an actual young woman prompting it--or should I say young women? The book was fast-paced, almost seeming to be for young readers in both format and density.
What I didn't like: the obsession of the narrator and his attendant teeth-gnashing over the multiple Daphnes, which did become repetitive.
But, as I said, this was engaging enough for me to stick with it till the end, and I suspect I will think about it in the future.
What I liked about the novel: the vivid evocation of the mid-1960s; (some of) the discussion of quantum physics with an actual young woman prompting it--or should I say young women? The book was fast-paced, almost seeming to be for young readers in both format and density.
What I didn't like: the obsession of the narrator and his attendant teeth-gnashing over the multiple Daphnes, which did become repetitive.
But, as I said, this was engaging enough for me to stick with it till the end, and I suspect I will think about it in the future.
November 2, 2020
The Schrodinger Girl is a beautifully written expose on life in the sixties see through the disillusioned eyes of the narrator, Garrett. His meeting with Daphne begins a journey of self-discovery. His journey jolts him out of his stalemate life and makes him question everything around him.
We get to visit the sixties America, from the music of the Beatles and other artists to the terrible political and social tragedies of the Vietnam war and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers. How do you cope with such turmoil and unexplained hate? Well, it was the sixties!
This book is easy to read even though it is touching on a variety of social, psychological and scientific theories. The book is educational as well as entertaining and Laurel brings the various threads of the story together with consummate art.
There is a magical element to the way everything evolves and yet dovetails into the final reality for Garrett. After all, how much do we know is real or imagined? A clever book and a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We get to visit the sixties America, from the music of the Beatles and other artists to the terrible political and social tragedies of the Vietnam war and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers. How do you cope with such turmoil and unexplained hate? Well, it was the sixties!
This book is easy to read even though it is touching on a variety of social, psychological and scientific theories. The book is educational as well as entertaining and Laurel brings the various threads of the story together with consummate art.
There is a magical element to the way everything evolves and yet dovetails into the final reality for Garrett. After all, how much do we know is real or imagined? A clever book and a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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