T.S. Spivet is a genius mapmaker who lives on a ranch in Montana. His father is a silent cowboy and his mother is a scientist who for the last twenty years has been looking for a mythical species of beetle. His brother has gone, his sister seems normal but might not be, and his dog - Verywell - is going mad. T.S. makes sense of it all by drawing beautiful, meticulous maps kept in innumerable colour-coded notebooks.He is brilliant, and the Smithsonian Institution agrees, though when they award him a major scientific prize they don't suspect for a moment that he is twelve years old.
So begins T.S.'s life-changing adventure, travelling two thousand miles across America to reach the awards dinner, the secret-society membership and the TV interviews that beckon. But is this what he wants? Do maps and lists explain the world? And why are adults so strange?

A loveable, totally original story of one boy's epic journey

About the Author

Reif Larsen is the author of The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet which was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and has now been made into a film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie.

He studied at Brown University and has taught at Columbia University. His essays and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Tin House, The Millions and The Believer. He lives in Scotland.

Reviews
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 *
Larsen has made an impressive mark ... spectacularly funny * Sunday Times *
Reif Larsen's wonderful original debut, destined to please readers of all ages, is the Next Big Thing... echoes of Thomas Pynchon, Robert Coover and Nicholson Baker... a lively sophisticated narrative that looks to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn * Irish Times *
A wilfully original and diverting book ... you can see exactly why it caused publishers to sit up. It is charming and kooky * Observer *
Think Tom Sawyer with a passion for empirical science... one of the most original books of the year * Metro *



Book Information
ISBN 9780099555193
Author Reif Larsen
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 684g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 197mm * 28mm