What do you think?
Rate this book
The Center of Things
As a reporter for New York’s last evening tabloid, Marie Brown writes about the bizarre and the scandalous. But her life is hardly either. She’s too single, too tall, and too pragmatic for anything other than her routine–which consists of going to work and going to the library, where she indulges in her one passion, physics, and in conversations with Marco Trentadue, the strange “freelance intellectual” in blue pajamas. Then the trajectory of her life takes an unexpected turn.
Nora Mars–glamour girl, star of stage and screen–is near death. Marie has worshipped Nora since she was in high school. Naturally she will write Nora’s obit. When Marie meets Nora’s charismatic third ex-husband for an interview, she struggles between a reporter’s integrity and plain old lust. What Marie uncovers is a story of a starlet who took the exigencies of fame into her own hands–and the inspiration to do the same with her own love life.
Nora Mars–glamour girl, star of stage and screen–is near death. Marie has worshipped Nora since she was in high school. Naturally she will write Nora’s obit. When Marie meets Nora’s charismatic third ex-husband for an interview, she struggles between a reporter’s integrity and plain old lust. What Marie uncovers is a story of a starlet who took the exigencies of fame into her own hands–and the inspiration to do the same with her own love life.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Jenny McPhee
15 books45 followersJenny McPhee is the author of the novels A Man of No Moon, No Ordinary Matter, and The Center of Things. She is the coauthor with her sisters Martha and Laura of Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits. Her translations include Paolo Maurensig's Canone Inverso, and Crossing the Threshold of Hope by Pope John Paul II.
Her short stories and articles have appeared in Bookforum; Brooklyn Review; Descant; Glamour; Glimmer Train; Harper’s Bazaar; The New York Times and Zoetrope.
She is on the board of The Bronx Academy of Letters. She is presently living in London where she co-runs The Upper Wimpole Street Literary Salon.
Favorite Quote: “I read poetry to save time.” –Marilyn Monroe
Her short stories and articles have appeared in Bookforum; Brooklyn Review; Descant; Glamour; Glimmer Train; Harper’s Bazaar; The New York Times and Zoetrope.
She is on the board of The Bronx Academy of Letters. She is presently living in London where she co-runs The Upper Wimpole Street Literary Salon.
Favorite Quote: “I read poetry to save time.” –Marilyn Monroe
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 22, 2017
I actually looked at this book on Amazon because I was thinking about using the title (“The Center of Things”) for a novel I wrote. Seeing that it had been used (by author Jenny McPhee), and somewhat recently (2001), I started to move on, but for some reason dug a little more to see what it was about. I suppose just because I’m a book worm and can’t help it.
The premise was intriguing. The protagonist, Marie, is a tabloid journalist writing – in advance – a celebrity’s obituary. But at the same time she’s infatuated with, of all things, cosmology, though she apparently has no real aptitude for it.
That drew me in. Not just the odd combination of interests that this character has, but the promise that there would be some literary treatment of some of the weirder aspects of quantum mechanics. I read this stuff in science-y books all the time, with not much better understanding than Marie’s. But what is most interesting to me are the elusive philosophical implications of matter being present only if observed; of an observer being a participant in a thing’s very existence; of things affecting other things by “spooky action at a distance.” I thought this book might be it: a non-technical and literary consideration of those ideas. The Center of Things did not disappoint.
It did spark a sad rumination on how books catch on and why they often don’t, however. Sad to say, I’d have never paused at this one had I not read past the celebrity-worship angle. Nor would I have stumbled over it at all, were I not searching that exact title.
The premise was intriguing. The protagonist, Marie, is a tabloid journalist writing – in advance – a celebrity’s obituary. But at the same time she’s infatuated with, of all things, cosmology, though she apparently has no real aptitude for it.
That drew me in. Not just the odd combination of interests that this character has, but the promise that there would be some literary treatment of some of the weirder aspects of quantum mechanics. I read this stuff in science-y books all the time, with not much better understanding than Marie’s. But what is most interesting to me are the elusive philosophical implications of matter being present only if observed; of an observer being a participant in a thing’s very existence; of things affecting other things by “spooky action at a distance.” I thought this book might be it: a non-technical and literary consideration of those ideas. The Center of Things did not disappoint.
