The Basic Eight by daniel handler

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

But for Flan, her strife has only just begun;
She kills the boy October thirty-one.

Ohoho, this was delicious y'all! It's like a wonderful concoction of a little bit of Heathers, a little bit of Secret History, and a little bit of Fight Club, but with all of Daniel Handler's wit and charm. I officially declare that this particular subgenre of'school slice-of-life + murder + an unreliable narrator' is my absolute favorite in all of contemporary literature. And this particular iteration checks every single box. It's completely devourable and immediately leaves you with an insatiable desire to read it again. In fact, just about midway through, I managed to figure out the big ~reveal~ and I literally started over right from the beginning because I was so utterly thrilled with how clever it is. Flannery Culp might just usurp Amy Dunne as my favorite merry murderess POV. But not only that, just about every character feels incredibly real and well-fleshed out, especially Douglas. Oh, sweet Douglas. And the prose! I already knew that Daniel Handler could write, but man, this boy can really write. The crescendo at the garden party was so incredibly stressful and frantic. The repetitions and twitches in Flan's perspective throughout added a unique layer of depth. And the grand reveal at the end - it was all SO. MAGNIFICENT.

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Prosfer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

EVERYBODY. GO. READ. IT. NOW.

It is of utmost importance that each and every one of you takes the time to read this. Do not delay, do not hesitate. Just go ahead and pick it up or open it on your device and start reading immediately. There could be valuable information, interesting stories, or profound insights waiting for you within the pages. By reading it now, you will not only gain knowledge but also expand your horizons. So, without further ado, everyone should make the effort to read it right away. Let's all embark on this reading journey together and see what wonderful things we can discover.

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piggywiggies

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

How do I love "The Basic Eight"? Let me count the ways.

I love the delicious untrustworthiness of the narrator. It keeps me on the edge of my seat, constantly second-guessing and trying to figure out the truth.

I love the cheerfully horrifying violence. It's like a twisted fairytale that combines the macabre with a strange sense of humor.

I love the snarky questions for the reader at the end of each chapter, textbook-style. They don't just remake the points but cleverly further the plot, making me eager to turn the page and find out what happens next.

I love the dizzying revelations at the end. They come out of nowhere and completely change my perspective on the story, leaving me in awe of the author's creativity.

I love the physical descriptions of the clothes, the disastrous party, the drunkenness. They add a vivid and detailed touch to the story, making it feel like I'm right there with the characters.

In conclusion, "The Basic Eight" is a truly remarkable book that I can't get enough of. I think I'll go read it again right now.

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Spygecko

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

I'm truly glad that there are numerous individuals who are capable of discerning the similarities present in this book with the 1989 movie Heathers. Whether it be the utilization of croquet in both mediums, the affluent self-titled cliques such as the Heathers and the Basic Eight, the narrator who exhibits Veronica Sawyer's subtle wit, sharp observance, and intelligence, or the murders that claim the lives of people within the high school. I have always entertained the thought that I make rather outlandish comparisons. But it is precisely for this reason that when I engage in a discussion about the book, I have a certain foundation that I can initially cover before delving deeper.

Flannery Culp is not a particularly striking character. At first glance, I received the impression that she was somewhat of a loner within her group of friends. This is evident as the introduction commences with her discourse on Solitaire and her affection for poets. However, as we progress, we come to realize that the Solitaire also assumes a meta-metaphorical significance. Additionally, while she does indeed have a penchant for poetry, she is unfamiliar with those that lie beneath the popular surface. Nevertheless, when she is with her friends, they form what I initially perceived to be a rather bland blob. With the exception of Natalie (whose character, I believe, was purposely designed to stand out), the Basic Eight were a group of friends for whom the reason behind their friendship remained elusive. One is also left uncertain as to their standing among the high school crowd - are they admired or disliked? We are aware that they are not an average group of adolescents - they host dinner parties and willingly listen to operas. However, the mystery surrounding the characters, especially subsequent to the climax of the book, detracts from its ability to leave a lasting aftertaste.

Awarding this book three stars does not truly do justice to the meticulous and excellent manner in which it is written. It is a remarkable piece of literature. I sense that within the details, there are certain aspects that give the impression that a teenager has penned this work. (I am uncertain whether the absence of the Oxford comma is intentional or not, but what about the part where she is able to comment on her writing to justify her past self?) Regrettably, the manner in which the story unfolds leaves a great deal to be desired.

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birb_brainz

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

The Basic Eight is a novel that, contrary to what its cover might suggest, doesn't have much in common with Heathers. The cover, featuring a croquet mallet, is rather misleading.

Initially, I quite enjoyed the first half of the novel. The Basic Eight are a group of elitist drama geeks. It's interesting to imagine what my own group of friends might have been like if we had grown up in San Francisco with wealthy parents instead of a small town in Washington state with limited resources. These kids have elaborate dinner parties with absinthe, while our gatherings mainly involved me trying to fancy up box mac'n'cheese by adding real cheddar.

