Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody

Barry Trotter #1

by Michael Gerber, Rodger Roundy (Illustrator)

very good condition

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Harry Potter, Comedy, Young Adult, Satire

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Parodist, author of Barry Trotter series, parodies of Harry Potter books. Also known as Mike Gerber or Michael Allen Gerber.

For the business author, see Michael E. Gerber.

Reviews

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, this was abysmal, truly terrible. I moderately enjoyed Nightlight: A Parody so I thought I'd give this a try. This is not even remotely funny, it's just stupid. Just changing the names of things does not a parody make, especially when the name changes themselves are uninspired and humorless.

You can find a parody on YouTube that will give you more laughs in 1 minute than the hours it will take you to trudge through this crap. Seriously, you want Harry Potter humor? Just visit Google.

[Glenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did you ever read Bored of the Rings? The Harvard Lampoon’s parody of Tolkien is one of the funniest little books I ever read. Crude, adolescent, and now terribly dated, it was also witty, inventive, and most of all funny. With fond memories of that parody in mind, I was looking forward to Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody. While it has all of the crudity and adolescence of it’s illustrious predecessor, it fall short in one major category. It isn’t all that funny. While the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a quick read at over 700 pages, Barry Trotter was a slow read at under 180. The book parodies the series, the writer, the business of publishing and moviemaking, marketing, and pop-culture fandom, but has very little to say about any of those things that is either original or funny. I can recall only two occasions when I thought the writer had been genuinely witty, but he so overplayed the joke, as if in fear that his readership would be to stupid to get it, that he bludgeoned all possible humor from it. Note for all future writers of literary parody: just messing around with the names and making the characters a bit shabby does not equal instant humor.

[Winston Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply cannot compliment the author and the narrator enough. Not only is it a-laugh-a-line funny, but the high-level ventriloquism Christopher uses adds a level of shine that outstrips almost any reading experience. Just wait until you hear and imagine Barry Trotter hit the redial button on his uncle's address book. There are also references to the top actors and actresses of the day, but that doesn't really impede this book's withstanding of the test of time.

The book starts off simply, with Barry et al travelling to America to stop the latest Trotter film. Michael Gerber simply doesn't believe in the fourth wall, and this helps add to the comedic effect (case in point: Barry whines about the slow narration, keeping him on the stairs for several pages). I loved his parody of England's Sun newspaper (althought it was a case of TMI at one point).

While this is certainly not for everyone, those who enjoy toilet humour and R-rated comedy will enjoy this book with a 99% probability ratio.

[K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was near Thanksgiving, and I was browsing a used bookstore in town when I came across this book. I picked it up on a whim. I thought it looked silly and was wanting to have a good laugh.

I will say the beginning started out strong. There were a few times when I laughed out loud. I told my husband "Barry got me again." It was dark, dirty humor. The appeal didn't last long, though. The cynicism became to be borderline nihilism. In fact, it was nihilism if you ask me. Then, towards the end the author takes a million left turns with the storyline. It was like he was drowning in his own self-loathing, and had to reroute the book to distract from his own mania. I'm not even kidding.

Also, the self-references at the end leads me to believe this author is just at complete narcissist. He thinks people are going to hate him for making fun of Harry Potter, when really they should hate him for making such a bad parody. He had the potential for making jokes, but didn't choose that route for whatever reason.

For a book that was supposed to be funny, this really missed the mark. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. The only reason I gave it two stars, was for the strong start.

[Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could write a really long review explaining the manifold ways in which Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody was a) stupid b) really stupid c) really really stupid and d) disgusting but I'm not going to waste my time when I can sum it up in a few words: endless toilet humour and sex jokes. Strangely I don't find the idea of Dumbledore pissing on a model of Harry or Hermione's top being turned invisible absolutely fucking hillarious, I wonder why? Maybe because I'm not a thirteen year old boy?

I shall now be petitioning Gerber for the 50p I wasted on this back. Helpfully, he included a form to do so...

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[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to page 70, but didn't get any further because I found it rather boring. What humour there was seemed rather dry and dull: calling Fred and George "Ferd and Jorge" (or whatever it was) isn't my idea of good wit. There was little plot, which mostly seemed to centre around how run-down everything was.

I found the original Harry Potter books were funnier. And the stories had more substance. My advice: stick with them.

[Schnicklfritz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not gonna finish this crap! And I'm not saying this because I Love Harry Potter and cannot laugh about parodies! It's just stupid and exaggerated! It's like the Author put every thought he had into one big bowl and picked randomly which one to use next!

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the funniest! Harry potter is BORING! WOOT!

[Cyan Wisp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Unfunny. "Humour" in this book consists of having silly names for well known people and things. A chore to read. Novelty lasts about 1, maybe 2 pages. [Zzzz]

[Beth F · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the dumbest things I ever read.

It tried too hard. It started out funny but got insanely annoying very, very fast. Skip it.

[Brian McDonald]

This is definitely the stupidest book I've read in a long time. It was kind of funny in parts, but mostly just ridiculous. Fortunately, it's not very long.

[Anu-vinkkari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jostain osui silmiin tämmöinen ja kun tekele kerran löytyi vaskista suomeksi niin pakkohan se Potteristin oli kokeilla. Aloitin uteliaana, mutta kesken jäi. Ja kyse ei todellakaan ollut mistään "pyhä kaanon diipa daapa" ongelmasta, sillä vielä ei ole tullut vastaan teosta (tai asiaa), joka olisi on minulle niin pyhä, ettenkö nauttisi sen taitavasta vääntelystä ja kääntelystä. Lähtökohtaisesti tykkään kaikenlaisesta versioinnista ja ideoiden jatkojalostamisesta: kirjojen pohjalta tehdyistä elokuvista, sarjakuvista,näytelmistä ja uusista kirjoista. Terävä satiiri ja nokkela parodia ja osuva musta huumori putoavat kyllä.
Tässä tekeleessä ei valitettavasti ollut mitään terävää, nokkelaa eikä osuvaa, vaan se oli juuri niin huono kuin kirjailija ensimmäisellä sivulla varoitti.
En tuhlannut elämääni kolmea ensimmäistä lukua enempää.

[Roisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book and although I was confused (seems to be an extended theme in my reviews) at first if I liked it or not. However as I read on I found it to be hillarious and it's spontaneous way of creating odd situations for the characters. Also the ending really throws you, But it's a good throwing, it took me a while to catch up with the book but toher than that it was a wonderfully funny read.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Barry Trotter books are parodies on the actual series. They are quite hilarious and worth a read if you have some extra time on your hands. They do however, become a bit wearisome at points, since they, in now way, can measure up to the fabulosity of the original series.

[Louisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely dreadful.

[Lydia Skinnar · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, this was one of the weirdest books I have ever read. With that said i really don't know if i liked it or hated it. If you want ro read a confusing book that is a ripoff HP, then sure I recommend this book but if you are a hardcire fan maybe stay away. It haf alot to laugh at so if you're not too serious about protcting HP then you might have a good laugh if you understand ANYTHING that is going on. Unless you've read it I can't say it enough how just weird and confusing it is.

Happy reading!

[harps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially with the whole JKR scandal lately, this parody was ... hysterically woke. There were definitely some lines that called out the problematic sides of Harry Potter for what it was, as well as some witty insight. Overall it was really therapeutic to consume a HP satire with all the negativity surrounding the universe as of late.

[Kathrin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow.
Weiß auch nicht wie ich es geschafft habe das zu Ende zu lesen.
Es war schon ziemlich unerträglich. Bei vermutlich zwei Wortwitzen hatte ich nicht das Gefühl mich aus dem Fenster stürzen zu müssen-Yay.
Wenigstens beweist der Autor Selbstironie mit angefügten Beschwerdezettel und einem Disclaimer wie schlecht das Buch doch sei.
Da bei meiner Ausgabe im letzten Drittel die Seiten falsch zusammengefasst wurden, hab ich mich direkt angesprochen gefühlt. Das Rumblättern und Suchen der Folgeseiten war bei dem Inhalt wahre Folter. Und ich frage mich immer noch: Absicht oder Mängelexemplar?
Eines weiß ich aber sicher: verschwendete Lesezeit war es definitiv.

[Melanie Linn · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a challenge, I had to read a book whose author has my initials and this seemed as good as any. While I did get some good laughs out of it, this book was pretty ridiculous and boring in parts. The plot was awful, but the author's efforts to get around copyrighted terms and names were pretty amusing. My personal favorite? "Dorko Malfeasance."

[Shaira]

Nie będę jej oceniać w gwiazdkach, bo parodii nie powinno się tak oceniać. Parę razy parsknęłam śmiechem, parę razy poczułam mocne zażenowanie i parę razy miałam ochotę walnąć się po głowie przez nieśmieszność żartów.
Ogólnie spoko opcja na totalne odmóżdżenie

[Brandon Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful parody for any fan of Harry Potter

[Sammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟 a stupid but easy read

[Raima its4eyedgal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me clear a few things before I start reviewing this satire. I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter series. They were the first ever series I read and it was love at first sight, or should I rather say, love at first read. I immediately fell in love with the writing, the plot, the twists, the places and especially the amazing characters. Each and every single detail mesmerised me and left me in awe. For me, it's still the perfect novel (series) ever written.

Moving ahead, I bought this parody to know what EXACTLY is it written about? Then another thought struck me like thunder, how can anyone even imagine writing a satire on Harry Potter? HOW? I was intrigued. I know, I shouldn't act too bewildered because people tend to ridicule what's famous, which is quite obvious but it still was too shocking for me.



Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody is high in adult jokes and toilet humour. Every character that has been mentioned in this book from the original series by J.K Rowling has a distorted name, for example, Ron Weasely is Lon Measly, Hermoine Granger is Ermine Cringer, Dumbledore is Bumblemore and most obviously, Harry Potter is Barry Trotter.

I think it was rather a smart move by Michael Gerber not to use the original names because it would have been downright offensive and I guess, he didn't want his book to leave such a deep, negative impression. I still don't think the names were funny, they just sounded childish and ridiculous.

Almost every other character in the novel is a drunk and is stuck in the worst possible situation of their lives. Lon has totally lost his mind and is a complete lunatic due to an accident that occurred during a Quiddit (Quidditch) match, Ermine teaches in a poorly stated school where she has no respect and the students are abominable, Bumblemore is rude, impatient and a pervert, Serious Blech (Sirius Black) is always coming up with non-sensical and bizarre schemes which always require Barry's financial help, in short, Mr. Godfather is broke and also keeps on forgetting Barry's name. Serious Blech addresses Barry with names like Barty, Beany, Billy etc. The main "hero", Barry Trotter is a spoilt brat, without any doubt. He has been staying in Hogwash (Hogwarts) for quite a long time, regardless of his age (22 years old) because of his increasing popularity, which got the best of him (I doubt there was any "good" in him to begin with). He has no intention of leaving Hogwash, even if he does, his crazy, disgusting Muddle (Muggle) fans won't let him leave the premises because they have all resided right outside the school building on the lawn near Hafwid's (Hagrid) cabin who has every intention of killing the filthy Muddles because they constantly steal his booze and irritate him in every possible way. They literally are filthy because the entire lawn is covered in ankle-deep muck because of the lack of sanitary facilities.

The original story, however, has nothing to do with this parody. It's in no way close to what J.K Rowling wrote, which is such a relief. I believe, it would have been a low blow to detoriate the original story in any possible way.

The book intends to be funny and so it has its funny moments.

Basically, the story is about an adventure of Barry, Lon and Ermine. They travel to different places to find J.G Rollins (J.K Rowling) to stop the production of another book-based movie on Barry Trotter. Bumblemore sends Barry and Lon to the rescue mission. Ermine, on Barry's request (paying off her student loans) joins them because even in the parody she is good with spells. Bumblemore convinces Barry to stop the production because more singing, bleeding, fighting and God-knows what else-ing Muddle fans would encamp infront of the lawn making the situation go completely out of hand. Hogwash can not be moved magically because insurance doesn't permit it to. So yeah, it isn't really that magical. If you want to know the end, you'd have to read the book because there is a twist waiting at the very end.




My advice to all the people who are intending to read this book or accidentally come across it, don't take it seriously. I mean, don't hate the author. I have a feeling he is a fan of J.K Rowling, even if he isn't, I'm sure it's all in good humour. He didn't intend to attack, humiliate or disrespect J.K Rowling in any way. I mean, is it even possible?

So, read it, laugh and just keep it somewhere where you won't find it ever again.

[Johana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great comedy book that has references to the Harry Potter universe. I found the beginning and the ending to be really bad but the middle was great. It brought a lot of nostalgia and feeling that I want to read Harry Potter books again. I will probably try to find the next book in the series(it is not that common in here) and read it as it was really easy to pick up and I had fun reading it.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd ☹️

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely rate a book before I finish it... but then, I rarely decide flat-out to not finish a book. I can usually at least CONVINCE myself there is a chance that I'm not wasting my time, that I'll get around to it eventually.

Not in this case.

There is exactly two demographics for Barry Trotter--people who read the first Harry Potter book and didn't care for it (and who have a crude sense of humor), and people who were forced to see the movie and hated it.

Every single character is a cop-out, for example:
Lon (aka, Ron)- someone whose brain has been replaced with a dogbrain and, uh, acts like a dog.
--Seriously? You take the loyal friend with so-so intelligence and turn him into a human dog. Very subtle.

Hafwid (aka, Hagrid)- The dumb, drunk gamekeeper.
--Seriously? You take the guy fond of alcohol and is kind of slow intellectually, and make him dumber and drunker? Hilarious.

And then there are attempted digs at Harry Potter which fail to land, simply due to inaccuracy. For example, there is a Quiddit (aka, Quidditch) scene and the author makes reference to how dumb it is that the person who catches the sneetch (snitch) wins the game, and how it makes for a convenient plot device. Except that's not how the game works. Granted, in the movie version they streamlined the rules that way... but the books clearly state that catching the snitch is worth 150 points. Score differential is more than that, the losing team catching the snitch won't suddenly win. Comments like this are lazy errors on the part of the author, who obviously doesn't care enough to understand the world he's trying to parody.

This could all be forgiven if the book was ever actually funny. And it is. On the title page there is a message from the publisher. Followed by a message from Satan. Followed by a message from some Christian group. And that is hilarious. But after you flip past that page it is a whole lot of boring, crude nothingness.

[Doctor Nyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Maybe it's good news. Maybe Ol' Snipes got cancer of the wand." Said Manuel Rodriguez, a 3rd year student who will not re-appear but was shoehorned in so that not everyone in the story was white, middle class, and British. - about 12 minutes in (audiobook)

This books is an hilarious homage to the fantasy series Harry Potter. It also has a message with anti-establishment and anti capitalism roots.

This book feels like it was written by someone who didn't actually read the Harry Potter series, but was fed up with all the hype and talk surrounding the books/movies that they felt the need to write a parody of it.

This book is a true parody, all characters have a Harry Potter counter part (for the most part) and you can tell that the author is poking fun at all the things that are important to most Harry Potter fans.

It's hilarious! If you loved Harry Potter but now can't seem to find it as amusing because of the authors views toward her fan, you might enjoy this book. (As far as I know the Michael Gerber is not a transporbic POS)

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, Christopher Cazenove does an excellent job with all the voices.

[René · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shameless cash grab, honestly advertised as being a shameless cash grab. While I did find some situations in it moderately funny, this is the print version of what would otherwise be a below-average so-unfunny-it-hurts-and-only-sometimes-becomes-funny-again fan fiction.
There are a few sentences in this thing - and I'm ashamed to say - that actually made me laugh out loud, but they're not worth fighting your way through the rest of it.

It's not funny enough to be a comedy.
It's not deconstructing Harry Potter enough to be a (proper) parody.
It's not sexual enough to be smut.
It's not obscene enough to evoke an Aristocrats!-esque humour.

Do not buy. Maybe read, if you've read absolutely everything else already, and you already own it (why?!).

[EpidermaS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Autor wyśmiewa nie tyle książkę Rowling, co wielką machinę marketingową wiążącą się z ową pozycją. To jedyny plus. Nooo, może jeszcze stylizacja Lorda Vielokonta na Niemca. ;) Reszta to totalne dno. Nie wiem, czemu Internauci uważają tę parodię za błyskotliwą. "Błyskotliwa" to ostatnie określenie, jakie do niej pasuje. Książka najzwyczajniej w świecie jest NUDNA. Powiem szczerze, że pierwowzór bywał miejscami śmieszniejszy. Jeśli autor uważał, że wystarczy kilka tekstów o bekaniu i rzyganiu, to gratuluję poczucia humoru. Mogę się założyć, że ciekawsze i zabawniejsze parodie Pottera można znaleźć w Sieci. ZA DARMO. Ot, parodiować też trzeba umieć. Po prostu.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I HATED IT. There are very few books that I will not finish and this is one of them. It bills itself as a parody of Harry Potter. It had the potential to be really funny, but I didn't find it funny. The facet that Gerber changed the names (Harry to Barry) wasn't too funny. He thought that being mean-spirited about everything would translate to humor, which it doesn't. I wish I could give it zero stars.