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Son of Interflux
Even though his father is Senior Executive Vice President of Interflux, Simon leads his high school classmates in thwarting the giant corporation's plan to build a new complex and take over some city land.
274 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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280 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Korman
258 books4,491 followersGordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
February 1, 2008
YA. I think -- I'm pretty sure -- that this is just as awesome as I remembered it. More, even, because this time through I could see a lot of parallels to Heller's Catch-22, which made me love it even more. It's got Korman's trademark geeks (ambitious, lovable, misdirected) engaging in shenanigans (large-scale, ill-advised, can-only-end-badly) and coming out the better for it, winning their battles, even if they lose the war.
Simon Irving (who accidentally gets into the system as Irving Simon) has just been accepted to Nassau Arts High School. He wants to be a painter, but his dad, senior executive vice-president of Interflux -- a company that only makes parts of things, like zipper teeth -- wants his son to go into business. Simon's determined to fit in at his new school and if that means taking a stand against the nearby Interflux complex, so be it. And thus begins a comedy of bureaucracy, student government, and worms.
Some of the things I love about this book: Querada; Sam and his camels (the moment he unveils his final painting is sublime); Querada and Sam; the aura surrounding Nathan Kruppman and his film Omni.
I only wish Korman had put some girl power in here. This story needed a kick-ass girl. Sadly, writing women is one of his biggest weaknesses; he just tends not to.
Four stars for art students and nerd power.
Simon Irving (who accidentally gets into the system as Irving Simon) has just been accepted to Nassau Arts High School. He wants to be a painter, but his dad, senior executive vice-president of Interflux -- a company that only makes parts of things, like zipper teeth -- wants his son to go into business. Simon's determined to fit in at his new school and if that means taking a stand against the nearby Interflux complex, so be it. And thus begins a comedy of bureaucracy, student government, and worms.
Some of the things I love about this book: Querada; Sam and his camels (the moment he unveils his final painting is sublime); Querada and Sam; the aura surrounding Nathan Kruppman and his film Omni.
I only wish Korman had put some girl power in here. This story needed a kick-ass girl. Sadly, writing women is one of his biggest weaknesses; he just tends not to.
Four stars for art students and nerd power.
April 8, 2008
I think every kid wants high school to work out the way Gordon Korman writes it.
October 8, 2015
Gordon Korman seems to be writing more thrillers and sports books nowadays, but when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s he was a young Canadian humorist who write his first book at 12 years old (published when he was 14) and fell in love with NYC. No one else at school had ever heard of him, but he was even funnier than Daniel Pinkwater, who my friend liked. Sure, a couple of the Bruno and Boots books are slight, and apparently the primitive computer tech in The War With Mr. Wizzle throws off women my mother's age who hate computers when they try to read the book. But the following Gordon Korman novels remain among the funniest things I have ever read:
Go Jump In The Pool
I Want To Go Home
The War With Mr. Wizzle
No Coins, Please
Don't Care High
Son Of Interflux
Interflux: the largest and richest corporation on the planet, started in 1807 to manufacture the device that connects the toilet seat to the toilet. They contribute to the production of 75% of the world's ballpoint pens by making billions of tiny balls for the ball points. "In fact, Interflux controls a staggering ninety-four and four-tenths percent of the world's zipper teeth market." -Newstime Magazine, October 23, 1985
Son of Interflux is about what happens when Simon Irving's family moves to another new town and he receives his 847,527th pep talk about Interflux from his Interflux senior executive vice-president father. It is also the story of Sotirios "Sam" Stavrinidis, who cannot stop painting camels.
It is the story of Emil Querada, the greatest, funniest, and possibly most violent art teacher of all time.
It is not at all the story of which Greenbush, NY Town Hall filing cabinet constitutes the Greenbush, NY Land Office or of the ledger labelled Mah Jongg Money, April '81 To October '82, and I've always wondered what exactly the clerks knew and were laughing at, besides the inherent amusement in anyone actually trying to buy the late Mr. Schuyler's land from its subsequent owner, the town of Greenbush.
But what happens when the world's biggest corporation leaves something to chance, and a bunch of high school students try to prevent them from bulldozing and paving over their favourite piece of school green space?
Notably, this novel also contains a shout-out from Korman to my home city of Albany: "'Seven times in the last eight years, a Querada student has won the New York State Vishnik prize. Last year a creep from Albany won. This year it will be a Querada student again --' his voice rose sharply in pitch, '-- or I will know the reason why!' He punctuated this last statement by pounding on his desk so hard that a paperweight of Atlantic City took flight and shattered on the floor, spraying water and artificial snow on Simon's shoes. The artist smiled. 'Welcome to my class.'" (p8-9)
Go Jump In The Pool
I Want To Go Home
The War With Mr. Wizzle
No Coins, Please
Don't Care High
Son Of Interflux
Interflux: the largest and richest corporation on the planet, started in 1807 to manufacture the device that connects the toilet seat to the toilet. They contribute to the production of 75% of the world's ballpoint pens by making billions of tiny balls for the ball points. "In fact, Interflux controls a staggering ninety-four and four-tenths percent of the world's zipper teeth market." -Newstime Magazine, October 23, 1985
Son of Interflux is about what happens when Simon Irving's family moves to another new town and he receives his 847,527th pep talk about Interflux from his Interflux senior executive vice-president father. It is also the story of Sotirios "Sam" Stavrinidis, who cannot stop painting camels.
It is the story of Emil Querada, the greatest, funniest, and possibly most violent art teacher of all time.
It is not at all the story of which Greenbush, NY Town Hall filing cabinet constitutes the Greenbush, NY Land Office or of the ledger labelled Mah Jongg Money, April '81 To October '82, and I've always wondered what exactly the clerks knew and were laughing at, besides the inherent amusement in anyone actually trying to buy the late Mr. Schuyler's land from its subsequent owner, the town of Greenbush.
But what happens when the world's biggest corporation leaves something to chance, and a bunch of high school students try to prevent them from bulldozing and paving over their favourite piece of school green space?
Notably, this novel also contains a shout-out from Korman to my home city of Albany: "'Seven times in the last eight years, a Querada student has won the New York State Vishnik prize. Last year a creep from Albany won. This year it will be a Querada student again --' his voice rose sharply in pitch, '-- or I will know the reason why!' He punctuated this last statement by pounding on his desk so hard that a paperweight of Atlantic City took flight and shattered on the floor, spraying water and artificial snow on Simon's shoes. The artist smiled. 'Welcome to my class.'" (p8-9)
March 26, 2018
Thankfully still fun when read many years later.
January 10, 2023
Rereading a classic Gordon Korman story from the 1980s, it's as funny and delightful as ever. Korman has the ability to create great characters, chart a good plot and interject a panoply of hilarious running jokes and incidents into the story. Son of Interflux even manages to run an anti-corporate storyline without becoming ideologically annoying (and unfunny).
February 12, 2019
An old favorite, still delightful in its details and characters. Some books just stick with you, I guess.
I don’t think Korman gets enough credit as an author. He dominates the scholastic book orders, and he writes fun, exciting middle-grade trilogies with the occasional gem thrown in. No More Dead Dogs? I still think about that book sometimes.
I tore through all of his works when I was in elementary school and maybe it’s just nostalgia, but I feel like I’d enjoy them just as much if I reread them now.
I don’t think Korman gets enough credit as an author. He dominates the scholastic book orders, and he writes fun, exciting middle-grade trilogies with the occasional gem thrown in. No More Dead Dogs? I still think about that book sometimes.
I tore through all of his works when I was in elementary school and maybe it’s just nostalgia, but I feel like I’d enjoy them just as much if I reread them now.
May 22, 2022
There are books and movies that I first experienced as an adolescent that are impossible to evaluate objectively as an adult. This is one of those. Would Gordon Korman's comedic young adult books still be funny to me if I were reading them for the first time in my thirties? I have to wonder. But this book still gave me plenty of snickers and smiles, and I don't really care how big a role nostalgia played in that.
April 19, 2020
I discovered this book in middle school and I still go back and re-read it every couple of years. It's always laugh-out-loud hilarious! I love the zany characters, the ridiculous situations and brilliant conversations. I can't wait to introduce my almost-9 year old daughter to this story. Definitely one of my all time favorite books!
January 8, 2017
Rereading January 2017.
April 27, 2024
Originally published in 1986 this was fifth standalone novel written by Korman, and it was the twelfth novel he published. And what an awesome tale it is. A few years ago mid-summer, Korman published his 100th book. Yes, you read that correctly, his hundredth book. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then, I have read over 40 of his books. With each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. My son often reads these books to me or with me. I picked up this to read because I am alternating between his oldest and newest as I work through his complete works.
The current description of this volume states:
“It pays to be an underdog-especially when you end up on top! Simon's father is the head of Interflux, the largest manufacturer of useless things in the world. Now Interflux wants to build a factory right on top of Simon's school. So what does Simon do? He "reinvests" the Student Council funds, invents an alter ego, buys a useless piece of strip land for a lot of money, and comes up with a new concept in corporate structure called Antiflux. And if you think that sounds crazy, you should see what he does next!”
The original description I believe was:
“Even from a distance, Simon could see the long, thin, erratic strip marked out on the map, to the northwest of the Interflux property.
‘Lot 1346B’, he said in a voice that impressed him wioth its steadiness. ‘I Hear it’s available …’
The senior clerk consulted a large ledger marked strangely, Mah Jongg Money, April ’81 to October ‘92/ ‘The Back Taxes are sixty-seven hun dred eight dollars and thirty-five cents.’
‘I’ll take it.’ Said Simon.”
This is a really interesting story. I am really enjoying some of these earlier Korman works. This is a hilarious story of a son that decides to stick it to his father’s company. He knows in the long run he can’t win. But he can be a thorn in the side for a long time. It is intriguing watching the father and so go head to head over a small abandoned strip of land. The son just doing it because he can, the Dan because it is his job. And through it all they buddy up against the mom and her bazaar food trends.
This is a wonderful story about friends, friendships, and finding your place in the world. At an elite art school Simon find his place and a way to stick it to his dad. It is a wonderful High School story.
Another excellent read from Korman’s masterful pen.
The current description of this volume states:
“It pays to be an underdog-especially when you end up on top! Simon's father is the head of Interflux, the largest manufacturer of useless things in the world. Now Interflux wants to build a factory right on top of Simon's school. So what does Simon do? He "reinvests" the Student Council funds, invents an alter ego, buys a useless piece of strip land for a lot of money, and comes up with a new concept in corporate structure called Antiflux. And if you think that sounds crazy, you should see what he does next!”
The original description I believe was:
“Even from a distance, Simon could see the long, thin, erratic strip marked out on the map, to the northwest of the Interflux property.
‘Lot 1346B’, he said in a voice that impressed him wioth its steadiness. ‘I Hear it’s available …’
The senior clerk consulted a large ledger marked strangely, Mah Jongg Money, April ’81 to October ‘92/ ‘The Back Taxes are sixty-seven hun dred eight dollars and thirty-five cents.’
‘I’ll take it.’ Said Simon.”
This is a really interesting story. I am really enjoying some of these earlier Korman works. This is a hilarious story of a son that decides to stick it to his father’s company. He knows in the long run he can’t win. But he can be a thorn in the side for a long time. It is intriguing watching the father and so go head to head over a small abandoned strip of land. The son just doing it because he can, the Dan because it is his job. And through it all they buddy up against the mom and her bazaar food trends.
This is a wonderful story about friends, friendships, and finding your place in the world. At an elite art school Simon find his place and a way to stick it to his dad. It is a wonderful High School story.
Another excellent read from Korman’s masterful pen.
February 3, 2018
So very dated, but somehow still current. What do you do when your dad's multinational corporation goes against everything you believe in, and is actively trying to destroy the environment around your art school? Start up a counter-corporation to stop them, and get the whole student body involved.
What I particularly liked about this was how Dad and Son have this huge issue between them--but they're still able to hang out as father and son. (This is partly because Mom banned all politics from the house, but still.)
Funny, quirky, with a good underlying message of working together.
What I particularly liked about this was how Dad and Son have this huge issue between them--but they're still able to hang out as father and son. (This is partly because Mom banned all politics from the house, but still.)
Funny, quirky, with a good underlying message of working together.
March 1, 2019
Pretty damn awesome! What a fun little read. Not as hilarious as No Coins, Please! but also some somewhat older and more sophisticated characters. There’s something that I love about not only just the “little guy” pulling one over on “the man” but it’s seemingly more fun when the “little guy” is a kid. These two books and the movie Kidco ( Twentieth Century Fox, 1984) create sort of a mini genre in which I wish there was more material.
January 28, 2022
An absolutely delightful YA novel that verges on bildungsroman, Son of Interflux has all the Korman hallmarks that we've come to expect : it's a post-modern comedy that also looks at the perils of teenage life, and is filled with wonderful, vivid, heightened-yet-believable secondary characters. It also has some bittersweet notes that stand out, which is something rare for Korman, and which make Son of Interflux a particularly special book.
October 25, 2019
I've always loved Gordon Korman's books and don't mind reading any I find, even if they're meant for middle grade readers. He does use a formula of the MC making an impulsive or crazy decision and the hilarious fallout the follows, but his laugh-out-loud characters are worth discovering. Son of Interflux did not disappoint.
March 12, 2018
Fun times.
September 19, 2019
Another great early Korman. Lots of side plots, but everything is resolved satisfactorily.
Laughed out loud for some of it, rare to get such a rounded book.
Laughed out loud for some of it, rare to get such a rounded book.
July 7, 2020
B. fiction, teen, humor, teenagers, grand schemes, "Samson vs. Goliath," from stash, keep
October 6, 2020
dont get the fuss abt it
September 18, 2022
Laughable in the best way, like all of Gordon Korman's books.
April 4, 2024
Simon Irving/Irving Simon. Holds up SHOCKINGLY well for being 40 years old!
May 6, 2025
My favorite Gordon Korman. The highlights are camels, the banana scene, and any scene with Querada.
October 21, 2025
Everyone has an Interflux in their lives. And we all want to Antiflux them.
June 8, 2012
Confession time: I wish I could write wacky middle grade and YA novels like Gordon Kormon! I absolutely love his sense of humor! Son of Interflux is probably my favorite story of his. I laughed from beginning to end. Check out this excerpt:
"I can't stand the sight of Long Island!" Johnny announced with much emphasis as he and Simon gathered equipment for their first experiment. "What a hole!"
Stunned that Johnny should feel moved to make such a statement, apropos of nothing, Simon could only manage a week, "Huh?"
Johnny pointed out the window. "Look at that. It makes me sick. A plastic civilization with paper dolls for people. They're all dead out there. They think they're alive, but they're dead. The only thing that's real on Long Island is the boredom. That's it. Nothing else."
"Uh - uh - is there somewhere - better?"
The sheer absurdity of this question caused Johnny to squeeze his eyedropper, spraying vicious red liquid on Simon's shoes. "The city, man! New York! That's what life is about. But not the city they show in the tourist booklets; the real city! Tenement housing -cockroaches - rats! That's real! To freeze all winter and sweat all summer, and write great songs by the light of a bare bulb in an eight-by-eight cold-water walk-up with crumbling plaster and bad plumbing! That's living!"
Simon was sure it wasn't, but said nothing and concentrated on applying the liquid to the leaf on his slide. There was no reaction from the leaf, but his shoes where beginning to steam.
"In the city, if you've got something to say, you go right ahead and say it - in five-foot letters on the subway wall. On Long Island you don't say anything. You sit at home worrying because you didn't buy your kid a personal computer when he was three, so he won't get into the college of his choice, and he'll end up stupid and have to wear plaid shirt forever. In the city, you wake up because they're breaking pavement outside, or because somebody heaved a brick through the front window of the delicatessen you live over. On Long Island, you sleep through the alarm on your fifteen-hundred dollar Piaget watch, but some poor dog half a block away is driven crazy by the sound and smashes his head against a fence until his brains are scrambled. I hate Long Island!"
Simon, weary of the speech, and more then a little nervous about his shoes, said, "If you hate it here so much, why don't you move to the city?"
"Because my mother says if I move out before I graduate, no one's going to feed my fish."
"I can't stand the sight of Long Island!" Johnny announced with much emphasis as he and Simon gathered equipment for their first experiment. "What a hole!"
Stunned that Johnny should feel moved to make such a statement, apropos of nothing, Simon could only manage a week, "Huh?"
Johnny pointed out the window. "Look at that. It makes me sick. A plastic civilization with paper dolls for people. They're all dead out there. They think they're alive, but they're dead. The only thing that's real on Long Island is the boredom. That's it. Nothing else."
"Uh - uh - is there somewhere - better?"
The sheer absurdity of this question caused Johnny to squeeze his eyedropper, spraying vicious red liquid on Simon's shoes. "The city, man! New York! That's what life is about. But not the city they show in the tourist booklets; the real city! Tenement housing -cockroaches - rats! That's real! To freeze all winter and sweat all summer, and write great songs by the light of a bare bulb in an eight-by-eight cold-water walk-up with crumbling plaster and bad plumbing! That's living!"
Simon was sure it wasn't, but said nothing and concentrated on applying the liquid to the leaf on his slide. There was no reaction from the leaf, but his shoes where beginning to steam.
"In the city, if you've got something to say, you go right ahead and say it - in five-foot letters on the subway wall. On Long Island you don't say anything. You sit at home worrying because you didn't buy your kid a personal computer when he was three, so he won't get into the college of his choice, and he'll end up stupid and have to wear plaid shirt forever. In the city, you wake up because they're breaking pavement outside, or because somebody heaved a brick through the front window of the delicatessen you live over. On Long Island, you sleep through the alarm on your fifteen-hundred dollar Piaget watch, but some poor dog half a block away is driven crazy by the sound and smashes his head against a fence until his brains are scrambled. I hate Long Island!"
Simon, weary of the speech, and more then a little nervous about his shoes, said, "If you hate it here so much, why don't you move to the city?"
"Because my mother says if I move out before I graduate, no one's going to feed my fish."
May 20, 2010
Another attempt to get Ben to like reading aloud together, this one about the son of the executive VP of a huge company who ends up clandestinely heading up an organization at his school to thwart the expansion of said company. Definitely replete with a memorable cast of quirky and loveable characters, even if they're a little one-sided at times. Ben actually said that he liked this book better than Losing Joe's Place; I prefer Losing Joe's Place, but that's just a matter of preference. I still think that Korman is so good at escalating situations to the point of ridiculousness and hilarity. I don't think he'll win any literary awards for high art, but is definitely thoroughly enjoyable.
Edit: The one thing that I do have to say upon further reflection is, what's with this defeatism about sticking it to the Man? I guess it is unrealistic to expect that a high school could seriously take on an international corporation, especially when so many parents of said-high schoolers probably work there and don't want to see their source of income go away, but surely it's not impossible, and it's a little disappointing to see it framed in that way. At least there's a ray of hope that Simon won't end up taking over his father's position, though.
Edit: The one thing that I do have to say upon further reflection is, what's with this defeatism about sticking it to the Man? I guess it is unrealistic to expect that a high school could seriously take on an international corporation, especially when so many parents of said-high schoolers probably work there and don't want to see their source of income go away, but surely it's not impossible, and it's a little disappointing to see it framed in that way. At least there's a ray of hope that Simon won't end up taking over his father's position, though.
April 21, 2013
"Son of Interflux" by Gordon Korman is a great young adult novel. Simon's father, the head of the biggest company known for manufacturing useless items, is planning to build a factory in a park that is very important to the kids of Simon's school of the arts. It's a place they go to for inspiration, for peace and quiet, and to work. Simon and his school won't let this happen and will do everything they can to prevent it, so Simon and all of the students at his school start a rivaling group called "Antiflux", against his father. Will the factory be built, or will Simon and his friends succeed?
I picked this book up because it was by Gordon Korman who i know is a great author.
I finished this book because it got more exciting as I got further in and it made me want to find out how it ends.
I would recommend this book to Thadchkan, because it is a change from his teen romance books but still something he would find interesting.
I picked this book up because it was by Gordon Korman who i know is a great author.
I finished this book because it got more exciting as I got further in and it made me want to find out how it ends.
I would recommend this book to Thadchkan, because it is a change from his teen romance books but still something he would find interesting.
April 9, 2015
This is a book about a boy who does not want to be a part of his family's company- his dad is the CEO. In order to not be a part of it, he decides that he wants to be an artist, and begins attending a special art school. Well, through unfortunate events, the school and his dad's company come to get mixed up together, and Felix must decide what is more important- his dad and a company that Felix does not like, or his friends and a future that he wants? This is a story about love and compromise.
I would suggest this book to young adults ages 12 and older, both genders. There is nothing questionable in this book. There are no sexual references (other than a little kissing), no bad language, and no violence. It is an enjoyable book.
I would suggest this book to young adults ages 12 and older, both genders. There is nothing questionable in this book. There are no sexual references (other than a little kissing), no bad language, and no violence. It is an enjoyable book.
January 23, 2015
Probably my favorite Gordon Korman book alongside "Beware the Fish," this book chronicles the misadventures of Simon Irving (a.k.a. Irving Simon) as he tries to make his way in an elite art school, all the while battling the expansion plans of a massive corporation (which happens to be run by his father.) A quirky cast of characters -- including a certifiably insane painting instructor, a friend who shows great potential for everything but never actually lives up to it, and another who can't stop himself from putting camels in every painting he does -- make this book both memorable and riotously funny.
December 9, 2014
It's a cute book that ends in the way you'd expect (the underdog wins a moral victory) but arrives at the ending in a surprisingly mature, diplomatic and clear thinking way. If all teenagers were so self aware and open to ideas other than their own the world would be a much simpler place. It would be true if adults behaved the same way - which makes this an endearing tale about a strange utopia where even when Goliath wins, David enjoys the victory because he accepted the inevitability before he begun his battle.
November 24, 2011
As a Gordon Korman book I knew I'd love it, even though it wasn't one of the books I've heard of like the MacDonald Hall series, it was still a great book. Simon is the son of interflux but that title's kept him down for so long that this time, he will face school without it. He fights back against his father for a righteous cause throughout his school year taking charge to stand up for what he believes in all the while putting up the Quereda and Sam and Phil.
August 30, 2014
I have read this book at least 5 times over the years. Korman has a unique way with words that can twist a smile out of almost any situation. Since I went digital in college (I love my Kindle!), most of my physical books have gone the way of the donation bin, but this is one that will always stay on my shelf. It is a much-beloved laugh-out-loud romp.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews