The Harmon Chronicles

by Harmon Leon

Leon is kind of like Tom Green, except that Leon is smart, and funny, and should have his own TV show. ― Malice Inc. This hilarious collection of anecdotal essays explores the absurdities of modern American life. Harmon Leon is a cutting-edge prankster who infiltrates one lifestyle after the next, takes each to the absolute extreme, and reports back with his findings. From attending the regional semifinals of “America’s Most Beautiful Baby Contest”” to getting a job at a fast-food restaurant with the sole goal of getting himself fired in three hours or less, Leon exposes the day-to-day ridiculousness of the American Way. This book drags the highs and lows of contemporary American existence into the light for public scrutiny.

Genres: Humor

180 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Harmon Leon is an award-winning author, performer, and former senior writer for National Lampoon. His latest book, The Infiltrator, was released in 2006, and his writing credits for print and television include NPR, National Geographic, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, The BBC, and Showtime Television Network. He lives and works in San Francisco. (from the publisher's website)"

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The backwards-named Leon (shouldn't it really be Leon Harmon? Did the upending of his name color his upbringing, making him quirkier than he might otherwise have been?) takes on various personae—I think my favorite was "Dieter Lieterschvantz," a bombastic German who speaks of himself in the third person a lot—in his efforts to infiltrate areas of American subculture ranging from gun fanciers to the Jehovah's Witnesses, from Scientology to being a kid's party clown... with occasionally hilarious results.

I will admit that I have wanted to... break free, in this way; to take on a persona and ride it into absurdity. I suspect a lot of people have. If you've ever wished you had the chutzpah to mess with people's heads, or laughed when someone else out-deadpanned the deadpan, then this book is for you as well.

The Harmon Chronicles is not, perhaps, the non-stop laugh riot that I was led to believe it would be by the Portland Mercury's review back in 2003, and by the glowing cover blurbs (including one by acerbic iconoclast-turned-yoga practitioner and alternadad Neal Pollack), but there were some very good bits, no doubt about it, in this slim volume.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book the author takes on various personas and sees how far he can push the envelope. It's meant to be funny, which it is, but it's also interesting to see where his "pranks" take him. For example, in one chapter he goes into a plastic surgeon with over-the-top suggestions for what physical traits he should fix. The author is expecting the surgeon to push back and coach him away from those alterations but that never happens.

Leon's over-the-top characters help to reveal the absurdity of each chapter's topic.

I'm relieved to say I enjoyed this book because the endorsement on the front cover caused me concern. It said, "Harmon Leon - A goddamn plague of hilarity. The funniest book ever published in Canada." -Neal Pollack, award-winning author of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature
Goddamn, really? Plague, really? And the oddly specific qualifier in the second sentence (that the book is the funniest in Canada) makes you think it must not be very funny. It says award-winning but that could mean any award. Anyway, maybe it was a made up endorsement, or meant to be silly?

3.5 stars.

[Sandra Varley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly funny! I laughed so hard I was crying. Adult themes some may find offensive. A blast to read.[return][return]Favorite Quote- "We will depart on an epic expedition reminiscent of Homer's Odyssey but without those pesky Greeks. I will set out like a brave knight on a crusade for truth, bringing you, my little Sancho Panza along for the ride."

[theghostwriter · Rating 3 out of 5]

had a few belly-laughs whilst reading this, although he's rather unoriginal with the whole "infiltrating the kooky american subcultures" angle. its been done better.

[Andrew]

Half baked... half assed... quarter funny. I adopt my persona of a German book reviewer named Hrothgar and declare this book to be a haufen scheisse.

[Kalah]

This book had an unforgiving amount of typos for a published work.