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Being Alexander
Alex was a pushover. Alexander pushes back.
Alex was a chump. Alexander is a champ.
Alex moved in the gutter. Alexander hits the fast lane.
Everyone likes Alex Fairfax. He’s dependable, friendly, hardworking. He is also a sucker. A sucker who sits by while his oily coworker maliciously sabotages his advertising career, then steals Alex’s girlfriend from under his very nose. But Alex is a sucker who has finally had enough of “yes sir” and “thank you.” Enough of kowtowing to the powerful. Enough of being polite.
So Alex transforms himself into Alexander —avenger of the maligned. Sure, he lost his job and has to share a crummy apartment with a bunch of twentysomething hippies, but nothing will stop Alexander from exacting sweet vengeance on the long list of those who have done him wrong.
With the right clothes, the right hair, and the right attitude, Alexander plots to ascend through the ranks of the elite, tear down the company that refused to stand by him, and humiliate his snake of a colleague and disloyal ex-girlfriend. But while pulling off one stealthy stunt after another, wooing away clients and ruining a few choice careers, Alex discovers that being a shark isn’t all glitz and glamour—and that his own heart still beats to a very tender drum. . . .
A sharp, edgy, witty novel of delicious revenge, Being Alexander stars the best kind of character—one readers can’t quite decide whether to loathe or to love. But in the end, the fact for Alex to truly find himself, he had to become someone else. The result is an irresistibly wicked comedy of ill-manners.
Alex was a chump. Alexander is a champ.
Alex moved in the gutter. Alexander hits the fast lane.
Everyone likes Alex Fairfax. He’s dependable, friendly, hardworking. He is also a sucker. A sucker who sits by while his oily coworker maliciously sabotages his advertising career, then steals Alex’s girlfriend from under his very nose. But Alex is a sucker who has finally had enough of “yes sir” and “thank you.” Enough of kowtowing to the powerful. Enough of being polite.
So Alex transforms himself into Alexander —avenger of the maligned. Sure, he lost his job and has to share a crummy apartment with a bunch of twentysomething hippies, but nothing will stop Alexander from exacting sweet vengeance on the long list of those who have done him wrong.
With the right clothes, the right hair, and the right attitude, Alexander plots to ascend through the ranks of the elite, tear down the company that refused to stand by him, and humiliate his snake of a colleague and disloyal ex-girlfriend. But while pulling off one stealthy stunt after another, wooing away clients and ruining a few choice careers, Alex discovers that being a shark isn’t all glitz and glamour—and that his own heart still beats to a very tender drum. . . .
A sharp, edgy, witty novel of delicious revenge, Being Alexander stars the best kind of character—one readers can’t quite decide whether to loathe or to love. But in the end, the fact for Alex to truly find himself, he had to become someone else. The result is an irresistibly wicked comedy of ill-manners.
367 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 31, 2019
This is one of my shelf-warmers, it's been there forever, and I can't quite remember why I got it, probably because I love the name Alexander, and also because the promise of revenge intrigued me.
However....
It's supposedly funny, but I didn't laugh once. Might be because the translation didn't pass the humor along.
I wanted to get to the point when Alex starts exacting his revenge, but the glee was short lived. I understand the points he tried to make, but he becomes a humongous asshole, burning bridges as he goes and I find it really hard to feel compassion for him.
The last quarter of the book, I read one paragraph per page, to get it over with.
I didn't hate it as much as I make it sound, it just wasn't what I hoped it would be.
However....
It's supposedly funny, but I didn't laugh once. Might be because the translation didn't pass the humor along.
I wanted to get to the point when Alex starts exacting his revenge, but the glee was short lived. I understand the points he tried to make, but he becomes a humongous asshole, burning bridges as he goes and I find it really hard to feel compassion for him.
The last quarter of the book, I read one paragraph per page, to get it over with.
I didn't hate it as much as I make it sound, it just wasn't what I hoped it would be.
November 26, 2015
Het was een oké boek. De recensie staat online op http://bookswithabeautychick.blogspot...
