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Elliot Allagash
Painfully shy and physically inept, Seymour Herson is the lowest student on the social totem pole at Glendale, a private school in Manhattan. But Seymour’s solitary existence comes to a swift end when he meets the new transfer student, Elliot Allagash, evil heir to America’s largest fortune. Bitter and bored with Glendale’s pedestrian surroundings, Elliot decides to take up a challenging and expensive hobby: transforming Seymour into the most popular boy in the school. With Elliot as his diabolical strategist, investor, and unlikely best friend, Seymour scores a spot on the basketball team, becomes class president, and ruthlessly destroys his enemies. Yet despite the glow of newfound popularity, Seymour feels increasingly uneasy with Elliot’s wily designs. For an Allagash victory is dishonorable at its best, and positively ruinous at its worst.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
49 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
Simon Rich
29 books1,072 followersSimon Rich (born 1984) is an American humorist whose first book, Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations, was published by Random House in April 2007.
Rich is an alumnus of The Dalton School and a former president of The Harvard Lampoon, and the son of The New York Times editorialist Frank Rich. He received a two book contract from Random House prior to his graduation from Harvard University in 2007.
His first book, Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations, has been described as a collection of "giddy what-if scenarios". Excerpts of the book were printed in The New Yorker's "Shouts and Murmurs" column. His second book, Free Range Chickens, was published in 2008. His first novel, Elliot Allagash was released in May of 2010, followed by What in God’s Name and most recently, The Last Girlfriend on Earth, a collection of short stories about love.
He is currently a writer for Saturday Night Live.
Rich is an alumnus of The Dalton School and a former president of The Harvard Lampoon, and the son of The New York Times editorialist Frank Rich. He received a two book contract from Random House prior to his graduation from Harvard University in 2007.
His first book, Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations, has been described as a collection of "giddy what-if scenarios". Excerpts of the book were printed in The New Yorker's "Shouts and Murmurs" column. His second book, Free Range Chickens, was published in 2008. His first novel, Elliot Allagash was released in May of 2010, followed by What in God’s Name and most recently, The Last Girlfriend on Earth, a collection of short stories about love.
He is currently a writer for Saturday Night Live.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
June 26, 2010
This is another book I would like to give a 2.5/5 star rating to. Not quite a 3, but extra cred for it's very funny conceit...a brilliant, disturbed, uber rich kid (Elliot Allagash) is manipulationg the protagonist, Seymour, as a kind of sport. Elliot's goal...to make Seymour, a fellow 8th grader who is extremely unpopular, into the most popular kid in school. Some of the parts are funny, but the novel as a whole is too thin and uneven to work as well as it should.
March 10, 2015
I guess I'm being pretty brutal giving this only one star but out of all the Simon Rich books I've read this one was just disappointing. It started off interesting but by the time I got halfway through it seemed like such a chore to read. Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be funny, but I don't remember laughing at anything. Maybe I was expecting the humor that I found in the other Rich books I've read.
I didn't like any of the characters, Elliot the most and Seymour especially toward the end. I agree with others who said the characters were paper thin. The ending was a little underwhelming for me as well. I think I was expecting more the whole time I was reading.
I didn't like any of the characters, Elliot the most and Seymour especially toward the end. I agree with others who said the characters were paper thin. The ending was a little underwhelming for me as well. I think I was expecting more the whole time I was reading.
July 4, 2018
Cheguei até os 80% do livro e apenas desisti. Começa interessante como uma (quase) sátira política ao retratar os bastidores da eleição para representante de turma em um high school. Tem seus momentos divertidos até metade do livro, mas depois se perde em meio ao nonsense que busca apenas mostrar como gente "podre" de rica pode ser podre por inteiro. Quando chega a isso, o livro se torna um desfile de alegorias sem nenhum atrativo especial... Tanto que perdi o interesse pra saber o que acontece no final. Tenho outros títulos mais interessantes pra ler... Passo!
August 6, 2023
It was an interesting book, a little funny. Nothing to rave about.
October 21, 2010
I read this book based on a glowing review, and though I can't now recall the source, I was sufficiently moved to place a hold on it at the local library, and to consider buying it online in case I couldn't wait.
It was a welcome enough diversion (and thankfully arrived at the library before I was forced to purchase it), and the speediest of reads: I finished it in a single afternoon. I didn't think it was terribly funny, although there were certainly some creative bits. I think I would probably have enjoyed it quite a bit as a kid (and was made aware of my own age and generation not merely because I didn't appreciate all the pre-teen humor, but because the cultural references were from approximately 1996-7, which was when its young author, the 26-year old Simon Rich, was presumably himself at the age of his characters).
I think I'd also had the impression somehow that it was a British book, which might have made it funnier. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, the last British teen-y book I read (a gift from my sister) was a scream.
It was a welcome enough diversion (and thankfully arrived at the library before I was forced to purchase it), and the speediest of reads: I finished it in a single afternoon. I didn't think it was terribly funny, although there were certainly some creative bits. I think I would probably have enjoyed it quite a bit as a kid (and was made aware of my own age and generation not merely because I didn't appreciate all the pre-teen humor, but because the cultural references were from approximately 1996-7, which was when its young author, the 26-year old Simon Rich, was presumably himself at the age of his characters).
I think I'd also had the impression somehow that it was a British book, which might have made it funnier. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, the last British teen-y book I read (a gift from my sister) was a scream.
January 18, 2018
This book seems a bit divisive on GoodReads, but I found it to be a worthwhile and fun read. Criticisms appear to fall largely into 2 categories. The first is expectation. His earlier books are composed of brief, 2-3 page unconnected humorous scenarios which are frequently laugh out loud funny. This book's humor is much more broadly satirical which was probably disappointing to anyone who came into this expecting the laugh at every page. The second, and in my opinion, fairer criticism is the lack of depth of the characters. For me, this was frustrating because it felt like the characters were more substantial, but we just weren't being given enough. Overall, though, Rich's prose is breezy and the book is pretty short, so it isn't much of a time commitment. I had fun reading it, and I suspect it would play well to a younger audience.
July 14, 2010
SNL writer (and almost impossibly young-looking) Rich displays flashes of real comic invention, but ultimately the book's milquetoast protagonist keeps the book from biting. The details of how the obscenely wealthy Allagashes flaunt and perpetuate their wealth are delightful, but the rest can be found in almost any other comic novel set in high school. (And there are a lot of those, esp. lately.)
May 17, 2016
3.5 Stars.
This was a quick, easy, amusing and enjoyable read. Got me thinking about my own time in high school. It was interesting to see how the main characters interacted with each other right through to the end.
This was a quick, easy, amusing and enjoyable read. Got me thinking about my own time in high school. It was interesting to see how the main characters interacted with each other right through to the end.
January 10, 2019
The book Elliot Allagash isn’t typically a book I would just decide to read when I’m bored. It isn’t the type of book that I’m usually interested either. I decided to read Seymour’s story about Elliot for English class. Our book topic this month was humor and when I looked up books that were considered humorous, Elliot Allagash popped up. The previous reviews that people wrote about the book sounded quite interesting, but in a way that you would have to read the story yourself to understand, so I decided to give the book a chance.
Elliot Allagash. An insanely rich boy who has been expelled from every high school you could possibly imagine. When he begins to attend Glendale high school, the only school that would accept him, he befriends Seymour Herson. Seymour is the least popular kid at school until Elliot introduces him to revenge and sabotage. Seymour and Elliot didn’t get off to the right start when Elliot pushed Seymour down the stairs. The thing is with Elliot, he does things for experiment. He’ll do anything so things work out in his favor. In the beginning of the book, Seymour talks about how Elliot was always writing something inside his notebook. It was rare to see him look up from it. When Seymour finally found out what was inside, he learned that Elliot was studying who was the most to least popular in Glendale high school and also a list of all his enemies. That’s when the schemes began to start. Elliot helped Seymour get on the basketball team, cheat on tests,win class president, and even get into Yale. How was he able to do all this? The simple answer was his wealth. Elliot got anything and everything he wanted, and nobody was smart enough to realize. Except Seymour of course.
Although this book and hard to relate to, the development throughout it overall is really good. There isn’t really anything positive I can think of to say about the book structurally, but there was many good positive parts inside the book itself. I loved more than anything that while Elliot was practically destroying everyone else’s lives, he was helping build up Seymours. Seymour gets many benefits out of all of Elliot’s actions and even though and doesn’t agree with many of his choices, he’s finally becoming a somebody rather than the nobody whom was called “chunk-style” by his classmates. Seymour begins to earn respect from his peers and I adored that aspect of the book.
One of the major downsides to this book is that there isn’t chapters. The book kind of jumps around from story to story and I found it confusing to understand. Throughout the book, a story would be told in depth and then it would stop. There then is three dots beneath it , and a new story begins. When there are chapters I find it much easier to understand and I feel like what I’m reading ends more in a complete thought and then flows onto the next. I wouldn’t say that this necessarily made the book bad, I would just say without the transitions from topic to topic, it makes it harder to read the book. Another downside to the book is it is super unrealistic. I understand that yes, it is a fictional story however, it takes place within a real world situation. The things the Elliot and Seymour do together cannot actually happen and it makes the book hard to believe. The main thoughts that came to mind while reading Elliot Allagash were “yeah right”, “that’s not possible”, and “dude just because you’re rich doesn’t mean he’s able to pull of schemes this easy!”
Elliot Allagash. An insanely rich boy who has been expelled from every high school you could possibly imagine. When he begins to attend Glendale high school, the only school that would accept him, he befriends Seymour Herson. Seymour is the least popular kid at school until Elliot introduces him to revenge and sabotage. Seymour and Elliot didn’t get off to the right start when Elliot pushed Seymour down the stairs. The thing is with Elliot, he does things for experiment. He’ll do anything so things work out in his favor. In the beginning of the book, Seymour talks about how Elliot was always writing something inside his notebook. It was rare to see him look up from it. When Seymour finally found out what was inside, he learned that Elliot was studying who was the most to least popular in Glendale high school and also a list of all his enemies. That’s when the schemes began to start. Elliot helped Seymour get on the basketball team, cheat on tests,win class president, and even get into Yale. How was he able to do all this? The simple answer was his wealth. Elliot got anything and everything he wanted, and nobody was smart enough to realize. Except Seymour of course.
Although this book and hard to relate to, the development throughout it overall is really good. There isn’t really anything positive I can think of to say about the book structurally, but there was many good positive parts inside the book itself. I loved more than anything that while Elliot was practically destroying everyone else’s lives, he was helping build up Seymours. Seymour gets many benefits out of all of Elliot’s actions and even though and doesn’t agree with many of his choices, he’s finally becoming a somebody rather than the nobody whom was called “chunk-style” by his classmates. Seymour begins to earn respect from his peers and I adored that aspect of the book.
One of the major downsides to this book is that there isn’t chapters. The book kind of jumps around from story to story and I found it confusing to understand. Throughout the book, a story would be told in depth and then it would stop. There then is three dots beneath it , and a new story begins. When there are chapters I find it much easier to understand and I feel like what I’m reading ends more in a complete thought and then flows onto the next. I wouldn’t say that this necessarily made the book bad, I would just say without the transitions from topic to topic, it makes it harder to read the book. Another downside to the book is it is super unrealistic. I understand that yes, it is a fictional story however, it takes place within a real world situation. The things the Elliot and Seymour do together cannot actually happen and it makes the book hard to believe. The main thoughts that came to mind while reading Elliot Allagash were “yeah right”, “that’s not possible”, and “dude just because you’re rich doesn’t mean he’s able to pull of schemes this easy!”
January 23, 2025
3.5/5 - A humorous satire of social hierarchy and the loneliness of being at the very top of it all.
I've long suspected that there is a quantity of wealth that is an inflection point in happiness, making it go down with increasing money instead of up. Where this point is, I've no idea, but a lot of prominent people are clearly way way past it.
As someone who went to Harvard from a more modest background, the author Simon Rich has talked about rubbing shoulders with people like the eponymous Elliot Allagash, and the reality of this book may not be as far fetched and fantastical as it might initially seem.
At one point Elliot is compared to a genie by the main character, which puts a different twist on the curse of being a genie. With unlimited power to alter the world around you, how do you find meaning, purpose, and identity in the world?
I've long suspected that there is a quantity of wealth that is an inflection point in happiness, making it go down with increasing money instead of up. Where this point is, I've no idea, but a lot of prominent people are clearly way way past it.
As someone who went to Harvard from a more modest background, the author Simon Rich has talked about rubbing shoulders with people like the eponymous Elliot Allagash, and the reality of this book may not be as far fetched and fantastical as it might initially seem.
At one point Elliot is compared to a genie by the main character, which puts a different twist on the curse of being a genie. With unlimited power to alter the world around you, how do you find meaning, purpose, and identity in the world?
March 18, 2019
Having read some of his shorter works and watched his series I was excited to dive into his longer narratives, and I wasn't disappointed. I like that Simon is playing with the tropes of the teen genre here and finding fresh ways to defy expectations. I can't wait to dive into his next book.
March 24, 2025
Sweet book. Stressed me out a little bit at times.
April 7, 2022
I love Simon Rich's short stories. This was similarly clever, creative, funny, and secretly sweet throughout but even at just over 200 pages, this novel-length story started to get a little too... Rich for my blood.
February 20, 2023
A hidden gem for fans of Simon Rich's work.
November 24, 2020
A pretty straight-forward read that’s definitely for young adults. Funny but also touching, though not super realistic of course in true Simon Rich fashion. Entertaining read and good for middle-high school boys especially.
