Naked Singularity Big Read Schedule

For the rest of the Naked Singularity Big Read posts, click here.

Here is the schedule for the summer read of A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava. The dates correspond to the first day of the week in which we will be reading the indicated segment.

Discussion of each segment will occur during that week, probably with some looking back as we go further. And there will be four signed copies of the original POD edition to be given away at various points during the read.

Schedule

June 10: Chapter 1 to Chapter 3x2x1 (1 – 131)
June 17: Chapter 3x2x1 to End of Part 1 (131 – 313)
June 24: Chapter 12 to Chapter 19 (316 – 425)
July 1: Chapter 19 to End of Part 2 (426 – 525)
July 8: Part 3 (528 – 678)

Here are clips from some of the reviews of the book so far. Interesting stuff:

Booklist: “Although David Foster Wallace fans will likely notice his influence on de la Pava, the better comparison may be to Evan Dara’s The Lost Scrapbook (1998), which, like this book, developed a major following after originally being self-published.”

Dmitry Portnoy (Amazon reviewer): “”A Naked Singularity” is the greatest lawyer novel since “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the best originally self-published novel since “Youth In Revolt,” and the third big fat great novel of this century after “Europe Central” and “The Instructions.”"

switterbug (also from Amazon): “This blazing, colossal creation was originally self-published by a vanity press in 2008, and left to hang in obscurity for four years. Here’s the author’s bio:

“Sergio De La Pava is a writer who does not live in Brooklyn.”

Consider that Brooklyn is the writer’s writers’ colony of Pulitzer and other award-stamped writers, the borough of billboard blockbusters and earnest publicity favorites scratching out their lines between the lines of the backlit white box. And, all this time, La Pava was under the radar, his brain a sapient submarine with the torqued turbines whirring, writing the most spectacular linguistic blitzkrieg of a novel that I have encountered in the past decade (or more). Too bad publicity counts for so much, because the only introduction he needs is this phenomenal, audacious, achingly humane book to speak for itself.”

Review of Contemporary Fiction: “The whole feels like The Recognitions as legal thriller, a glorious mess with dashes of Powers, minor Pynchon, and White Noise, among many others. . . . [I]n its ambitions and shortcomings and shaggy glory, A Naked Singularity is perhaps most reminiscent of The Broom of the System. So that bodes well.”

The Quarterly Conversation: “It’s one of those fantastic, big, messy books like Darconville’s Cat or Infinite Jest or Women and Men, though it’s not really like any of those books or those writers. . . . . But see here: I refuse to divulge too much of the plot, because watching it unfold is one of the great joys of the novel. . . . . What I keep coming back to is the audacity of this novel, which is truly a towering, impressive work–De La Pava’s not hesitant to break and then mirror the narrative with the story of professional boxer Wilfred Benitez, or insert a recipe, none of which hinder the narrative but rather shape the entirety of the book, making the actual story and its effect on the characters (and the characters’ actions that shape the story, et cetera) more profound”

For the rest of the Naked Singularity Big Read posts, click here.

More from Conversational Reading:

1. A Naked Singularity Returns At The Constant Conversation, Scott Bryan Wilson points to another satisfied reader of A Naked Singularity: . . . continue reading, and add your comments...
2. Strong Sales for A Naked Singularity I think anyone who follows this blog with any regularity knows that A Naked Singularity, just released by the University of Chicago Press, began its...
3. Recently Published: A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava A couple weeks ago I got a query from the publisher of A Naked Singularity, who appears to be the wife of the book's...
4. The Self-Published Book You Must Read At The Quarterly Conversation we've just published Scott Bryan Wilson's review of A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava. This is a bit atypical...
5. Even More Naked Singularity I have been informed that A Naked Singularity is now beginning to attract an audience down under--you'll find a review on the blog Known Unknowns,...

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