June 2, 2009
Talk about extremes! It was more about exacting revenge than actually making himself a better person.
August 17, 2009
Great book, i love the plot, though the ending was seemed to me weak.
April 6, 2022
Though the premise of this book was... odd, to say the least, it was quite entertaining and reminded me of a Meg Cabot - A sort of rom-com with no real problems and events that were barely believable. I will say that the author had a certain liking for parenthesis which made the text confusing at a time, it being used several times on a page, but that really wasn't an issue. Many of the other reviews are complaining about this book being so fixated on revenge, however, that was literally the whole point of it and it was quite amusing the lengths that the protagonist was willing to go. Overall it was fine, I just wish that the ending was a little more satisfying as it honestly didn't seem worth it.
March 6, 2022
Horrendous.
December 27, 2011
I read this book while returning from home. I will never be able to complete this book if it is not for the boring journey. Anyway I am happy to bring this book along because it lightened my travel quite a bit. It is a book to read in journey and not for leaser reading at home. Not worth spending money, for sure. Never going to suggest it to someone, although it was a fresh story with present time relevance. I have one another book "Ben hur" with me while travelling and I also started with that one but you can't read such boring classic while travelling. I read it till 90 pages without getting little bit of interested. I guess now it will take me very long to complete the rest of "Ben Hur".
January 5, 2014
Another classic example of schlubby teenagers transforming themselves into another personality that is more likable, more suave, and more put-together. This novel is a more modern Steve/Stefan situation. If you're hard up for a read, it's not terrible, but there are much better things you could pick up to pass the time.
August 23, 2007
The book was good throughout the middle chapters. It was a fun and easy read. However if fell flat at the end. It was as if the auther was tired of writing and just decided to be finished. Type of ending that can break a book.
September 10, 2008
You felt for the main character at first then you started to think he was an idiot.
May 4, 2009
An interesting concept, and an enjoyable read. A satisfactory ending. Why not read it?
March 12, 2011
I Love, love this book! I enjoyed watching Alex take control of his life and alter its path! He made some very obvious mistakes. It was still a very great read!
December 1, 2012
Jed and Sarah deserve to be shot and shat on.
February 10, 2012
This was a reasonably good quick read. It was interesting to read what is essentially a chic-lit book written from the perspective of a man.
August 9, 2014
I read this book in dutch and I really loved it! The story is so good and I love the small chapters with headings...
April 1, 2017
Being Alexander by Nancy Sparling
Hebrew review follows ביקורת בעברית בהמשך
The story of the betrodden guy, that goes through a transformation, deals revenge to all his wrong doers, becomes a sex god and learns his lesson (of sorts).
The one good thing I can easily say about this book is how readable it is. Light as a feather, I read the 329 pages in a straight three hours (or a bit less), not realizing that time was passing. And it wasn't such a bad time to be honest.
On the other hand, you can't get much more predictable than this. One can guess where it all goes at about page 30, including the "twist" at the end. From then on it was reading how it unfolds, hoping for some surprises, although as mentioned above, it's done in a mostly painless and fairly entertaining manner. At some points it almost felt like the result of a "how to write a book" guide or what would come out of a writing workshop. Very little originality is involved in this book.
I also didn't like the parts where the author shares her annoyances with us, as if it is what the protagonist. Yes, people taking children to the cinema are annoying, and so are people not taking care of their pets. Why exactly do we need to read this?
Bottom line, an extremely light reading, devoid of much weight or content. If you have nothing else to read, there are worse ways to pass the time. 2 out of 5.
סיפורו של הבחור שכולם דורכים עליו, שעובר טרנספורמציה, נוקם בכל מי שעשה לו רע הופך לאל מין ולומד את הלקח שלו (פחות או יותר).
הדבר הטוב בספר הזה הוא עד כמה הוא קריא. קל כנוצה, קראתי את 329 העמודים במשך שלוש שעות רצופות (או קצת פחות), בלי להרגיש איך שהזמן עובר. ולמען האמת זה לא היה כל כך נורא.
מצד שני, קשה לחשוב על סיפור הרבה יותר צפוי. אפשר היה לנחש לאן הסיפור הזה ילך אחרי כמה עשרות עמודים כולל ה"טוויסט" שבסוף. מאותו רגע ואילך הקריאה היא יותר כדי לראות איך בדיוק הספר יתפתח ואולי הוא יצליח להפתיע, אם כי כאמור, באופן מבדר במידת מה. בחלק מהמקרים הספר הוא כמו תוצאה של מדריך "איך לכתוב ספר" או התוצר של סדנת כתיבה. המקוריות וההפתעה הם לא הצד החזק של הספר זה.
גם לא אהבתי את החלקים שבהם המחברת חולקת איתנו את מה שמציק לה, כאילו אלו מחשבותיו של הגיבור. כן, גם אני חושב שאנשים שלוקחים תינוקות לקולנוע זה מעצבן, כמו גם אנשים שלא אוספים אחרי הכלבים שלהם. למה בדיוק אנחנו צריכים לקרוא את זה?
בשורה התחתונה, קריאה קלילה ביותר, נטולת משקל או תוכן רב. אם אין שום דבר אחר לקרוא, יש דרכים גרועות יותר להעביר את הזמן. 2 מתוך 5.
Hebrew review follows ביקורת בעברית בהמשך
The story of the betrodden guy, that goes through a transformation, deals revenge to all his wrong doers, becomes a sex god and learns his lesson (of sorts).
The one good thing I can easily say about this book is how readable it is. Light as a feather, I read the 329 pages in a straight three hours (or a bit less), not realizing that time was passing. And it wasn't such a bad time to be honest.
On the other hand, you can't get much more predictable than this. One can guess where it all goes at about page 30, including the "twist" at the end. From then on it was reading how it unfolds, hoping for some surprises, although as mentioned above, it's done in a mostly painless and fairly entertaining manner. At some points it almost felt like the result of a "how to write a book" guide or what would come out of a writing workshop. Very little originality is involved in this book.
I also didn't like the parts where the author shares her annoyances with us, as if it is what the protagonist. Yes, people taking children to the cinema are annoying, and so are people not taking care of their pets. Why exactly do we need to read this?
Bottom line, an extremely light reading, devoid of much weight or content. If you have nothing else to read, there are worse ways to pass the time. 2 out of 5.
סיפורו של הבחור שכולם דורכים עליו, שעובר טרנספורמציה, נוקם בכל מי שעשה לו רע הופך לאל מין ולומד את הלקח שלו (פחות או יותר).
הדבר הטוב בספר הזה הוא עד כמה הוא קריא. קל כנוצה, קראתי את 329 העמודים במשך שלוש שעות רצופות (או קצת פחות), בלי להרגיש איך שהזמן עובר. ולמען האמת זה לא היה כל כך נורא.
מצד שני, קשה לחשוב על סיפור הרבה יותר צפוי. אפשר היה לנחש לאן הסיפור הזה ילך אחרי כמה עשרות עמודים כולל ה"טוויסט" שבסוף. מאותו רגע ואילך הקריאה היא יותר כדי לראות איך בדיוק הספר יתפתח ואולי הוא יצליח להפתיע, אם כי כאמור, באופן מבדר במידת מה. בחלק מהמקרים הספר הוא כמו תוצאה של מדריך "איך לכתוב ספר" או התוצר של סדנת כתיבה. המקוריות וההפתעה הם לא הצד החזק של הספר זה.
גם לא אהבתי את החלקים שבהם המחברת חולקת איתנו את מה שמציק לה, כאילו אלו מחשבותיו של הגיבור. כן, גם אני חושב שאנשים שלוקחים תינוקות לקולנוע זה מעצבן, כמו גם אנשים שלא אוספים אחרי הכלבים שלהם. למה בדיוק אנחנו צריכים לקרוא את זה?
בשורה התחתונה, קריאה קלילה ביותר, נטולת משקל או תוכן רב. אם אין שום דבר אחר לקרוא, יש דרכים גרועות יותר להעביר את הזמן. 2 מתוך 5.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews