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114th out of 197 books
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158 voters
Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World: A Novel
In his first novel, Elect Mr. Robinson For a Better World, Donald Antrim demonstrates all of the skill that critics have hailed in his subsequent work: the pitch-perfect ear, the cunning imagination, and the uncanny control of a narrative at once familiar and incandescently strange.
In Pete Robinson’s seaside suburban town, things have, well, fallen into disrepair. The vote...more
In Pete Robinson’s seaside suburban town, things have, well, fallen into disrepair. The vote...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
April 10th 2001
by Vintage
(first published 1993)
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Oct 21, 2012
Tim Wood
marked it as to-read
By LYDIA KIESLING posted at 6:00 am on July 27, 2012
http://www.themillions.com/2012/07/el...
On three occasions I have performed my civic duty and worked as a poll inspector on election day, an experience for which I reaped the pride of performing one’s civic duty and 150 U.S. dollars.On the occasion of the 2008 primary election, I assisted a gentleman who, like many San Francisco citizens believing themselves to have registered as independent voters, had in fact checked the box for the far-far-r...more
http://www.themillions.com/2012/07/el...
On three occasions I have performed my civic duty and worked as a poll inspector on election day, an experience for which I reaped the pride of performing one’s civic duty and 150 U.S. dollars.On the occasion of the 2008 primary election, I assisted a gentleman who, like many San Francisco citizens believing themselves to have registered as independent voters, had in fact checked the box for the far-far-r...more
This book was given to me by a friend at work, and it is very strange. I will not put in a spoiler, but I was shocked by the end of the book, and it left me wondering whether it is actually very good. I think it is actually an extremely intelligent book, and cynically honest about human nature. But it is very, very weird.
The thing that is genius about this book is that it makes you like the main character, despite the fact that he is clearly unhinged and does terrible things. I am not sure anyo...more
The thing that is genius about this book is that it makes you like the main character, despite the fact that he is clearly unhinged and does terrible things. I am not sure anyo...more
Welcome to my review. I had a hard time deciding how many stars to give this. I mean I have given so many books 5 and this is almost as good as those books logically then a solid four stars, but this feels like a 3 star book. I think 5 stars maybe too many for me to handle and I may begin only using ratings of 1, 3 and 5. 1 being this book should never have been written. 3 being okay but I could have lived without it and 5 being I can't believe I didn't read this book 10 years ago. And actually...more
I have not read something this well written in a long time. Antrim's language is formal and fastidious without being fussy. The result is pitch-perfect. The setting is surreal to the point that it takes on a life of its own, becomes a character in its own right. It sounds like the Truman Show, but with fortifications and bulwarks. Pete's unraveling is quiet, complete, and rendered in subtleties that would be easy to miss because of the beguiling readability and tone of Pete as a narrator. The sa...more
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Le 170 pagine più lunghe della mia vita!! Premetto che provo un odio profondo per i libri senza capitoli, faccio davvero fatica a leggerli, per quanto accattivanti possano essere. Aggiungiamo che qui, oltre a non esserci capitoli, non c'erano neanche paragrafi staccati da uno spazio, neanche uno ogni tanto, dico, neanche per sbaglio...e a tutto questo, aggiungiamo anche che per 150 pagine su 170 si fa fatica a capire dove si voglia andare a parare, e che le ultime 20 pagine non fanno che conferm...more
The best of the trilogy, and, to me, the key to understanding The Verificationist and The Hundred Brothers. Antrim gives us, in this novel, a suburban America where violence is so normalized, so banalized, that home-owners create elaborate moats, fences, punjab pits and other defenses to scare away potential threatening visitors. The mayor, drawn and quartered by Toyotas after firing a Stinger missle into the Botanical Garden, states that all of the members of this sea-side community are "murder...more
I can't remember how I first learned of this book, but I seem to recall hearing it was about a teacher who decides to run for mayor.
And it is. But...
Let's take a look at the last line of the first paragraph:
I want to call to Helen, to wave and exchange greetings, but I know she'll never acknowledge me after the awful things that happened to little Sarah Miller, early last week, down in my basement.
