The Basic Eight: A Novel
by Daniel Handler
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Basic Eight: A Novel.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 473)
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
dawn
It was a good book, fun read, very Heather-like and a fabulous capstone/bookend (ha ha) for my "can't get enough gory, psychological, pretentious murder manifestos (manifesto, just in case you're taking this literally is far too strong a word for this book).
So, Daniel Handler. Yep, he's rad. I like Lemmony Snickets and all that jazz. I think it's great we have have a new Edward Gory in the world to scare/tantalize little children and remind them that bad little boys and girls will be d...more
So, Daniel Handler. Yep, he's rad. I like Lemmony Snickets and all that jazz. I think it's great we have have a new Edward Gory in the world to scare/tantalize little children and remind them that bad little boys and girls will be d...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
This was fun to read, but not quite the most wonderful book you will read in your life, contrary to what many of the reviews on Amazon.com would like you to believe. If it is the most wonderful book you've ever read, might I suggest broadening your horizons?
On the plus side:
• The voice of the first-person narrator (and murderess), Flannery Culp, is irresistible - smart, irreverent, quirky (OK, maybe a little insane as well), and highly entertaining.
• Handler is a good writ...more
On the plus side:
• The voice of the first-person narrator (and murderess), Flannery Culp, is irresistible - smart, irreverent, quirky (OK, maybe a little insane as well), and highly entertaining.
• Handler is a good writ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
I couldn't put this book down. It's similar to The Secret History- high school clique, someone they murdered, you read to find out how on earth and why it happened. I've been reading mystery cozy after cozy and never care who did it or why, but this story intrigued me. And when Handler gets to that, he doesn't disappoint. I enjoyed the format of Flan's diary, and I actually feel like I spent the weekend back in high school (except I didn't murder anyone in high school).
Comments to skip...more
Comments to skip...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of coming of age/high school clique genre
So if I had read this in high school I can guarantee you it would have been my favorite book at the time. It is an incredibly mean spirited high school drama with a sick twist, revolving around a clique of outcast/precocious/uppity/self-involved intellectuals, much like myself (or the self I thought of myself as) in high school. I can see myself at 15, reading The Basic Eight outside a coffee shop, listening to the dead milkmen on my walk-man and smoking clove cigarettes... oh so very cool. It's...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
The first couple hundred pages indicate that this is a satire of teenage angst and true-crime tabloid sensation that's even smarter, funnier, darker and more subversive than "Heathers" or "To Die For." Then it seems like a hackneyed twist is being foreshadowed. "No!" the reader's inner voice may cry. "The foreshadowing of a hackneyed twist like that in such a clever, subversive novel must certainly be a red herring! After all, this is the brilliant author b...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
recommended to Erica by:
Tatiana
Ok, T, here you go: Not a bad story by any means, but it can't decide if it wants to just be camp or if it's trying to say something serious. And rather than being original with that dichotomy, using it deliberately, this book just seems confused. It reads as if the author got lost about half-way through and forgot what exactly he was trying to do. And while in the hands of some that could be an interesting device, here it seems accidental. Also that leads the study questions to be more of a gim...more
Like this review?
yes
12 comments
Read in March, 2001
How do I love "The Basic Eight"? Let me count the ways. I love the delicious untrustworthiness of the narrator. I love the cheerfully horrifying violence. I love the snarky questions for the reader at the end of each chapter, textbook-style, that don't just remake the points but cleverly further the plot. I love the dizzying revelations at the end and I love the physical descriptions of the clothes, the disastrous party, the drunkenness. I think I'll go read it again right now.
Like this review?
yes
(3 people liked it)
2 comments
Read in April, 2008
Daniel Handler has always been an inspiration of entertainment ever since I got my hands on the Series of Unfortunate Events. The Basic Eight is a light, fun read and it's just simply perfect if you're looking for a witty book but it's not a book I'd categorize among my favorites.