It did spark a sad rumination on how books catch on and why they often don’t, however. Sad to say, I’d have never paused at this one had I not read past the celebrity-worship angle. Nor would I have stumbled over it at all, were I not searching that exact title.
April 5, 2019
This starts well enough with a quirky nerd of a heroine, Marie Brown, obsessed in equal measure with the philosophy of science and Nora Mars, a beguiling movie star who sustains a brain hemorrhage at the beginning of the book and, frustratingly, is never seen even in flashbacks. A series of personal and professional mistakes have trapped Marie in an unenviable situation. She's been estranged from her only brother and best pal Michael for 15 years after sleeping with Michael's boyfriend. At the tabloid where she works she is routinely passed up for promotion, on the grounds that she doesn't care enough about the job, although she often ghostwrites articles for her lazier colleagues. This changes when she stars aggressively pursuing the story of the dying Nora Mars. She gets more and more preposterous dirt from Nora's sister Maud and Nora's third husband Rex, who turns out to have been either her nephew or even possibly her son. While there was potential in the mystery surrounding the man-gobbling movie star, it seems to me that McPhee lost interest in that part of the plot and couldn't resolve for herself who Rex was supposed to be with respect to Nora. Instead, she spends more and more time on Marie's romance with Marco, an elusive oddball who virtually lives between the stacks of the 34th branch of the NYPL. By way of banter, Marie and Marco toss back and forth snatches of information and speculation about quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. Having zero interest in, and even less knowledge of science disqualifies me from assessing the contents of these conversations, but what's for sure is that what this author tries to present as an exquisitely unusual courtship makes for very contrived and stilted dialogue. McPhee clearly has an encyclopedic knowledge of American film history, and it's painful to see trying, and failing, to replicate in print the scintillating dialogue of her favorite romantic comedies. Altogether, this a laborious first novel, into which this self-evidently sophisticated author has thrown far too much disparate material.
January 23, 2020
The Center of Things is about a late 30s writer (Marie) who is still trying to find herself. It was read to get through this book, the old-time movie love was just not interesting for me, I couldn't relate or empathize. Each chapter opens with some nice quotes, though.
August 7, 2009
A wonderfully quirky book. Its main character works for a NYC tabloid & gets her big break when she convinces the publisher to allow her to write an obituary for her favorite movie star from the 40s & 50s, who is near death. This main story line, along with the light tone of the writing, make it appear on the surface as lightweight chick lit. But it's much more clever than that, with lots more going on. She uncovers a mystery in her subject's life that she struggles to solve & understand. She continues to visit the public library in a seemingly futile effort to complete a paper on the philosophical ramifications of quantam mechanics, a paper she had left unfinished when she dropped out of graduate school in her first year 15 years earlier. And she mourns the broken relationship with her brother, who had been very close to her before she betrayed him many years ago. AND she longs for love & marriage, perhaps with the handsome former husband of her subject, whom she interviews for her story. Meanwhile, she establishes a fascinating connection with an odd character she regularly encounters at the library; he wears pajamas & reads from a wide variety of magazines while engaging her in conversations about her scientific/philosophical research. And, finally (I think), each chapter is centered on a theme, such as Time, Truth, Love, etc (somewhat reminiscent of Carol Shields's Larry's Party). This seems like WAY too much to be going on in a relatively short novel, but somehow it works as an engaging, integrated narrative.
November 8, 2007
Again for November, a quick read, and one I doubt I'll remember next year. It's actually two stories in one, sharing in common only the main character, Marie. As a tabloid journalist, she sets out to cover the story of her movie-star idol, Nora Mars, uncovering truly complicated relationships and tabloid-worthy dirt. Loosely paralleling this is the relationship Marie forms with the oddball pseudo-intellectual Marco at the library where they discuss theories of quantum physics.
Really, I found the physics discussions forced, and self-indulgent. Not normally a stickler for realistic conversation (really, who am I to judge conversation, of all things?), even I found Marie and Marco's language stilted and unbelievable, even had the connection between the science vignettes and the movie star scandal been more clear (or less forced). And honestly, I skimmed a lot of that part, even though I, too, find quantum theory mind-bendingly fascinating. but not in the hands of these two quirky fictional characters.
I give the author a bit of leeway, though, because she had the humility to call herself a shameless pseudo-intellectual in the interview given in the reader's guide at the back of the book. Seriously, does this sort of book get reader's guides these days?
Not a waste of an evening, but I'm glad it didn't take any longer than that.
Really, I found the physics discussions forced, and self-indulgent. Not normally a stickler for realistic conversation (really, who am I to judge conversation, of all things?), even I found Marie and Marco's language stilted and unbelievable, even had the connection between the science vignettes and the movie star scandal been more clear (or less forced). And honestly, I skimmed a lot of that part, even though I, too, find quantum theory mind-bendingly fascinating. but not in the hands of these two quirky fictional characters.
I give the author a bit of leeway, though, because she had the humility to call herself a shameless pseudo-intellectual in the interview given in the reader's guide at the back of the book. Seriously, does this sort of book get reader's guides these days?
Not a waste of an evening, but I'm glad it didn't take any longer than that.
November 12, 2011
The emotional plot is fine, I enjoyed it. But what stands out about this book is how quantum physics and its philosophy is incorporated into the story. The main character presents a load of information on quantum physics to a budding friend in plain English. Somehow it worked beautifully, and was part of the story rather than being an interruption from it. I learned so much about science while feeling like I was reading a light fun piece.
August 8, 2007
It has been a few years since I read this, but I remember loving it. In fact, I may re-read it. A cutesie quip would run something like "Bridget Jones meets Richard Feynman." I guess I'll leave it at that because 1) I hope someone will find that idea intriguing and 2) I'm exhausted and have no more energy left for a more serious analysis.
May 4, 2007
I liked this book because it has a character interested in quantum mechanics, and an odd-ball romance. The writing plods along a bit, but it is definitely worth reading. Start with No Ordinary Matter by this author first. Her writing is very endearing and everyday.
February 29, 2008
love this book with its combination of science and pop/tabloid culture: heady scientific concepts, a tabloid journalist who berates herself for being early by calculating how much time she's wasted that way, a dying movie star, and a juicy secret just waiting to come out. love it!
June 9, 2009
I gave this 100 pages and had to stop. It was trying waaaay too hard to be hip cute and witty. I was just annoyed at the format and didn't even care enough to finish which is rare for me. Dissapointing.
October 19, 2007
Lots of physics in this one, and the love story is quirky and compelling.
January 20, 2009
For some reason I read all the McPhee siblings' books, and they are okay enough.
Read
April 27, 2015quantum physics + a tabloid reporter + the NYPL + a dead movie star + for some reason a whole half chapter that talks about giraffes = this was really fun.
May 25, 2010
Good read - you have to focus a little but it's thought provoking and insightful and it gives you hope. I love all the quotes that Nora Mars "says." Its empowering, revealing, and contemplative.
March 21, 2011
So far, eh. I'm about a third of the way through and waiting for plot to really kick in.
April 4, 2011
ehh .... I kept hoping it would get better ... but I think b/c I'm not much into science .. a lot of the material was dull
Read
August 3, 2011scanned a lot of pages in this book, just to finish...not a keeper in my minds eye....
Read
February 3, 2013"Clever, interwoven tale of science and love. Science parts a bit heavy, love part a bit melodramatic."
July 19, 2015
- Marie Brown, a 39 year old tabloid journalist fascinated by Physics, is assigned to write the obituary of Nora Mars (a legendary and scandalous film star).
January 18, 2014
The storyline was ok - tried really hard to understand the quantum mechanics ...
Instead ended up skipping many pages.
Disappointed ...
Instead ended up skipping many pages.
Disappointed ...
February 11, 2009
Ok, wouldn't recommend it. The science got a bit heavy handed.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews