Customer Reviews

The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death

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I remember reading (and rereading) this zany, gripping, urban adventure when I was in third or fourth grade (and its worthy sequel, The Snarkout Boys & the Baconburg Horror). On a whim, some twenty years later and with a law degree to my name, I tracked down a copy at the public library and ... wow! I enjoyed it every bit as much. Daniel Pinkwater deserves major kudos for such a book--someone buy that man a Napoleon or twelve.

The fast-paced story is told from the viewpoint of Walter Galt. Walter is a teenager on the verge of dying from boredom at Ghengis Khan High School, until he meets Winston Bongo, another suffering student and the self-proclaimed inventor of 'snarking out'. The boys' late-night snarkouts eventually bring them into contact with a smorgasbord of oddball characters (such as Ms. Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews, aka Rat) and places, from Blueberry Park to Lower North Aufzoo Street to Beanbender's Beer Garden and beyond. Ultimately, with the help of the world's greatest living detective, Walter, Winston and Rat must locate the world's largest avocado and save the world (or at least the nations' realtors)--but watch out for stuffed Indian fruit bats!

Pinkwater is a true original and writes this surreal, comic yarn simply, cleanly, and hilariously. Highly recommended for kids, parents, avocado lovers ... and even lawyers who used to be kids. Five stars!

woooooo. suddenly I'm brought back to third grade when I first read this book. It was absolutely magical then and I remember how it stretched my imagination like taffy, and made me see avacados in a whole new light. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be taken on a wacky adventure.

The Snark Out Boys and The Avocado of Death

The book The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death by Daniel Pinkwater is a book about kids who sneak out and go have fun during the night. It is a good book and I liked because it has action and the snarking out that the boys do is interesting. This book mainly is about these two boys who sneak out in the night to go to the theater to watch a movie at the Snark Theater. One day Walter, the main character of this story, has to go Snarking solo because his friend Winston Bongo gets sick. Walter tries to do a different Snarking, so he goes and makes a speech at the Blueberry Park. There he meets the girl who Walter called Rat. Walter thinks she has the world record of Snarking. He tells his friend and when he gets better Walter takes Winston Bongo to meet her. Rat shows them her Uncle Flipping who Snarks Out for seventeen years already. He is really crazy. One day he disappeared and the three kids go every night to look for him. Rat explained that when her uncle went to Iceland and by mistake he took something valuable and that now a criminal was after him. One night when the kids were looking for Flipping they found the best detective in the world Osgood and his companion D. Ormond. That meant the criminal was around. Would they find the criminal and discover what is valuable? You have to read it to figure it out. I kind of liked this book because it contains action and mystery. Like when they are trying to find Flipping and much more. I think people who are Daniel Pinkwater fan should read it because it fits all the stories that he writes but if you don't like to read books DON'T read this book is very predictable and boring and write when you start you are going to stop. I also liked this book because what the boys do is a very good idea to do when you can't sleep. It is kind of hard for me to do this because it is impossible to pass by the guards and also at night in Campinas, São Paulo, it is extremely dangerous and it is not an imaginary city like in the book. So, remember if you go to a nearby library don't forget to checkout The Snark Out Boys and the Avocado of Death. By Daniel Pinkwater because its full of action and what the boys do is very interesting to read.

Wow. I can't even begin to describe this book. I'm 21 now, but when I was in middle school, I stumbled on this book for the first time. Browsing the racks for something interesting, I see this one titled "The Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death."
Naturally, I had to read it... what a strange title! Turns out, the title is just the beginning. The things that must have gone on inside D. Pinkwater's head in order to come up with this stuff... It's amazing. I loved every minute of this book as a kid. It helped shape my creative scope.. gave me a new perspective on things and really added to my personality. Strange to say perhaps, considering we're dealing with a very fictional, and frankly quite silly book, but it truly did. I would highly reccomend this book to ANYONE. I doubt anyone but me could have such a lasting impression from it, but anyone would find this book fun to read.

What does "snarkout" mean and what is an "avocado of death"? Walter Galt and his "weird" friend, Winston Bongo, love to sneak out of their peaceful homes at midnight to "snark". They creep downtown in dark hats to the Snark Theater to enjoy double feature, old movies. Winston invented Snarking, or so he claims. When the boys meet Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews, a girl who looks and calls herself Rat, they discover that not only did Winston not invent Snarking, but that Rat's uncle, Flipping Hades Terwilliger, has been snarking for every for seventeen years! Walter and, especially, Winston are in awe. When Winston and Walter become friends with Rat, Uncle Flipping leads all of them into a mysterious chase across town to a special underground street to a secret warehouse where Walter and Winston come face-to-face with a criminal mastermind and get a chance to work with a world-famous detective! This is an excellent science fiction book. In every chapter, a wild character or strange event was waiting to happen. Rat and her crazy family lead Winston and Walter into experiences that they've never dreamed of an, sadly, Winston realizes that he's not an original snarker. I really liked the book. It seemed really odd at the beginning when Walter, the narrator, started talking about "snarking" but once it was explained, everything began to make sense. I especially liked it when Walter, Winston, and Rat were working on the mystery (You have to read the book to find out!) with the world-famous detective and they discover a giant... I would encourage everyone to read The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death!

I did not discover this book until I listened to it this week at the ripe old age of 23. As such, I did not feel the book was long enough.
Pinkwater is engaging beyond my understanding how he does it, although the absurd characters and their stranger actions are a sure start. Take Uncle Flipping Hades Terwilliger who has not missed a late night movie in 17 years despite being kidnapped numerous times, or Walter's mother who is paranoid of communists beyond all rationality, or the fellow with the painted on sideburns. A few of Walter's exploits were things I did as a kid. Others were opportunities I wish I'd had. Except for the orangutan wrestling. I frown upon that. The silly care-free writing, and the flawless speaking performance by Pinkwater had me wishing my commute were longer.

I've been meaning to sign up for bookcrossing and this is a prime first candidate. Or maybe I'll send it to my silliest friend.

My "hippie" aunt and uncle, in New York City, sent me this book, and Fat Men From Space, when I was about eight. I loved it!
I am now almost thirty; yet I remember these books with great affection. Mind you, what you remember and what was true are two different things; but a book that can make you smile more than ten years later is worth the investment.

I picked up this book on tape (read by the author) at a yard sale years ago and picked up the actual book soon thereafter. For reasons I cannot fully explain, I really like it.

I've read several of Daniel Pinkwater's books. As you flip through them, you get the sense that you're listening to a half-insane but mostly harmless guy with a bizarre sense of humor tell you a story off the top of his head, just making it up as he goes along. (This is probably why they work so well in audio book versions.)

The Snarkout Boys & the Avocado of Death is no different, but Pinkwater's usual sense of randomness is amplified like a Klugwallah speaker. This is undoubtedly stream of consciousness storytelling. Characters and themes and plot points come and go with no apparent rhyme or reason, and the genre morphs and changes several times along the way. Awkwardly worded, misplaced, or unnecessary sentences protrude from rambling paragraphs, as if our mad storyteller suddenly remembered some semi-related thought he'd meant to share and instantly threw it into the narrative at whatever point he happened to be. Chapters illogically end during ongoing scenes, which continue on for a few more paragraphs in the next chapter before suddenly shifting to another scene. Overall, the text reads like a first draft, with little evidence of editing or revision.

Oddly enough, the book's spontaneous and off the cuff feel is probably why I find it so fascinating. The first part is the best, imo, as it introduces our two main characters and their "sport" of "Snarking Out"; i.e., sneaking out in the middle of the night to see movies at the Snark Theater (an obviously independent establishment that I'd love to visit). As you'd expect, they meet some strange people along the way who eventually draw them into a strange mystery involving a missing mad scientist/uncle, a Sherlock Holmes wanna-be, a performing chicken, trained attack apes, and, of course, the titular fruit of death.

If you're looking for a rational plot, this isn't the book for you. At all. But if you're willing to sit back and let an obvious nutbag weave you a curiously pointless yet charmingly entertaining tale, you might want to give it a chance.

After reading "The Neddiad" and "The Iggyssey" and enjoying them both immensely I decided I needed to read some more Daniel Pinkwater. So I picked up this book. It was an enjoyable book; I liked it. If you like Pinkwater's writing, you'll like this book. I did notice though after reading three of Pinkwater's book; he has a very distinctive writing style.

Walter and Winston Bongo are two boys who are bored to death in school and decide to Snark Out. Snarking out means that you sneak out of the house late at night and go to the Snark Theater to watch movies. They think they are the only ones who do this. That is until they meet Rat. Rat has been snarking out forever and she invites the boys over for breakfast. Rat's family is crazy and bizarre to the extreme and when Rat's avocado loving Uncle goes missing the boys are enlisted to help find him. Of course there are a ton of crazy characters; like Walter's avocado obsessed father and his mother who continually experiments with different types of tuna casserole for dinner.

This was a great, fun read. As I am finding to be the Pinkwater norm, the characters are unique and crazy, the plot is twisted and strange, and the imagination factor is off the scales. A quick read and hilarious; I think all ages will enjoy this book.

The only thing that bugged me a bit was that Walter's dialogue and thoughts were very similar to Neddie's from "The Neddiad"...this is odd because these books were written over 20 years apart. It make me wonder if Pinkwater uses a similar dialogue and character style for all of his young boys. Also Rat reminded me a lot of Iggy, the girl character in "The Iggyssey". That being said I still really enjoyed the book.

I will definitely read more of Pinkwater's books. I did not think this book was as good as "The Neddiad" though. Despite that this book was great fun to read.

I like the story cause it shows that the Snarkout boys are a team and they help each other.