Whole Lot of Hullabaloo: A Twenty-First Century Campus Phantasmagoria

by Christopher Fried, Christopher David Evans Fried

It's Fall 2011, and Troy Thomas, a sophomore at Central Ohio University, is living a normal college life with his best friend, Ian Mueller, a top lacrosse player. One night, however, Troy's best friend arrives at an off-campus costume party dressed as a Miami Vice character in controversial fashion. All is normal until Ian receives an e-mail from the university administration, revealing that unbeknownst to Ian and Troy, a fellow student became greatly offended, and is threatening to take the incident to the local media. A whole slew of shenanigans ensue as Troy tries to make sense of not only his friend's actions, but that of the reactions and behavior of the college community and other local residents in the Columbus, OH area. Soon, Troy, along with the university administration and students, is dealing with militants, a popular preacher from the east side of Columbus, and a recently hired pioneering professor, among other characters with their own agendas. During this chaos, Troy tries to discover who he is in a community gripped by social strife and finds out whether friendship will wither amid such division. Darkly satirical, but touched with a nostalgia for 80s and early 90s pop culture, a tragic situation turns into a resounding comedic affirmation of individuality. Though inspired by twentieth century writers such as Kingsley Amis, Anthony Powell, and Evelyn Waugh, it's a twenty-first century piece of modern Americana.

2021 Finalist of the National Indie Excellence Awards (Comedy)

Genres: Fiction, Drama

ebook

First published October 16, 2020

About the author

Christopher Fried a.k.a. Christopher David Evans Fried

Reviews

[Denisele · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Honestly, I got 50% of the way through the book before I decided that I needed to look up what phantasmagoria meant because I was expecting something paranormal to show up. Otherwise, it seems like the author just threw as many sensational situations in to see what eye brows could be raised without really giving in depth exploration into any of the issues. The dialogue was basic. I didn't feel transported to the university due to lack of descriptions. If I wasn't a completionist, I would have stopped reading this book much sooner.

[Reader Views · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Whole Lot of Hullabaloo,” by Christopher Fried is quite the entertaining read. This satirical fiction on the ins and outs of a college campus immediately hooks readers on the first page. We are introduced to several different personalities, each representing the harms that stereotypes inflict on people. We have Milly, a first generation Korean American, who despite her parents’ wishes she pursues her dream to be an actress. We have Lola, a young Hispanic woman from Miami who struggles with the shame of not being able to speak Spanish as well as her Jewish roommate, Rachel. We see the struggle with racism and stereotypes through the administration and men in the novel as well. When one Ian Mueller makes a questionable decision on Halloween, the President of the University is left to figure out how to resolve the issue.

Fried does a spectacular job in keeping his readers engaged and entertained from start to finish. Every character has their quirks and trials. One of my favorite characters introduced is that of Troy. He is quiet, dedicated, and honest about his opinions and experiences. He does his best to bring attention to his best friend Ian’s problematic form of humor and choices, but while also defending him in other instances. Troy serves as an example of just how complex it can be to be a minority on a rather diverse campus.

We see the importance of accountability after Ian decides to dress up in a controversial Halloween costume. When people see his costume, it is interesting to see the different reactions towards. Some are indifferent, others speak out, and others choose to ignore it. But when it is brought to the attention of the administration we see how many people are realizing that had they tackled Ian’s earlier comments and actions, rather than dismiss it as ignorance, maybe the entire issue could have been resolved sooner and in a better fashion.

Overall, Christopher Fried is highly effective using humor and satire to bring attention to the dangers that ignorance can have when talking about race. I recommend “Whole Lot of Hullabaloo” by Christopher Fried to those readers that enjoy a bit of dark humor around a serious issue.

[bookhaven__ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whole Lot of Hullabaloo
By
Christopher Fried

My Review:
There are very few stories that hooks the readers from the first page. Whole lot of hullabaloo by Christopher Fried is one such novel. Troy Thomas's life is going good in his sophomore year. Last year his parents weren't happy with his grades so this year, he wanted to score good grades. Troy was lost deep in his books. His friend Ian went to the cafeteria and his eyes fell on a beautiful girl.

At one off-campus party, Ian showed up in blackface. He was representing Noogman, a character from 80s show Miami Vice. But Ian didn't know that his this act can offend a member of Black Students Organization. All this had an impact on Troy's life too. He started wondering about his own identity and his friendship with Ian will be tested.

The story is quite entertaining. It is humorous and the characters are well developed. Descriptions are amazing. Plot of the novel is great. College students definitely gonna enjoy this novel. Pace of the story didn't feel rushed or too slow. It's a fantastic story with which you could go ahead without thinking twice.