August 31, 2010
*There are some minor spoilers in this review, but not large enough ones that I felt the need to click the "this review contains spoilers" button. If you are really paranoid, don't read it, I suppose.*
I saw a write-up for this book in my city's newspaper, and based on what I saw in the review, immediately became desperate to read it. When I finally got my hands on a copy, I was not disappointed.
Elliot Allagash tells the story of Seymour Herson, a chubby boy in grade eight who is the lowest of the low popularity wise at his New York school. All this is changed when he meets new student Elliot Allagash.
Elliot is the heir to one of the world's largest fortunes. He is arrogant, brilliant...... and a juvenile delinquent. The only reason he is at Seymour's school is because it's the only one that would take him: his father has donated an astronomical amount of money to ensure he isn't kicked out. Bored out of his tree, Elliot decides to take up a new hobby: raising Seymour to the most popular boy in the school.
The first half of the book is light and hilarious. The two boys have a series of highly entertaining escapades, culminating in Seymour's winning the title of ninth-grade president, and ending up being the most popular kid in the school after all.
The second half, however, is much darker. In the second part of Elliot Allagash, we have fast-forwarded to Seymour's grade twelve year. He has gotten ahead by lying and cheating his way through every exam, under Elliot's instruction. Officially speaking, he is the extremely popular--but because he appears to be so perfect and good at everything, no one, in actual fact, really likes him. His relationship with his parents, which was close and loving in the first half, is now terrible, and he has no real friends except Elliot.
Managing to be both hilarious and tear-jerking, Elliot Allagash is a terrific read, recommended for the tween-to-infinity set. It's quick and easy to whip through, but good summer reading. Simon Rich is an excellent new author and I'll be watching for anything new he may produce!
I saw a write-up for this book in my city's newspaper, and based on what I saw in the review, immediately became desperate to read it. When I finally got my hands on a copy, I was not disappointed.
Elliot Allagash tells the story of Seymour Herson, a chubby boy in grade eight who is the lowest of the low popularity wise at his New York school. All this is changed when he meets new student Elliot Allagash.
Elliot is the heir to one of the world's largest fortunes. He is arrogant, brilliant...... and a juvenile delinquent. The only reason he is at Seymour's school is because it's the only one that would take him: his father has donated an astronomical amount of money to ensure he isn't kicked out. Bored out of his tree, Elliot decides to take up a new hobby: raising Seymour to the most popular boy in the school.
The first half of the book is light and hilarious. The two boys have a series of highly entertaining escapades, culminating in Seymour's winning the title of ninth-grade president, and ending up being the most popular kid in the school after all.
The second half, however, is much darker. In the second part of Elliot Allagash, we have fast-forwarded to Seymour's grade twelve year. He has gotten ahead by lying and cheating his way through every exam, under Elliot's instruction. Officially speaking, he is the extremely popular--but because he appears to be so perfect and good at everything, no one, in actual fact, really likes him. His relationship with his parents, which was close and loving in the first half, is now terrible, and he has no real friends except Elliot.
Managing to be both hilarious and tear-jerking, Elliot Allagash is a terrific read, recommended for the tween-to-infinity set. It's quick and easy to whip through, but good summer reading. Simon Rich is an excellent new author and I'll be watching for anything new he may produce!
April 17, 2015
Moves like an indie comedy movie
If you like Wes Anderson films, this book will definitely be an appealing read. The book has a dry wit that could be found in an episode of the Office. It almost doesn't read like a common prose story. In many ways it reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in presentation. The main storyline is separated with the musings and stories told by the main protagonist, Seymour and occasionally by Elliott's father. The only difference is that the narrative of this book is a bit more focused (Hitchhikers Guide still rules all). If you want an easy read, that's really funny, I would highly recommend this book. Some day this will make a great film if some one adapts it.
If you like Wes Anderson films, this book will definitely be an appealing read. The book has a dry wit that could be found in an episode of the Office. It almost doesn't read like a common prose story. In many ways it reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in presentation. The main storyline is separated with the musings and stories told by the main protagonist, Seymour and occasionally by Elliott's father. The only difference is that the narrative of this book is a bit more focused (Hitchhikers Guide still rules all). If you want an easy read, that's really funny, I would highly recommend this book. Some day this will make a great film if some one adapts it.
June 1, 2010
An evil teenage billionaire named Elliot Allagash is poised to take over his new prep school--and the world--in this hilarious first novel by Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich.
June 5, 2010
What odd little book.
March 3, 2019
Seymour is the least popular kid at Glendale school, a Manhattan fee-paying school that’s “small and getting smaller every year”. It’s a shame he’s not doing better because his parents can’t really afford the fees to send him there. Of the 41 children in his year at his Manhattan school, he ranks himself last in terms of popularity but on the whole he’s pretty cool about that. Yes, he wishes he had a bit more status. Yes, he wishes that Jessica, the ‘hot’ girl with the breasts who borrows his pencils during detention would notice him. But he’s pretty resigned to being the butt of class jokes and getting called names by Lance, the top dog in the school’s basketball team. When a 42nd pupil joins the school everything is set to change for Seymour. The ‘new boy’ is like nobody he’s ever met before. Elliot Allagash is wealthy beyond the imagination of most of us mere mortals and Elliot has his eye on Seymour.
Elliot has been expelled from every school he’s ever been to but his father has donated so much money to Glendale that there’s no way he can get expelled no matter what he does or how hard he tries. With great wealth comes great ennui and Elliot has immense depths of devious intelligence. He needs stimulation, he needs a project and like Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, he spots a loser in Seymour and decides to make him the subject of his challenge. Elliot’s mission is to make Seymour his Eliza Doolittle and turn him into the most popular boy. He tells Seymour that all he has to do is “exactly what I tell you”.
Aided and abetted by James, Elliot’s hired man, and financed by his father Terry, Elliot soon teaches Seymour that there’s no such thing as ‘can’t’ when you are absolutely loaded. He hires a professional basketball coach and gets James to set up an entire basketball league just so Seymour has other kids to scrimmage with. He takes a boy so physically useless that he can barely bounce a ball and makes him a sportsman. Whilst Seymour soon sees the benefits in his Faustian pact with Elliot, he also gets glimpses of just how devious his friend and mentor can be if he’s crossed. People who get in Elliot’s way are made to pay. In one example he sends a newly released convicted Nazi to a restaurant, passing him off as a restaurant reviewer and placing several members of the city’s press in the restaurant to report on the fawning attentions shown to this evil outcast. Why? Because the restaurant had refused to serve Seymour a burger just a few days earlier.
When reading you can’t help but assume this whole plot is heading for the biggest catastrophic car-crash ending of all time but maybe it will or maybe it won’t. Can anyone stand up to Elliot and his father and survive? Can Seymour become his own (young) man like Frankenstein’s monster taking on an identity his maker never intended?
It is of course a morality tale and a lot of the book is really quite predictable but not in any unpleasant way. It’s a light, easy read that is probably designed for a much younger audience than me. I knew where it was going and I was happy to join the characters on their journey even if I’m a long way past high school. As Elliot manipulates both Seymour and those around him, we come to learn that being as wealthy as Croesus doesn’t guarantee happiness for either Elliot or his devious father, a man who buys paintings and works of art so that he can destroy them and stop anyone else from every having the pleasure of seeing them. Terry the father seems to only be able to communicate with his son through Seymour as a chosen intermediary. Seymour learns that being immensely popular isn’t quite as brilliant as he expected and that getting to the top can mean treading on others who don’t deserve it. Perhaps he’s not really cut out for ruthlessness.
I read Elliot Allagash in just a few hours on planes and in airports. It’s a very easy read. I’d perhaps have appreciated a much darker ending than I got and a greater sense of ‘consequence’ for the games that were played along the way, but all in all, I think this book will do very well with its target audience of teenagers and young adults. I enjoyed it very much but treated it as the fairy tale that I think it’s intended to be.
Elliot has been expelled from every school he’s ever been to but his father has donated so much money to Glendale that there’s no way he can get expelled no matter what he does or how hard he tries. With great wealth comes great ennui and Elliot has immense depths of devious intelligence. He needs stimulation, he needs a project and like Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, he spots a loser in Seymour and decides to make him the subject of his challenge. Elliot’s mission is to make Seymour his Eliza Doolittle and turn him into the most popular boy. He tells Seymour that all he has to do is “exactly what I tell you”.
Aided and abetted by James, Elliot’s hired man, and financed by his father Terry, Elliot soon teaches Seymour that there’s no such thing as ‘can’t’ when you are absolutely loaded. He hires a professional basketball coach and gets James to set up an entire basketball league just so Seymour has other kids to scrimmage with. He takes a boy so physically useless that he can barely bounce a ball and makes him a sportsman. Whilst Seymour soon sees the benefits in his Faustian pact with Elliot, he also gets glimpses of just how devious his friend and mentor can be if he’s crossed. People who get in Elliot’s way are made to pay. In one example he sends a newly released convicted Nazi to a restaurant, passing him off as a restaurant reviewer and placing several members of the city’s press in the restaurant to report on the fawning attentions shown to this evil outcast. Why? Because the restaurant had refused to serve Seymour a burger just a few days earlier.
When reading you can’t help but assume this whole plot is heading for the biggest catastrophic car-crash ending of all time but maybe it will or maybe it won’t. Can anyone stand up to Elliot and his father and survive? Can Seymour become his own (young) man like Frankenstein’s monster taking on an identity his maker never intended?
It is of course a morality tale and a lot of the book is really quite predictable but not in any unpleasant way. It’s a light, easy read that is probably designed for a much younger audience than me. I knew where it was going and I was happy to join the characters on their journey even if I’m a long way past high school. As Elliot manipulates both Seymour and those around him, we come to learn that being as wealthy as Croesus doesn’t guarantee happiness for either Elliot or his devious father, a man who buys paintings and works of art so that he can destroy them and stop anyone else from every having the pleasure of seeing them. Terry the father seems to only be able to communicate with his son through Seymour as a chosen intermediary. Seymour learns that being immensely popular isn’t quite as brilliant as he expected and that getting to the top can mean treading on others who don’t deserve it. Perhaps he’s not really cut out for ruthlessness.
I read Elliot Allagash in just a few hours on planes and in airports. It’s a very easy read. I’d perhaps have appreciated a much darker ending than I got and a greater sense of ‘consequence’ for the games that were played along the way, but all in all, I think this book will do very well with its target audience of teenagers and young adults. I enjoyed it very much but treated it as the fairy tale that I think it’s intended to be.
January 9, 2020
Qué guay esto.
Es algo así rollo las comedias de instituto de John Hughes solo que en vez de refocilarse en lo chungo o en todo aquello de los juegos de poder (que se tocan pero muy de pasada), algo que luego sublimaría la serie Freaks & Geeks, se lanza a lo disparatado tipo Woodehouse con tan solo introducir un personaje: aquel que da nombre al libro.
¿No os pasa que el Señor Burns os flipa porque representa todo lo horrible del mundo y, aun debiendo odiarle, en su aire ensimismado en su anacronismo, en su maldad de vodevil, tiene más carisma que cualquier otro personaje de Springfield? Pues con Elliot Allagash lo mismo, solo que exacerbado a niveles Zoolander cuando las parodias del mundo frívolo o, aquí, aquel Ricos y Poderosos del fanzine Flandis Mandis que hiperbolizaba vidas de afamados dioses del ocio y el relajo.
Saco a colación Los Simpsons porque Simon Rich, dos novelas suyas que he leído, dos que en los agradecimientos menta a la serie. Y es que su humor es un poco eso: a fogonazos, a trompicones (pero no porque cree baches narrativos, sino porque sus personajes funcionan a trompazos, así son ellos), llevándote de la leve risa esbozada en la cara a la carcajada difícil de contener aunque estés leyendo en un medio de transporte público.
Y luego cuando hace sus metáforas, que es que desde Jardiel Poncela no ha habido nadie igual (recordemos que la serie Man Seeking Woman y los relatos de los que parte son suyos): estás ahí enfrascado en lo que parece es un flashback del protagonista a tiempos más sencillos que el instituto, tiempos en los que toda preocupación era pasarte un videojuego multipantalla de mamporros, y sin que te des cuenta te mete en una analogía de cómo es desenvolverse uno por la vida (ese scroll que avanza de izquierda a derecha empujando al personaje, esa pantalla final que a causa de un bug funde a negro de forma pixelada y es una decepción más que un final al uso) que cobra todavía más valor al ser un libro despreocupado por arrojar enseñanzas vitales, moralejas o cualquier mierda del estilo. Es sólo diversión lo que se busca aquí.
Es algo así rollo las comedias de instituto de John Hughes solo que en vez de refocilarse en lo chungo o en todo aquello de los juegos de poder (que se tocan pero muy de pasada), algo que luego sublimaría la serie Freaks & Geeks, se lanza a lo disparatado tipo Woodehouse con tan solo introducir un personaje: aquel que da nombre al libro.
¿No os pasa que el Señor Burns os flipa porque representa todo lo horrible del mundo y, aun debiendo odiarle, en su aire ensimismado en su anacronismo, en su maldad de vodevil, tiene más carisma que cualquier otro personaje de Springfield? Pues con Elliot Allagash lo mismo, solo que exacerbado a niveles Zoolander cuando las parodias del mundo frívolo o, aquí, aquel Ricos y Poderosos del fanzine Flandis Mandis que hiperbolizaba vidas de afamados dioses del ocio y el relajo.