Okay.
Then there's this:
Many picnickers died that day. I recall Ray walking up Main, oblivious to t...more
And it is. But...
Let's take a look at the last line of the first paragraph:
I want to call to Helen, to wave and exchange greetings, but I know she'll never acknowledge me after the awful things that happened to little Sarah Miller, early last week, down in my basement.
Okay.
Then there's this:
Many picnickers died that day. I recall Ray walking up Main, oblivious to t...more
6 likes · like · see review
Really good book....so very sharp and thought provoking. I found most of the novel to be both surreal, yet strangely plausible at the same time. Could we as a society ever get to the point at which this community found itself? Sometimes I'm not sure I can say no.
I thought the scene in the park where the "Neanderthals" were discussing the merits of the books they were throwing at the possible landlines to be particularly funny.
I feel like we were definitely given glimpses into Pete's way of think...more
Wow. Reminiscent of White Noise. Due to a private family feud held on public land, and the exploding of Stinger Rockets in a town square which kill many; citizens of Mr. Robinson's town adopt moats, mines and other devices to arm and protect their homes. Mr. Robinson, who previously worked as a public school teacher prior to the closing of public services due to violence, and has a surfeit of knowledge on the history of torture, decides to open up a school for the local children in his home.
I re...more
I re...more
Another one of those quotidian novels set in an unhinged universe (which all owe some debt of gratitude to Philip K Dick). The book takes place in a staid seaide town with a relaxed attitude towards extreme violence: the local park is studded with landmines and the residents one-up each other to see who has the most elegant death-pit in their yard.
Our eponymous hero is a pedantic, though personable schoolteacher attempting to start up an elementary school in his dank basement (the town's only s...more
Our eponymous hero is a pedantic, though personable schoolteacher attempting to start up an elementary school in his dank basement (the town's only s...more
I usually give books longer before I quit them, but I only made it about 30 pages in this one. I could have stuck it out and read the whole thing, but I just really wasn't enjoying where the plot was going. I think, for someone who wanted something more anarchic / out of the ordinary / whatever, this could have been a good book - it just wasn't what I was interested in reading.
In short, maybe not a bad book, but a bad choice on my part.
In short, maybe not a bad book, but a bad choice on my part.
Antrim is truly one of a kind. He twists the small town world in a way that is horrifying at the same time that it feels completely normal (in an insane kind of way, of course). The mundane and the utterly bizarre are just so perfectly blended, the same way that humor and tragedy are blended, that I couldn't help but love this book. I found myself feeling several contradictory things while reading, but I was feeling nevertheless. In short, this is some amazing writing. I was enthralled from the...more
Maybe I'm too conventional or suburban or vanilla or whatever, but the ending of this book does not work for me. While I expected something bad to happen -- something other than what did happen -- I held out hope that I would be wrong. There were many funny scenes, albeit quite dark. They are not worth how I feel after finishing this book. Thus, my low rating.
His writing is kind of like what I remember Don Delillo being like. I actually think I liked this better than White Noise. Set in a sort of pre-apocalyptic community somewhere near the gulf coast. There is never any mention of law or legality in the entire book, although there is quite a bit of mayhem.
What would happen if Chuck Palahniuk, Judy Budnitz, and Denis Johnson were trapped in an elevator with books by Nabokov, David Foster Wallace, and Beckett? That doesn't even quite capture how hilarious, sharp and original this book was. I was very impressed with this Antrim fellow.
I was planning to give this book four stars or maybe even three... the first half or 2/3rds of this book are nice but not stellar and it took me a bit to get into. But the last third is so amazingly messed up and awesome that I have to give this five. A sick, funny man, this Antrim.
This satirical novella offers plenty of outrageousness and wit, with its descriptions of a suburban Florida ocean-side town sliding into paranoia and the post-apocalyptic. Mr. Robinson, a former 3rd grade teacher, really thinks he is a source of reason who can save the town-- with slogans like: "PETE ROBINSON FOR PEACE ON EARTH" or "A VOTE FOR ROBINSON IS A VOTE FOR SANITY." Despite the whimsical and ridiculous setting, there is a lot to find familiar, I thought it would be more cartoonish than...more
Very quirky little novella. I'll give it points for being very different, somewhat funny, and definitely not boring. It reminds me of a campy Quentin Tarantino film. That being said, it's downright sick at times. Dark humor at the least. Not for everyone.
A strange tale of a town gone badly wrong. Houses are surrounded with snake/bamboo/glass-filled pits, feuding families have littered the park with land-mines and Pete Robinson, having arranged for the drawing and quartering of the mayor, is preparing the school he is setting up in his basement. He is fascinated by torture and has a model of a torture chamber in the schoolroom, what influence is he going to be on the students?
The cover said 'hilarious', well I didn't laugh out loud but I certainl...more
The cover said 'hilarious', well I didn't laugh out loud but I certainl...more
A very Philip K Dick title and theme. Tales of life in the not too distant future, and not too distant suburbs. A disturbing read, especially the ending, so brace yourself.
Imagine David Lynch collaborating with Alexander Payne and you've got something close, but not quite as interesting as this book. I've found a kindred spirit here. Antrim's prose style carries the reader along as though he were a leaf on briskly moving creek. He is able to make wildly imaginative leaps, transitioning from past to present memory, yet still maintain a coherent undertow of pathos. This book has everything I look for in a story (though I would consider this a novel length short stor...more
His "The Verificationist" means more to me on an emotional level but this is a near-perfect, sui generis novel that deserves to be more widely read.
Another darkly funny satire by Antrim. When I first started reading Antrim I thought he was insane until I realized that it's really brilliance.
A completely scathing social satire that's possibly one of the funniest things I've read. I laughed out loud, I winced, and I gave it away immediately.
It's the story of this fellow in this small American town who tries to open a school so that he can become mayor or somesuch. But it's more a commentary on how incredibly insecure people can be, and consequently, how horrible and utterly absurd they can be to one another. For example: Look for the scene where the pack of men walk around the park t...more
It's the story of this fellow in this small American town who tries to open a school so that he can become mayor or somesuch. But it's more a commentary on how incredibly insecure people can be, and consequently, how horrible and utterly absurd they can be to one another. For example: Look for the scene where the pack of men walk around the park t...more
Esoteric, funny, strange and beautifully written. One of the most original American novels i have read. Recommend.
More ~4.5 stars.
"I saw you down there, Pete. You became a magnificent Great Plains bison. You almost kicked me in the face."
"I saw you down there, Pete. You became a magnificent Great Plains bison. You almost kicked me in the face."
Jan 26, 2013
Cynthia
added it
A very odd ... disturbing ... pretentious?? ... can't figure it out and couldn't finish
Brilliant book. 5-star talent, and understandably a 5-star read for some. (I'm loyal to the "like it" rating scale.)
I've read some reviews where people stumbled upon the book, or were given the book, and started reading without really knowing what it's about and how it's told. Don't do that.
If you do read this book, take your time. I read it too quickly and may read it again.
It's dark and disturbing and funny and astute. As the story goes on, you can tell something is going to go very wrong. And...more
I've read some reviews where people stumbled upon the book, or were given the book, and started reading without really knowing what it's about and how it's told. Don't do that.
If you do read this book, take your time. I read it too quickly and may read it again.
It's dark and disturbing and funny and astute. As the story goes on, you can tell something is going to go very wrong. And...more
Challenging and brilliant--and hilarious.
Great read but a bit too magical for my taste.
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Donald Antrim is an American novelist. His first novel, Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World, was published in 1993. In 1999 The New Yorker named him as among the twenty best writers under the age of forty.
Antrim is a frequent contributor of fiction to The New Yorker and has written a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Verificationist and The Hundred Brothers, which was a finali...more
More about Donald Antrim...
Antrim is a frequent contributor of fiction to The New Yorker and has written a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Verificationist and The Hundred Brothers, which was a finali...more
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