My Rating: 5/5

[_sassy_39 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whole Lot of Hullabaloo: A Twenty-First Century Campus Phantasmagoria" written by the author Christopher Fried is a timeless story. It offers a funny image of the 80s and the 90s. Story revolves around Troy Thomas, a sophomore at Central Ohio University and his best friend Ian Mueller. For an off-campus party Ian wore a costume to look like the Noogman, a character from one of the best shows of eighties Miami Vice.

Even though Ian's friends thought someone might get offended with Ian's costume because he was wearing a blackface but Ian didn't think so. Eventually, a student got offended with Ian's look and he told administration that he gonna escalate things to local media. Grab a copy of this book and find out yourself will Troy be able to discover his identity and role within this whole messy situation.

Story is different and hooked me till the last page. Cover photo of the book is nice and title couldn't have been more appropriate. Story is fast paced and I didn't feel bored anytime while reading it. This is the first book that I have read by Christopher and I enjoyed his writing style. I like to recommend this book to my fellow readers.

[Readers Choice · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝑻𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆: Whole Lot of Hullabaloo
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: Christopher Fried

𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
Whole Lot of Hullabaloo by Christopher Fried is a satirical novel. Troy Thomas and his best friend Ian Mueller are enjoying college life as sophomore at Central Ohio University. Ian don't take things seriously. Troy and Ian enjoys life hanging out, doing party, staring girls, etc. One mistake by Ian put his and Troy's life in danger.

Due to his costume, Ian landed up in a difficult situation. This made Troy to question his life and friendship with Ian. There was a whole lot of hullabaloo that justifies the title of this novel. What impact this situation gonna have on Troy's life?

This is a riveting tale. Narration is smooth and strong. I was easily able to follow this entire story. This novel took me down the memory lane to my college days that were full of friendship, parties, trouble, etc. Characters are well written by author. Troy and Ian's characters are different and I enjoyed reading about both of them.

𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 5/5

[Tanishq Rajmani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of the book is designed really well. It attracts in the first place. The title is totally apt for the book.

The story is about Troy Thomas and his best friend Ian Mueller. There were enjoying their life in college. Ian was not serious and one mistake done by him put him and his friend in Danger as someone got offended when he wore a costume to look like the Noogman for an off-campus party.
To know what happens next you need to read the book!

Overall a really thought provoking and engaging read that will keep you gripped till the end. The story is really entertaining and the charecterisation is superb. The pace is maintained really well.The author has brilliantly used Dark humour in this book to highlight a serious issue.I would highly recommend this book from my side to everyone. Go for it without a second thought!

[Kellylynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one starts really slow. I struggled to keep track of the characters until about 100 pages in and even then I still confused them at times. The writing is so simplistic and awkward. The reason for the story is a good one - it talks of social justice. But there is just so much wrong with the writing it is not worth it.

It went about 150 pages before we even got to the 'social faux pas' and the book is ~280 pages. The beginning drug on with the intro to the people (that was not the greatest) and then the end just wrapped up way too quickly.

I actually won this one in one of the giveaways.

[Shell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me a little of Seinfeld. A book about nothing in particular. It delves a little into the lengths people go to appease the loud 1%, the ridiculousness of some classes offered by colleges for credit, the dynamics of marriage, racism and non-racism, and various other topics without really having a climax that ties everything together. Not my cup of tea, but others may like it better. Characters were very well written and rounded.

[Jacob Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. In my opinion, the characters were not fleshed out very well and much of the character dialogue didn’t seem realistic. People just don’t talk that way to each other, especially college students. I didn’t feel transported to the campus and I also didn’t feel any real connection with any of the characters. Mildly entertaining at best.

[Amy Weisbard-bloom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Won this on goodreads and had to put it down 40% in. The writing is basic at best and I could not get into this book at all. Sorry but really cannot find a positive thing to say about this one

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

thinking of joining the camping world. Read this book and laugh at the mistakes that first times make. It is a pleasant read.

[Sleepy D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm never going to finish this

[Ruben · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Book"

I just finished reading this book. Was surprised to see that I won this book in the giveaway. I didn't know what to expect from this book. This book is good, but it's not one of my favorite genres of books.

[Ruben · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book. I won ii as giveaway and was surprised to see that I won it. Overall, this is a very good book, but I wasn't into this book because it's a different type of genre that I normally read.

[Shai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. Not about what I thought it was going to be about. Ended up being about some weird college race war. I didn’t enjoy the storyline and didn’t find it humorous.