Saco a colación Los Simpsons porque Simon Rich, dos novelas suyas que he leído, dos que en los agradecimientos menta a la serie. Y es que su humor es un poco eso: a fogonazos, a trompicones (pero no porque cree baches narrativos, sino porque sus personajes funcionan a trompazos, así son ellos), llevándote de la leve risa esbozada en la cara a la carcajada difícil de contener aunque estés leyendo en un medio de transporte público.
Y luego cuando hace sus metáforas, que es que desde Jardiel Poncela no ha habido nadie igual (recordemos que la serie Man Seeking Woman y los relatos de los que parte son suyos): estás ahí enfrascado en lo que parece es un flashback del protagonista a tiempos más sencillos que el instituto, tiempos en los que toda preocupación era pasarte un videojuego multipantalla de mamporros, y sin que te des cuenta te mete en una analogía de cómo es desenvolverse uno por la vida (ese scroll que avanza de izquierda a derecha empujando al personaje, esa pantalla final que a causa de un bug funde a negro de forma pixelada y es una decepción más que un final al uso) que cobra todavía más valor al ser un libro despreocupado por arrojar enseñanzas vitales, moralejas o cualquier mierda del estilo. Es sólo diversión lo que se busca aquí.
August 27, 2018
As I work my way through the books of Simon Rich, Elliot Allagash is his first novel, after a series of fantastic short story collections. Yet Elliot Allagash still comes off like a series of anecdotes and ruminations around a single idea - much like his short stories. The idea of a rich student manipulating the activities of his high school is an excellent and fun idea that Rich pulls off well, but it's an idea I wish I could see fleshed out more. This feels like a rough outline for a TV series or film that follows these same characters around. That's not a knock against the book, although I would love to see this material adapted.
Since Rich seems more comfortable writing short stories, Allagash is written like a bunch of memories and stories remembered after the fact. Rich makes some interesting choices, especially one at the halfway point that I found jarring, considering where the story was going. But I still felt like Rich was only throwing in character growth and developments in the story only when he needed to. By the time Rich gets to the final pages, it seems like he just then realized he needed a denouement of sorts and tries to tie everything together into a nice package. It works - mostly - but it still feels rushed and mostly flies against everything we know about the Allagash character.
At times, Elliot Allagash almost reads like a high school version of Breaking Bad, while other times, it feels like a bunch of funny ideas about wealth and privilege. It's a solid intro for Rich into the world of novels, but it just didn't have the bite of his better short stories.
Since Rich seems more comfortable writing short stories, Allagash is written like a bunch of memories and stories remembered after the fact. Rich makes some interesting choices, especially one at the halfway point that I found jarring, considering where the story was going. But I still felt like Rich was only throwing in character growth and developments in the story only when he needed to. By the time Rich gets to the final pages, it seems like he just then realized he needed a denouement of sorts and tries to tie everything together into a nice package. It works - mostly - but it still feels rushed and mostly flies against everything we know about the Allagash character.
At times, Elliot Allagash almost reads like a high school version of Breaking Bad, while other times, it feels like a bunch of funny ideas about wealth and privilege. It's a solid intro for Rich into the world of novels, but it just didn't have the bite of his better short stories.
July 4, 2020
I'm a big fan of Simon Rich's, his short story collections and tv series (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) are enormous fun, but this is a slightly lesser work. In it the rich, bored and all but certainly sociopathic pupil Elliot Allagash decides to play with the life of one of the one of the most disliked students, Seymour, and over time turns him in to the most popular kid in the school, all of which involves some quite frankly impressively devious schemes as Allagash screws with the lives of everyone he meets while his bemused father watches on, and it also includes some very funny tales from said father about life as an insanely rich man, while Rich's observations about high school life are sharp and often laugh out loud funny. But on the downside it's a slightly flimsy and lacking in substance affair, far too predictable, and it's a short book as well, I'm by no means the world's fastest reader but it only took a few hours to get through. All of which is a bit of a shame as I was enjoying it a great deal and with a bit more depth it could have been rather special, instead of something I'm fond of but not in love with. 3.5/5
April 2, 2025
RICH'S RICH BOOK, A HILARIOUS LOOK AT THE RICHEST GUY IN THE UPPER EAST SIDE ~9.1/10
Simon Rich delivers here, and channels his Jewish Manhattan upbringing into a hilarious and profound novel about a guy who can afford to buy himself out of anything, and uses his fortune to toy with others. Elliot Allagash comes from a long line of ultra-wealthy single children descending from the guy who invented and patented paper (they literally own cash itself.) Allagash is patronizing and elitist, yet intelligent and shrewd, and is not afraid to use his money to mess you up or help you up. He's a great character and parody of the ultra-wealthy, relishing in power, ironic for someone so young. Joining him is Seymor Herson, a loser Jewish dweeb with a no-name Marxist professor father who sees his life change when the small in stature large in wealth Elliot Allagash decides Seymor is his next project. This book exposes the superficial nature of humans, and investigates what popularity and true friendship really are, and got plenty of laughs along the way. Please read.
