In reviewing Daniel Handler’s
The Basic Eight, which I really did not like, I will try to keep in mind a
notion I held onto throughout its 380 pages. Since Handler, known mainly for his
children’s series A Series of Unfortunate Events under the nom de plume Lemony
Snicket, I approach this book as if it were written for kids, or at least young
adults whose parents are not buying them books anymore. But a lot of what is in
this book, including sex scenes and curse words points to that not being the
case. But it is the only way I can explain away how full of itself this book
is, and how thoroughly unlikable and thinly drawn everyone is in this book. Nothing
seems to ring true and everything is tinted with a thick layer of
self-indulgence, that even when the book succeeds at being funny, it is very
hard to ignore its pretentiousness. The story is made of the journal entries of
a young girl named Flannery Culp, a member of “The Basic Eight” a group of
smart, successful students at Roewer High School that are as annoying as they
sound. We hear about the intricacies of this group, the past relationship between
Flannery and Gabriel, and a thoroughly creepy biology teacher, but mainly
Flannery’s crush on Adam State, which leads to a brutal murder on the eve of
Halloween at a cast party for the school’s production of Macbeth. As I said the
jokes are funny, especially the “would I” one, but they are very telegraphed
and don’t come naturally, and despite a last second epilogue that brings
everything into question, it is hard to get away from idea that this Handler
being self-congratulatory about his time in high school. But when I judge it as
a young adult book, I guess it is not so bad if you are into that genre, which I
am not.
Rating: 3/5
It was Othello, not Macbeth, which is a pivotal part of the plot, the genius of which seems to have escaped you entirely. If you're going to write a blog about books, at least check your grammar. Incomprehensible.
ReplyDelete