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royaz92's review against another edition
4.0
Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket, whoever you are: I'm warning you; I'll probably beat you to death someday. Or strangle you. Or something. I might be kidding, I might be not.
So right now, I'm a bit nauseated and by a bit I mean a lot. I'm also a bit confused and again, a bit equals a lot. What was that all about?
It was fun, at first. No, not fun, it was hilarious. It was my favorite piece of writing, ever. I had to memorize a myriad of sentences (Ha.)for further usage. But at a certain point, it got a bit gloomy (Remember the equation of a bit and a lot? Yeah, that.)and it was a gloomy kind of funny. And it was OK. But it didn't stop there. It went on, an on, and on. It reached the point when it wasn't just gloomy; it was a scary-gloomy kind of funny. Do you think that was the end? If yes, then you're wrong. Because it wan't. It was only the beginning - the last pages were mind/stomach-blowing, real life scary, you had to keep vomiting (mentally, of course. And in my case, really, as well. I was sick. Not from reading the book, although it probably had its fair share of contribution to my sickening/stomach turning/ rotten food projecting out of my mouth process.) Anyway, I'm totally nauseated and I'm not sure if it's the book, or the life.
Funnily enough, and surprisingly (not) enough, this book doesn't pass the Bechdel Test. Which I'm not sure applies to the books as well as the movies but what the hell. In case you don't know, it's basically a test examining whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Yeah, a Man. The female characters outnumber the male ones in this book, but still, it doesn't pass the test. Which is a little (a lot) annoying.
It reminded me of Robert Cormier's books: People are savages, and savages are people.
I'm going to throw up.
The book was fine, though.
(I know it was more of a rambling than a cohesive review, But I'm Sick! Life is Messed Up! People Are Savages!)
So right now, I'm a bit nauseated and by a bit I mean a lot. I'm also a bit confused and again, a bit equals a lot. What was that all about?
It was fun, at first. No, not fun, it was hilarious. It was my favorite piece of writing, ever. I had to memorize a myriad of sentences (Ha.)for further usage. But at a certain point, it got a bit gloomy (Remember the equation of a bit and a lot? Yeah, that.)and it was a gloomy kind of funny. And it was OK. But it didn't stop there. It went on, an on, and on. It reached the point when it wasn't just gloomy; it was a scary-gloomy kind of funny. Do you think that was the end? If yes, then you're wrong. Because it wan't. It was only the beginning - the last pages were mind/stomach-blowing, real life scary, you had to keep vomiting (mentally, of course. And in my case, really, as well. I was sick. Not from reading the book, although it probably had its fair share of contribution to my sickening/stomach turning/ rotten food projecting out of my mouth process.) Anyway, I'm totally nauseated and I'm not sure if it's the book, or the life.
Funnily enough, and surprisingly (not) enough, this book doesn't pass the Bechdel Test. Which I'm not sure applies to the books as well as the movies but what the hell. In case you don't know, it's basically a test examining whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Yeah, a Man. The female characters outnumber the male ones in this book, but still, it doesn't pass the test. Which is a little (a lot) annoying.
It reminded me of Robert Cormier's books: People are savages, and savages are people.
I'm going to throw up.
The book was fine, though.
(I know it was more of a rambling than a cohesive review, But I'm Sick! Life is Messed Up! People Are Savages!)
threadybeeps's review against another edition
5.0
Oh that was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Handler's way with words reminds me of other authors sometimes....Dodie Smith? Shirley Jackson?? Maybe???? And oh my God it was funny. So funny. If I wasn't shaking with laughter, I was saying, "DAMN THAT'S CRAZY!!!" over and over again. Well played, sir.
yearofbluewater's review against another edition
2.0
I'm clearly not cut out for unreliable narrator books. I say this as a disclaimer: out of the four I've read, this one received the highest rating, which should be pretty telling.
This book was fun, at least at first. The slew of characters whose names I forgot to associate with personalities, the petty drama, the self-conscious pretentiousness... I even laughed out loud a few times.
And then at some point, something just switched. Suddenly,, people were crying all the damn time, and everyone was doing drugs. It was fine, though, and still relatively entertaining. Until the party, where absolutely everything went down the drain.
These are not oh-I-wonder-what-happened-after-the-story questions. These are not irrelevant-but-fun-to-speculate-about questions. These are questions necessary for a basic understanding of the story. And none of them were answered.
Unreliable narrators are one thing, open-to-interpretation endings are another thing, but this? This felt like lazy writing. I made all of that effort, and for what? A confusing everyone-is-drunk scene that was actually a total waste of tree pulp and people throwing up and panicking.
Honestly, I feel incredibly betrayed on a very deep level. When I read a book, I expect an author to tell me a complete story. They don't have to spoon-feed me plot and character development, but they need to give me something! As in, an actually satisfying ending. Or at least one where the most important questions throughout the novel get answered?!
I guess I'm more upset than I thought I was, but, thinking back on it, The Basic Eight is unacceptable. I refuse to accept it. I simply cannot accept a book that doesn't finish a story. The Basic Eight dangled a box in front of me, promised me it would tell me what was inside, then poured champagne on my head, hit me with a croquet mallet, and stuffed my expectations in the trunk of a car, which was then crushed and thrown into a volcano. And if you think that's melodramatic, then you haven't read even a single chapter of The Basic Eight and should therefore really not be reading this clearly marked spoiler.
In conclusion: the unsatisfying ending bumped this book down from 3.5 to roughly 2.5 stars. This was both my second and my last novel by Daniel Handler.
This book was fun, at least at first. The slew of characters whose names I forgot to associate with personalities, the petty drama, the self-conscious pretentiousness... I even laughed out loud a few times.
And then at some point, something just switched. Suddenly,
Spoiler
there was an actual rape involved (which apparently no one reported)Spoiler
We never found out anything at all. Who was Natasha? Why was Adam acting the way he was? Why did only Flan get in trouble for the murder? Why wasn't Flan convicted for poisoning Mr. Carr? Was Flora a member of the Basic Eight the whole time? Is Flan actually fat? Why didn't Flan- or any of the Basic Eight- even attempt to report Flan's rape? Where are any of their parents throughout this story? Why was Flan so infatuated with Adam to begin with, if they apparently only had one conversation? Why didn't we get any answers at all??These are not oh-I-wonder-what-happened-after-the-story questions. These are not irrelevant-but-fun-to-speculate-about questions. These are questions necessary for a basic understanding of the story. And none of them were answered.
Unreliable narrators are one thing, open-to-interpretation endings are another thing, but this? This felt like lazy writing. I made all of that effort, and for what? A confusing everyone-is-drunk scene that was actually a total waste of tree pulp and people throwing up and panicking.
Honestly, I feel incredibly betrayed on a very deep level. When I read a book, I expect an author to tell me a complete story. They don't have to spoon-feed me plot and character development, but they need to give me something! As in, an actually satisfying ending. Or at least one where the most important questions throughout the novel get answered?!
I guess I'm more upset than I thought I was, but, thinking back on it, The Basic Eight is unacceptable. I refuse to accept it. I simply cannot accept a book that doesn't finish a story. The Basic Eight dangled a box in front of me, promised me it would tell me what was inside, then poured champagne on my head, hit me with a croquet mallet, and stuffed my expectations in the trunk of a car, which was then crushed and thrown into a volcano. And if you think that's melodramatic, then you haven't read even a single chapter of The Basic Eight and should therefore really not be reading this clearly marked spoiler.
In conclusion: the unsatisfying ending bumped this book down from 3.5 to roughly 2.5 stars. This was both my second and my last novel by Daniel Handler.
meredith_summers's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
librariann's review against another edition
5.0
(9/4/08 reread)
One of my all time favorites, I seem to forget just how good this book is until I pick it up again.
One of my all time favorites, I seem to forget just how good this book is until I pick it up again.
misslynette's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. Totally wasn't ready for that ending. I'm mixed on my feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it at times, but it dragged on at others. Probably just shouldn't read too many books by the same author in a row. Well-written though! I really felt like I was in the story at times. ...and eerie...that, too
kickpleat's review against another edition
2.0
Meh, I'm just not a fan of Daniel Handler. This was pretty much a fan letter to Heathers it seems, with it's smarty pants & cliquey characters. I figured out the twist early on so there was no big reveal either. Oh well, a summer read.
shelbyisbooked's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so fantastic, I had to sit alone in complete, jaw-open shock upon finishing it. But trust me, it's a very satisfying and delicious kind of shock. Please read this book!
shelbyisbooked's review against another edition
5.0
Will I ever find another book that slaps the way The Basic Eight does? For years I have searched in vain
izzymendes'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.