Simon Rich delivers here, and channels his Jewish Manhattan upbringing into a hilarious and profound novel about a guy who can afford to buy himself out of anything, and uses his fortune to toy with others. Elliot Allagash comes from a long line of ultra-wealthy single children descending from the guy who invented and patented paper (they literally own cash itself.) Allagash is patronizing and elitist, yet intelligent and shrewd, and is not afraid to use his money to mess you up or help you up. He's a great character and parody of the ultra-wealthy, relishing in power, ironic for someone so young. Joining him is Seymor Herson, a loser Jewish dweeb with a no-name Marxist professor father who sees his life change when the small in stature large in wealth Elliot Allagash decides Seymor is his next project. This book exposes the superficial nature of humans, and investigates what popularity and true friendship really are, and got plenty of laughs along the way. Please read.
December 24, 2021
Ran across a proof of this book, yet unpublished, in a used book store. I guess it's for young adults, but as a 65 year old, I had fun with it. It smacks of portentousness on purpose, and it also teaches a good message (although, thankfully, that's not front and center). About an unpopular young man seduced, as we all would be, by power and riches, ELLIOT ALLAGASH actually connects with all of us who may want the easy way out. Whatever the moral high ground you may take, Rich paints a seduction that is just too appealing to give up. And the machinations are super clever, enough for any adult who likes page turners. Read in one sitting, and still marvel at how well Rich makes use of the game Monopoly, not only in the narrative but also as chapter titles.
August 27, 2022
La primera novela de Simon Rich no desentona en ese universo literario particular creado por el escritor estadounidense. Disfrazada de historia típica de instituto, con pringao/patito feo que se convierte en popular/bello cisne, Rich da rienda suelta a su imaginación y su tremendo sentido del humor a través del muchacho rico que da título al libro y su peculiar proyecto con Seymour, el narrador de la historia y principal protagonista. Quizás el mayor talento que tiene Rich para la comedia es el de hacer que el lector se ría de situaciones patéticas de sus personajes porque responden a sus propias experiencias, con lo que resulta fácil entenderlas, pero poniendo cierta distancia que permite reírse más que empatizar. Buen libro para leer en la playa, por ejemplo. Doy fe.
December 30, 2022
Simon Rich’s short stories, work on SNL and creation of Man Seeking Women remain pretty legendary at least for me but this novel seems a lot like an overblown treatment for some YA television series I wouldn’t give a second look at. What starts here as a fairly fun romp of sophisticated juvenile capers grows steadily stale as the stakes and character arcs remain basically static. Not that any of the characters contain multitudes but the female characters are especially two-dimensional and basic as story devices; the object of desire and the plain Jane that proves to be a very good friend. Rich, you’re better than this.
December 3, 2022
4.5 stars. Funny, except for some horrible misogynistic jokes:
"Women's minds are often muddled, .... They think they're attracted to honor, or talent, or lineage, when in fact they're always attracted to the same thing: money."
"Women are on the same mental level as birds. They see shiny substances and they want them -- but they're incapable of understanding why."
"Women what these shows. Their opinions, or the recycled pap they consider to be their opinions, originate on them."
"Women's minds are often muddled, .... They think they're attracted to honor, or talent, or lineage, when in fact they're always attracted to the same thing: money."
"Women are on the same mental level as birds. They see shiny substances and they want them -- but they're incapable of understanding why."
"Women what these shows. Their opinions, or the recycled pap they consider to be their opinions, originate on them."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2024
My son and I listened to this audiobook together. It is not nearly as brilliantly funny as many (all?) of Simon Rich's short stories. But it was an easy listen, often amusing, compelling characters, all with a bit of a sentimental conclusion. The plot: a billionaire at a New York City private school sets out to amuse himself by making the least popular boy into the most popular. What follows is a social commentary on contemporary elite schools, privilege, popularity, friendship and much more.
July 17, 2020
The setting, a prep high school, and the relatively mild language used gives this book a very young adult feel, and it would be perfect for the average 14-15 year old, but it also holds a wider appeal. Like most other reviewers I found that the first two-thirds of the book highly readable and fun, the denouement was however less entertaining and not unexpected when it got there.
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