The Basic Eight

I am not at all sure how I feel about this book yet. I do know that that 3 stars is really more like 3.5ish because while I still don't know if I liked the book, I sure as hell am glad I read it. This is one of the most unreliable narrators I think I have ever come across and for that alone it gets two stars right there. I had guessed a bit of the twist near the end a little earlier on, but I wasn't sure if I was right or not up until they said it; because of the completely unreliable narrator you really couldn't be sure of anything.

The only reason I am not giving it four stars is that the beginning took a while for me to get into. The setup too a bit too long, you know from the beginning there is a murder and Flannery did it and all show more this other unimportant banal things are being talked about instead. It DID manage to really capture my attention though, so I can't rate it lower I only wish the author had gotten to the point a little quicker.

Also, holy shit, these kids are all assholes. Every single one of them whines and gripes and are so fucking pretentious it is laughable. Part of hating all of them makes the novel good though. show less

I read this on the beach in a day and found it highly engaging. It's funny given how self-aware it is, and it captures the simultaneous insufferable and compelling elements of being in high school perfectly. The Basic Eight are that clique that you both hated and envied in high school. The crime committed drives that reality home. And the self-aware but spot-on takes on TV commentators -- even Oprah! -- are just irresistible.

(I should note that I saw the "twist" ending coming and I kept hoping that Handler would do something better than this, because the novel deserved more, so that was disappointing. It deserved something unique and original. But it isn't so bad that the novel isn't worth reading!)

Setting this one down and getting to the very end was a surreal experience that sent a chill down my spine. It dug itself under my skin.

Finishing it gave me a heady feeling like doing something incredibly dangerous and knowing how it would end, but doing it anyway all for the thrill of it. Then the adventure it doesn't end quite like you expected it to, and even that feels like an adrenaline rush in itself. That was this book in a nutshell to me.

Subtle horror has always been more my thing especially since I am incapable of getting through a gorey "popout" scare movie without turning all the lights on in the house and laying awake with my eyes wide open for what feels like weeks.
...I may be a bit of a scaredy cat but, this novel felt show more like a delicious treat as I devoured it.

There's always one thing that makes or breaks my interest in a subtle horror story: suspense. This one delivered.

We knew the who, but not the how and why. The unreliable narrator throws the thing into a shady land of not knowing if she was exaggerating or plain making up things as she goes along.

Along the way it starts off with dark humor and gets darker in a cheery "how do you" as they sharpen their murder weapons kind of way. The party is the highlight alongside Flannery's progress with Natasha and Adam. I won't spoil but I promise you you'll be shocked (and that is a very grave understatement I should say).

It all plays out with a certain calculated messiness, with the big surprise at the party, the douchebag air of it while being selfware, being sleezy but remaining with that tinge of classiness, and most of all: Flannery Clup's mindset. We've got a winner on our hands here. show less

I've read a couple of Handler's Lemony Snicket books, and thought they were mildly amusing. Said coworker assured me that this book was much better – and she was right!
I would highly recommend ‘Basic Eight' for anyone who was a fan of ‘Heathers' – very similar themes, similar brand of dark humor – but updated and more-than-timely.
The book is told through the diary of Flannery Culp, who is re-writing said diary, a year after the significant events, from the confines of an institution. (The reader knows she's guilty – look at her name, after all!) The device makes for a very interesting unreliable narrator – but the best part of the book isn't Flan's tale of her highschool clique and how she wound up becoming infamous, but show more Handler's deftly pointed satire, as he shows the absurdity of how teachers, authority figures, and the media and self-help gurus (like "Winnie Moprah") take problems and run in the completely wrong direction with them, babbling about cults and Satanism instead of actually addressing real problems. It is a funny book, but it's also terribly sad in its accuracy.
Should be required highschool reading – not only for students but for faculty! show less

What starts off as your typical teenage murder-revenge tale becomes complex when you realize that something isn't quite right...

Handler's ability to render the self-consciously pretentious prose of a smart kid is uncomfortably accurate.

Witty and sharp and so fantastically written than I read at least the first 50 pages out loud, just because I needed to hear those stunning sentences spoken. Handler is brilliant. Even though I totally thought I was at least keeping up with the twists and turns of the story line, at least once or twice congratulating myself for having seen things before Flan, the ending sort of knocked me out of my chair. Again! Again! Again!

Ahhhhhh.... who didn't experience unrequited love in high school? Well, I'll bet few of us turned scorned advances into murder as Flannery Culp does in this darkly humorous foray into the trials of adolescence, insanity, loyalty, and amourous tirangles. Written by the man also known as Lemony Snicket (never read him under that name), some may dismiss "The Basic Eight" as a juvenile book. Not quite. As a sucker for characterization and quirky writing style, Mr. Handler appeals to my weaknesses with his tragically hip, yet ultimately flawed teenagers who possess a penchant for fine dining, absinthe and croquet. This novel is a fun read of witty banter and unusual twists. Even I didn't see the big one coming.