''A Naked Singularity'' is a
legal thriller
The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters.
The genre came ...
and the
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
of American author
Sergio De La Pava. Originally self-published in 2008 through
XLibris
Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...
,
[Garth Risk Hallberg.]
Outside the Ring: A Profile of Sergio De La Pava
, ''The Millions
''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews.
''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary no ...
'', June 20, 2012. it was commercially re-published in 2012 and subsequently won the
PEN Prize for Debut Fiction in 2013.
Reception
Literary site The Quarterly Conversation ran a review by Scott Bryan Wilson that called the book "one of the best and most original novels of the decade" and "a towering, impressive work."
[Scott Bryan Wilson.]
Reviewed: A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava
. ''The Quarterly Conversation'', October 4, 2010. That review caught the eye of staff at
The University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It publishes a wide range ...
, who signed the book up and published it in paperback in April 2012. The book was named one of the ten best works of fiction of 2012 by ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''.
["The Best Fiction of 2012", '']The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', December 14, 2012. In the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'',
Julia Keller wrote, "''A Naked Singularity'' is not about physics. It's about the American criminal justice system in a large and chaotic city, a place slowly crushed by hopelessness in the same way that an ancient star is gradually crushed by gravity. . . . It is about a city that teeters on the edge of total collapse and complete disaster, but that has the capacity to right itself (whew!) at the last possible second."
[Julia Keller.]
The 'Naked' Truth
, ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', May 31, 2012. ''A Naked Singularity'' went on to win the
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize from
PEN
PEN may refer to:
* (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI)
* PEN International, a worldwide association of writers
** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International
** PEN America, located ...
as the best debut novel of that year. On February 10, 2014, it was named one of eight books on the shortlist for the inaugural
Folio Prize
The Writers' Prize, previously known as the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting ...
for the best book published in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 2013.
[Mark Brown,]
The Folio Prize announces inaugural shortlist of eight books
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', February 10, 2014.
Film adaptation
On 18 December 2018, it was announced that
Scott Free Productions
Scott Free Productions is a film and television production company founded by English filmmakers and brothers Ridley and Tony Scott in 1995. The result of multiple mergers between companies established by the Scott brothers since 1971, it curre ...
will produce a film adaptation. Screenwriter Chase Palmer will make his directorial debut with David Matthews writing the script, Anton distributing, and starring
John Boyega
John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film ''Attack the B ...
as Casi,
Olivia Cooke
Olivia Kate Cooke (born 27 December 1993) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Alicent Hightower in the fantasy drama television series '' House of the Dragon'' (2022–present). In television, she has starred as Emma Deco ...
, and
Bill Skarsgård
Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor. He is known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films '' It'' (2017) and ''It Chapter Two'' (2019). Other horror appearances were in the series '' Hemlock Grove'' (2 ...
. The film, titled ''
Naked Singularity
In general relativity, a naked singularity is a hypothetical gravitational singularity without an event horizon.
When there exists at least one causal geodesic that, in the future, extends either to an observer at infinity or to an observer com ...
,'' premiered at the
San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...
on 9 April 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naked Singularity, A
2008 American novels
2008 debut novels
Legal thriller novels
American novels adapted into films
Self-published books
Novels set in courtrooms