The narrator, Flannery, is sarcastic and humorous, yet also clueless in that typical teenage way. The novel is presented as if Flannery, who is now serving time for murder, is editing her diary for publication. She writes her hindsight into the pages and adds vocabulary and discussion questions at the end of each week or so. It's all very clever and engaging.

However, as the story progresses, it starts to fall apart. Some passages are written by Flannery when she is under the influence of various intoxicants, which makes them disjointed and confused. But after a while, it becomes too much. And the so-called "twist"? I saw it coming very early on, to the point where I thought I must be wrong. Ugh. The whole alternate personality/imaginary friend thing: If this book was written before Fight Club, I might have been more lenient, but it was written two years after. Flannery claims that reading back through her diary, it all makes sense. But it really doesn't. Additionally, the ending is extremely abrupt, leaving the reader feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

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araelbird

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

This book was initially a thoroughly enjoyable 4-star read. It features fun characters, dark humor, and deliciously written sentences. Consider this example:

Natasha arrived, bearing cleavage and brie, and immediately fell into a squabble with Gabriel over how to bake it properly. Kate and I sat basking in the pretentiousness of it all.

It's so self-aware that it's ALMOST annoying, yet it rings completely true. Apparently, the author drew significantly from his own San Francisco high school experience, which makes passages like this even more hilarious:

"'I'm a homosexual,' he said medically. 'Homosexual?' I said. 'Isn't that what they do to milk?'"

Anyway, all of this would have been pleasant enough, with some metafictional elements thrown in. And THEN you reach the very end, which throws a remarkable wrench in the works, forcing you to rethink everything you've read. Seriously, I went back to the beginning and reread a few chapters just to be sure. I don't want to reveal any more about it, but trust me. It's such a pleasant surprise of a book.

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Joe-kun

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

Daniel Handler's extremely dark comedy is truly a remarkable piece of work.

This wicked and twisted book has the power to keep readers on the edge of their seats, entertained from beginning to end.

The author's unique style and vivid imagination bring to life a world filled with strange characters and unexpected plot twists.

Each page is filled with dark humor and satirical commentary that will make you laugh out loud while also making you think.

The story takes you on a wild ride through a series of absurd and often disturbing situations, yet somehow manages to maintain a sense of coherence and purpose.

Whether you're a fan of dark comedy or just looking for something different to read, this book is definitely worth checking out.

It's a must-read for anyone who enjoys being challenged and entertained by their literature.

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mobu100

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

Karen may disagree with this theory, but I came up with it while reading The Basic Eight and I'll expound on it here.

I was going to write a second part to this review, but it was going to be full of spoilers, and I really hate spoilers. Also, there are some book reports.

This book belongs to the Secret History tradition of contemporary literature. However, as the cover of this book seems to suggest to anyone who grew up in the late eighties, it also points to the movie Heathers. This book by Donna Tartt and the movie can both be summed up by Winona Ryder's line from Heathers, "Dear diary, my teen angst has a body count." They are about kids who are smarter and more cultured than their peers and end up killing someone. There are many other examples of such books. Look up Karen's "Like Secret History" shelf for more.

The obvious reason why books are constantly being compared to Secret History is that it's a very successful comparison. Just look at how popular this book was in the early 2000s, or how Special Topics in Calamity Physics did. There are also other books that have done well, but I haven't read them. It's no secret conspiracy that when something makes publishers money, there are countless knock-offs produced in a frenzy to cash in on the relatively limited amount of money consumers are willing to spend on books (compared to movies, for example). If you disagree with me on this, just pretend I'm crazy and keep being wide-eyed and innocent, but don't go outside alone too often.

I would argue that this particular sub-sub-genre of fiction is spread for another reason. This is where Karen and I disagree. I think some writers are anti-social people who have suffered some kind of social trauma in their younger days. This is not true for all writers, but for some. I guess that in their teenage years, they thought they were superior to the masses of people in their school. They might have sat alone somewhere, like in the library, instead of subjecting themselves to the humiliation of sitting alone in a crowded room of 500 people, reading or doing whatever they did. Or maybe they had a small group of friends, but they weren't really part of it. But they were smart. And in their fantasies, they were part of an exclusive clique of very smart outsiders who were above everyone else. But the violence of repression even comes through in fantasies, and the murder of those who spurned them eventually comes to the forefront. Where else but in a fantasy world like this would someone be cool for knowing Ancient Greek or for listening to 18th-century opera instead of the incessant droning guitars of cretinous rock music? In a slightly modified form, this archetype is present in Twilight. Or in Buffy (although interestingly, in Buffy, the image of the fantastical is destroyed when we see what the non-supernatural /'real-world' thinks of The Scooby Gang).

I think there are many writers who would like to rewrite their teen years to make them cooler than they really were.

And I think there are quite a few readers who also find something charming about this type of narrative. Or maybe they just relate to it.

Karen, for some reason, disagrees, but what does a former Prom Queen know about this kind of stuff anyway?

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The Basic Eight

daniel handler

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