Deception

Deception is one of the three major themes in the novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Deception infects every single part of the novel, giving everything - except narrator and protagonist Blue Van Meer - the superficiality of a facade. Indeed, everything in Blue's life is a deception, orchestrated by her father and others around her, all unbeknown to her until the end of the novel.

Deception begins with the death of Blue's mother, which is written off as an auto accident, when in reality, Blue's mother may have killed herself over a broken heart due to Gareth's womanizing. Gareth's finances - which he tells Blue come from the success of his books, and his salary as a visiting professor - are in reality coming from a financier from a left wing radical organization. Gareth, who appears to be a relatively cut-and-dried political science professor...