Scan barcode
morganlouise's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Death, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
christinajleaf's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyable read. Fun plot and the writing was lovely and funny, both subtly and blatantly.
izzymenzies's review against another edition
4.0
"May we generally be happy, generally be witty, generally be honest, but above all always be interesting."
I will start out with the obvious: This book makes me want to die. It is probably my favourite non-reread book of the year, and with good fucking reason. But first, a synopsis. The Basic Eight follows Flannery and a group of her friends as they commit a murder. It's about the lead up to the murder, and toward the end, the aftermath.
Why did I like this book so much? Simple. Flannery fucking Culp. I don't think it would be bold of me to say that she is my favourite character in all of literature. As the quote above states, she is generally witty and interesting (happy and honest is a bit of a toss-up), so witty and interesting that she made me insecure about how witty and interesting I am. And I am very witty and interesting.
Other than her, though, I also adored the friend group in this novel. They weren't The Secret History dysfunctional, but they were still very much so. Another thing I loved was the twist: So well foreshadowed; so unexpected. The only things making me hesitate giving this novel a five star, or even a full four, are a) the pacing (slow and quite messy) and b) the climax (too disconcerting for my control-craving ass).
In summation, this novel may just be the peak of literature, and is generally witty and interesting.
shalanna's review against another edition
4.0
The Basic Eight is a sarcastic read about a group of high schoolers navigating their senior year. Throughout the book, I couldn't help but feel like Daniel Handler was making fun of the way our society raises and treats teenager, especially when one of them commits murder. (Winnie Moprah, perhaps a nod making fun of Oprah Winfrey???).
The group of friends seem like a narcissistic bunch who are close to each other, and yet are snarky and rude to one another under the guise of joking. They are an intelligent, sophisticated group of near adults, yet immature by miles. They host dinner parties all throughout the year and at the last party, a garden party at one of the Basic Eights homes, Flannery Culp, our unreliable narrator, murders a fellow student whom she has been crushing on the entire year. Culp is psychotic to the max and you can't ever trust what she writes down to tell you because she is oftentimes lying about what happened or how it actually happened. The book finally makes one final twist that for me, was not a surprise at all because I began to suspect early on. Whether you suspected this twist or not, it's still an interesting development that I wish Flannery would have spent more time elaborating on.
While there are some questionable parts of the book (i.e. the school immediately announces all kinds of details about the murder the very next day after the body is discovered), it is a good read that leaves you questioning your perspective of many things relating to the story. It makes me want to go back and read it again now that my suspicions about our lying narrator have been confirmed.
The group of friends seem like a narcissistic bunch who are close to each other, and yet are snarky and rude to one another under the guise of joking. They are an intelligent, sophisticated group of near adults, yet immature by miles. They host dinner parties all throughout the year and at the last party, a garden party at one of the Basic Eights homes, Flannery Culp, our unreliable narrator, murders a fellow student whom she has been crushing on the entire year. Culp is psychotic to the max and you can't ever trust what she writes down to tell you because she is oftentimes lying about what happened or how it actually happened. The book finally makes one final twist that for me, was not a surprise at all because I began to suspect early on. Whether you suspected this twist or not, it's still an interesting development that I wish Flannery would have spent more time elaborating on.
While there are some questionable parts of the book (i.e. the school immediately announces all kinds of details about the murder the very next day after the body is discovered), it is a good read that leaves you questioning your perspective of many things relating to the story. It makes me want to go back and read it again now that my suspicions about our lying narrator have been confirmed.
dilemma's review against another edition
5.0
Handler is really really good at creating believable narratives from a female perspective (this is an observation I am making after having read two of his female-narrated books). The characters are all so varied and Flannery is so good and rich and boy really flawed and it's so interesting to read.
And of my favorite aspects of the whole book is how she goes back and corrects all of her dangling prepositions/grammatically incorrect sentences because it is her only way of making things right/straightening things out/finding something unambiguously correct in such an ambiguous world. And I like that a lot!
It's very good and Daniel Handler is very good.
And of my favorite aspects of the whole book is how she goes back and corrects all of her dangling prepositions/grammatically incorrect sentences because it is her only way of making things right/straightening things out/finding something unambiguously correct in such an ambiguous world. And I like that a lot!
It's very good and Daniel Handler is very good.
kdmanske's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely dark comedy from Daniel Handler. I was very entertained by this wicked, twisted book.
hollybop's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed it a lot but good god, the 'twist' was so disappointingly unoriginal that it ruined it. A star knocked off for that.