Our Tragic Universe

By: Scarlett Thomas

Narrated by: Sarah Lefevre

Meg Carpenter is broke. Her novel is years overdue. Her cell phone is out of minutes. And her moody boyfriend’s only contribution to the household is his sour attitude. So she jumps at the chance to review a pseudoscientific book that promises life everlasting.

Consulting cosmology and physics, tarot cards, koans (and riddles and jokes), new-age theories of everything, narrative theory, Nietzsche, Baudrillard, and knitting patterns, Meg wends her way through Our Tragic Universe, asking this and many other questions. Does she believe in fairies? In magic? Is she living a storyless story? Smart and entrancing, Our Tragic Universe is an audiobook about how relationships are created and destroyed, how we can rewrite our futures (if not our histories), and how stories just might save our lives.

©2010 Scarlett Thomas. All rights reserved. (P)2010 BBC Audio

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I hated this book. I hung on everyword. I don't think anyone should read it. I will read it a again many times & I'll be tempted to recommend it to everyone I've ever met. It was pointless nonsense... & yet I sincerely hope to one day be able to use each of the many things I've learned from it.
I'd also love to be able to have a drink with the author (that doesn't get a caveat)
If I were asked for a quote to stick on the cover, I'd probably say "8/10, too many sex scenes & not enough romance"... though I guess that says more about me than it does about the book.
I don't know how to believe in magic, but I fervently wish I did.
My name is Rowan, & if I wasn't so flattered, I might be worried 😅.