It is well-written, no objections to that, for the voice of Flannery Culp. It fit her like royalty. If you hadn't known Daniel Handler's writing style, you'd never have figured out it was him writing it at all. It ...more
It is well-written, no objections to that, for the voice of Flannery Culp. It fit her like royalty. If you hadn't known Daniel Handler's writing style, you'd never have figured out it was him writing it at all. It ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2007
A fun read. Handler manages to get away from Lemony Snicket's prose but still remain entertaining and able to spin a decent plot. Ten years out of high school, it's hard to find high schoolers compelling, but the book has a very slightly surreal style that keeps things fresh. The last section of the plot, actually, is probably the weakest part of the book, but I've read worse, and it's worth soldiering through. If nothing else, read it for t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2006
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Precocious teenagers, misanthropes, absinthe lovers
It's obvious that this is a first novel. If you've read any of the Lemony Snicket books, you'll see where they came from. Despite its gimmicky plot, horribly precocious teenagers, and its overall grimness, I found myself entranced and enchanted about this book. The Basic Eight are who I wished I was in high school (hell, I wish I were like any of them now), and they're painted with an alternatingly endearing and maddening world-weary hopelessness but with just enough innocence to be likable. ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
This book was good--a fairly quick, engrossing read. I'm hesitant to say too much about the plot, as it was very reminiscent of another book--but to mention the title will totally ruin The Basic Eight, so you're best off just reading it for itself, and waiting until you're finished to put it down and rant, "That was just like ______________!"
In fact, the ending is why I only gave it 4 stars, instead of the 5 I was thinking it deserved until that point.
In fact, the ending is why I only gave it 4 stars, instead of the 5 I was thinking it deserved until that point.
Like this review?
yes
7 comments
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
book groups who appreciate black humor
Becky was right: this deliciously dark tale will appeal to fans of Heathers. I finished this book in about 24 hours and I can't stop thinking about it. Certain plot threads have yet to resolve themselves in my head, but I think that is exactly what would make this an excellent candidate for a book discussion. If your book club doesn't mind profanity, sex, violence, drug use or underage drinking.
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
recommends it for:
people who read b/w the line and love puns.
I liked this book because of the worldplay and Handler's style more than for the actual plot. The ending becomes obvious about a quarter of the way into the book, but I can't imagine that readers aren't supposed to be able to guess it. I didn't think the ending was that bad & I loved that the kids were so pretentious, and knew it. I felt as though Handler was mocking that personality type; a little bit of comic relief for the grim plot.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
While it would be really easy to compare this book to HEATHERS, there's something some much more complex with what Handler is trying to do. The narrator's own comments on her veracity make this a critque on the nature of "true crime" books and autobiography as much as it seems a commentary about the nature of teenage life and romance. And it never gets too bogged down in it's own self-importance. I really enjoyed this one.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2001
Amazing fractured narrative, twisted modern fiction.
I really should re-read this to get it all fresh in my mind, but I remember staying up until 6 in the morning because I couldn't go to bed without finishing. Has the plot twists and fill-in-the-blank disjoint style that I love.
This is the author that is a part of The Magnetic Fields (awesome Stephen Merrit band) and owner of the Lemony Snicket pseudonym.
I really should re-read this to get it all fresh in my mind, but I remember staying up until 6 in the morning because I couldn't go to bed without finishing. Has the plot twists and fill-in-the-blank disjoint style that I love.
This is the author that is a part of The Magnetic Fields (awesome Stephen Merrit band) and owner of the Lemony Snicket pseudonym.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
It's really a shame that another popular fiction basically stole the ending from this book, because most people will read it and say "Hey, wait a minute, didn't Handler steal this from [CENSORED]?" Fact is, it still holds up as an extremely satisfying and funny read. Some day me and Dan Handler will have a beer and I'll say "I love your stuff!" and he'll say "Great! Who are you, again?"
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2007
I didn't like this as much as I'd hoped to. I expected more feeling from Handler, somehow. Okay, I get that it's a satire of the teen drama genre, but the coldness and snootiness and teenness got to me somehow, but didn't leave much.
There were some good wry moments, a sort of "Serial Mom" hyperbolic rottenness that I appreciated.
There were some good wry moments, a sort of "Serial Mom" hyperbolic rottenness that I appreciated.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is about an 18 year old girl who murders the boy she's in love with because he's been sending her mixed messages. It is one of the sharpest, funniest books I've ever read. And despite the darkness, it never goes to a mean-spirited place -- in fact, it's kind of heartbreaking. The writing is so good, I find re-reading it comforting.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
