As She Climbed Across the Table

At Beauchamp University in Northern California, anthropologist Philip Engstrand studies academic culture while living with his girlfriend, physicist Alice Coombs. Their lives change when Alice's physics team creates an anomaly called Lack - a void that selectively consumes objects according to its own mysterious criteria. As Alice becomes consumed by her work with Lack, her relationship with Philip begins to strain. The entire physics department becomes fixated on understanding Lack's preferences, while protests erupt on campus over its consumption of a laboratory animal. The story follows Philip's attempts to understand both the scientific phenomenon and his partner's growing obsession with it. A cast of campus characters including professors, students, and rival researchers circle around the central mystery of what Lack truly represents. The novel explores themes of romantic attachment, scientific discovery, and the gaps that exist between human beings trying to connect. Through its science fiction premise, it examines how people project meaning onto the unknowable and how love and understanding can break down in the face of obsession.

Readers describe this book as a quirky blend of science and romance, with many comparing it to Don DeLillo's White Noise. The absurdist academic setting and physics themes resonate with fans of campus novels. Readers appreciate: - The dry humor and satirical take on academia - Clean, precise prose style - Creative metaphors for love and loss - Original premise and execution Common criticisms: - Plot loses momentum in middle sections - Some found the physics concepts confusing - Characters feel emotionally distant - Several note it doesn't match Lethem's later works Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (3,800+ ratings) Amazon: 3.9/5 (80+ reviews) Multiple reviews mention this works better as a novella than a full novel. One Goodreads reviewer called it "a clever concept that overstays its welcome." Amazon reviewers frequently note it serves as an interesting early work showing Lethem's development as a writer.

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🔸 The book's title is a playful reference to "Alice in Wonderland," with both stories featuring a protagonist named Alice who follows a mysterious entity down a metaphorical rabbit hole. 🔸 During the writing of this novel, Lethem was inspired by the film "Alphaville" by Jean-Luc Godard, which similarly explores themes of artificial intelligence and human emotion. 🔸 The concept of selective void behavior in the novel parallels real quantum physics phenomena like the "quantum tunneling effect," where particles appear to pass through barriers they shouldn't be able to cross. 🔸 Jonathan Lethem wrote this book while working as a clerk at used bookstores in Berkeley, California, which helped inform the novel's academic setting. 🔸 The character of Lack draws parallels to the philosophical concept of "nothingness" explored by Jean-Paul Sartre and other existentialist thinkers, blending scientific and philosophical traditions.