Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World
Donald Antrim
The world is crazy in this surreal novel. Pete Robinson, teacher and expert on medieval torture techniques, wants to fix it, but he doesn't know that he is just as messed up as the rest of his community. He's the classic unreliable narrator--don't believe much of what he says. Through his eyes, Antrim delivers a trenchant social commentary about the evils of suburbia. And while I'm tempted to yawn "been there, done that," there were a few funny moments.
In this world, homeowners are suspicious of their neighbors, who might just be out to get them. They build deadly pits and moats around their homes. Parks are filled with landmines. The schools have been closed due to a lack of funding. People worship fish. (It's a seaside community.) In fact, most members of this community feel their "spirit animal" is a fish in nature; even Meredith, Pete's wife, believes she is a coelacanth (a
prehistoric fish)--which sucks because Pete is a bison. Hm.
Donald Antrim
The world is crazy in this surreal novel. Pete Robinson, teacher and expert on medieval torture techniques, wants to fix it, but he doesn't know that he is just as messed up as the rest of his community. He's the classic unreliable narrator--don't believe much of what he says. Through his eyes, Antrim delivers a trenchant social commentary about the evils of suburbia. And while I'm tempted to yawn "been there, done that," there were a few funny moments.
In this world, homeowners are suspicious of their neighbors, who might just be out to get them. They build deadly pits and moats around their homes. Parks are filled with landmines. The schools have been closed due to a lack of funding. People worship fish. (It's a seaside community.) In fact, most members of this community feel their "spirit animal" is a fish in nature; even Meredith, Pete's wife, believes she is a coelacanth (a
prehistoric fish)--which sucks because Pete is a bison. Hm.Because the town is so messed up, Pete decides he should be mayor. (In case you were wondering, the previous mayor had just been executed for killing some people. Thankfully, Pete was there to explain how to draw and quarter him correctly.) So, Pete decides to open a school at his home so that his students can get to work on his campaign. Needless to say, his plan doesn't end well.
Illumination Factor: Low. This was my first introduction to Antrim, and Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World was amusing at parts, but I didn't feel as though I had gained anything new from it. Suburbia sucks. New Age religions are dumb. Violence begets violence. Ok, thanks. For what it's worth, the ending was great.
In a nutshell: A mildly-amusing, fast read, but won't change your life or teach you anything new. But again, it was a great ending.
Bibliolatry Scale: 3 out of 6 stars
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