Scan barcode
drpretentious's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Rich’s books of humorous sketches—especially [b:Free-Range Chickens|2714071|Free-Range Chickens|Simon Rich|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267046870s/2714071.jpg|2739617]—totally cracked me up. However this, his debut novel, disappointed me. The plot sounded promising: Seymour, an unpopular nonentity at his New York private school, is befriended/falls into the clutches of rich, deeply fucked up con artist Elliot Allagash. Sounds sort of like [b:The Great Gatsby|4671|The Great Gatsby|F. Scott Fitzgerald|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1273944449s/4671.jpg|245494] if Gatsby were evil, or [b:The Catcher in the Rye|5107|The Catcher in the Rye|J.D. Salinger|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517671s/5107.jpg|3036731] if Holden had the emotional energy to scheme. (Note: I said sort of.) I usually love that type of thing. But this book is just...airless. It’s predictable and not that funny—certainly nowhere near as amusing as anything in Free-Range Chickens. Rich propels the narrative along pretty well, and the book is a fast read, but when I finished I realized that he had never made me care about the eponymous character at all. I think that’s a problem: if Elliot managed to charm Seymour enough to suck him in, he should be able to do the same for the reader. Otherwise Seymour is just a chump, and Elliot Allagash isn’t worth having a novel named after him.
meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
At its best, this approaches the works of Daniel Pinkwater in its zany and original hilarity. The tale is simple enough: the most unpopular boy in middle school is adopted as a pet project by Elliot Allagash, a new classmate of unimaginable wealth. Elliot promises he can make even the nerdiest, most hopeless case the most popular person in school. The short novel can't quite sustain the height of its beginnings, and by the end has become more conventional and the narrator ends up learning a lesson and growing as a person.
bhsmith's review against another edition
4.0
Elliot Allagash sat on my bookshelf for quite a long time suffering from several afflictions: I could not remember who recommended I read this book. It has a dreadful cover. It has an awkward title. And, so, it sat for quite a few months before I finally decided to just pick it up and start reading... to get it over with.
Lucky for me, the book quickly eliminated any reservations I had about reading it, and got me turning pages very quickly. In fact, I read it over the course of just a couple sittings - a few hours - in two days. The story moves quickly and easily keeps you entertained.
To quickly summarize: Elliot Allagash has immeasurable wealth and often uses that wealth to manipulate the world around him... in a way you could only do with that kind of money. His latest target is the kid in school with no friends, no smarts and nothing going for him. The challenge is to take that kid and help him climb the ladder of success. Though a series of amusing and ever-escalating stunts, this book follows the path of Elliot's quest.
Simon Rich does a great job laying out the characters in this book, making us care for each of them in unique ways, and then crafting some witty and creative interactions with the rest of the world.
This is a quick, simple book to read, but well worth the few hours you give it.
Lucky for me, the book quickly eliminated any reservations I had about reading it, and got me turning pages very quickly. In fact, I read it over the course of just a couple sittings - a few hours - in two days. The story moves quickly and easily keeps you entertained.
To quickly summarize: Elliot Allagash has immeasurable wealth and often uses that wealth to manipulate the world around him... in a way you could only do with that kind of money. His latest target is the kid in school with no friends, no smarts and nothing going for him. The challenge is to take that kid and help him climb the ladder of success. Though a series of amusing and ever-escalating stunts, this book follows the path of Elliot's quest.
Simon Rich does a great job laying out the characters in this book, making us care for each of them in unique ways, and then crafting some witty and creative interactions with the rest of the world.
This is a quick, simple book to read, but well worth the few hours you give it.
starryeved's review against another edition
2.0
Fun premise, but to what end? What motivations and resolutions? What development? At the end Elliot Allagash leaves you only wondering, of all things, what and why.
sharonskinner's review against another edition
2.0
This is an interesting perspective on the subject of growing up and seeking ways to navigate school and social life as a teenage boy. However, I honestly didn't get the humor in this book. Perhaps, one needs to be a teenage boy to really get it.
cousinrachel's review against another edition
2.0
Great beginning with a quirky, Gorey-like vibe. I thought it would turn into the protagonist being pushed to do crazy immoral things but it was more like he just decided to get bored with elliot. Limp ending.
nickdouglas's review against another edition
3.0
Cute and quick (pretty much a clever YA book), but I'd rather binge on Rich's best format, the ironic imagined dialog.