Discover The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet for iPad. A brilliant, boundary-leaping debut novel tracing twelve-year-old genius map maker T.S. Spivet's attempts to understand the ways of the world When twelve-year-old genius cartographer T.S. Spivet receives an unexpected phone call from the Smithsonian announcing he has won the prestigious Baird Award, life as normal-if you consider mapping family dinner table conversation normal-is interrupted and a wild cross-country adventure begins, taking T.S. from his family ranch just north of Divide, Montana, to the museum's hallowed halls. T.S. sets out alone, leaving before dawn with a plan to hop a freight train and hobo east. Once aboard, his adventures step into high gear and he meticulously maps, charts, and illustrates his exploits, documenting mythical wormholes in the Midwest, the urban phenomenon of "rims," and the pleasures of McDonald's, among other things. We come to see the world through T.S.'s eyes and in his thorough investigation of the outside world he also reveals himself. As he travels away from the ranch and his family we learn how the journey also brings him closer to home. A secret family history found within his luggage tells the story of T.S.'s ancestors and their long-ago passage west, offering profound insight into the family he left behind and his role within it. As T.S. reads he discovers the sometimes shadowy boundary between fact and fiction and realizes that, for all his analytical rigor, the world around him is a mystery. All that he has learned is tested when he arrives at the capital to claim his prize and is welcomed into science's inner circle. For all its shine, fame seems more highly valued than ideas in this new world and friends are hard to find. T.S.'s trip begins at the Copper Top Ranch and the last known place he stands is Washington, D.C., but his journey's movement is far harder to track: How do you map the delicate lessons learned about family and self? How do you depict how it feels to first venture out on your own? Is there a definitive way to communicate the ebbs and tides of heartbreak, loss, loneliness, love? These are the questions that strike at the core of this very special debut.

Reviews

(Log in or Create an Account first!)

Details

Bookseller: Vintage-Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: MASTER357662I
Title: Selected Works Of T. S. Spivet
Author: Larsen, Reif
Format/Binding: Trade Paperback.
Book Condition: Used - VG In Wraps. Light Edgewear. Pages Clean, Binding Tight. Pages: 375.
Quantity Available: 1
Binding: Paperback
ISBN 10: 1846552788
ISBN 13: 9781846552786
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Place of Publication: London
Date Published: 2009
Keywords: Juvenile Fiction, Young Adult, Teen Fiction

Terms of Sale

Vintage-Books

Please indicate your preferred shipping method! Orders within the continental USA are shipped via media mail, unless otherwise arranged by you. We can also ship via USPS Priority Mail (uninsured).

Because of the USA situation with COVID and issues with USPS, we are currently shipping to USA addresses only.

If no shipping method is requested, we will ship via media mail (US Only). Washington state residents MUST add sales tax as per your local rate. All shipments are packed as carefully as possible. Larger books will cost more to ship Returns: You must notify us and return the book to us within 10 business days to receive a refund, with the item the same condition as when shipped. Shipping costs will not be refunded.

About the Seller

Vintage-Books

This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.

Biblio member since 2004

Vancouver, Washington

Ask Seller a Question

About Vintage-Books

Welcome to Vintage Books, an independent family owned bookstore and mail order business. We have been serving book-lovers and auto enthusiasts for 35 years. We've always put our priority where our hearts are: the best book selection we can offer and the most knowledgeable, dedicated staff. Our staff are all passionate readers-- the diversity of our preferences can be seen on our "staff choices" shelves. We work hard to make your book buying experience easy, and treat your books with the care we would treat our own. If you were to visit our physical store, you will find us to be pretty low key. Plain pine bookcases, old rugs, old chairs and a small couch in the children's area. Blank vertical surfaces are covered with old ads, sayings, booklists and displayed books. We are unable to list our extensive selection of used paperbacks, some of the automotive items and hardbacks on-line, because our inventory changes daily.

Glossary

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

VG: Very Good condition can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or...
Trade Paperback: Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...
Tight: Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.