Customer Reviews

An Underachiever's Diary

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An Underachiever's Diary was a very good novel. Not since Catcher in the Rye have I had so much fun reading a novel. I never wanted to stop reading it. The book is about a young man named William, who is a complete loser throughout his whole life and trys his best to not be in the shadow of his own younger twin brother Clive, who is a very successful person. The sad thing is that William has had bad luck ever since his birth in the hospital room. It is funny, however, how he never tries to become like his brother even though he idolizes him and just when things start to go right for him, he gets messed up again. He is like a modernized Holden Caulfield. Overall, this is a very good book to read and I highly recommend it.

The cover of this book is what first drew me in to it; so dull to be so full of brilliance. A very easy read, it is a wonderfully compelling book, which managed to make me laugh, then feel sad for poor William, and then turn around and cheer for him in the end, hoping that he really does become the greatest underachiever in the world. I disagree entirely with Kirkus. The story does not need a plot, but stands alone as a simple monologue, reminiscent, perhaps, of Kerouac's free form. The "moral" or the story is what's truly important. I must say, it is one of the most refreshing books i have read in a long while. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Anastas' work.

Benjamin Anastas' story is hysterically witty, and finally somebody as insane as this author can spit out a quality story in modern and uniquely 21st century style of language, with enough philosophy to make reading the book worth it. The book cannot possibly take anybody more than two days to read - unless your sense of humor is as idiotic as television sitcoms, or you're too busy seeking out meaningless goals: the exact type of personalities Anastas rips to shreds with his gift of story telling. There is a certain desire to identify with the main character, yet on the same hand it frieghtens you, because he is flawed to a degree you've never opened your own eyes to. Don't read this book if you can act poised through a bad highschool play performance, if you've ever thanked 'God' in an acceptance speech of any sort, or if you're drawing conclusions about me based on this review. It's for a different 'type' of person! You'll see how Anastas paints these different 'types' of people, and you'll think it's cruel, funny, and very true. Note his keen East Coast attitude, and his recollection of many boyhood experiences familiar to anybody who was raised on that side of the continent. Also, note how the protagonist's journey to adulthood leads him to California, on the other side of the country, yet spiritually and mentally he never grows or matures, taking hedonistic pleasure in obscene mediocrity. The book is so much fun, and look for anything else you can get your hands on by this author. (Then send it to me!)

this debut novella leaves the reader shaking with laughter and shaking their head at the audacity of the writer. It's a quick, sharp, hilarious read that takes no prisoners, pulls no punches, and leaves no moment alone--all is fair game in the life of the Hapless narrator. A pleasure.

I had been wanting to read this book for about five years for one reason: I had repeatedly heard it referred to as being comparable with Frederick Exley's brilliant and searing "A Fan's Notes," a volume I respect like few others. Yesterday I finally got around to it.

This is not just my imagination. The similarity is pushed by the publisher itself: for example, the only thing that appears on the white cover besides the title and name of the author is a quote where the NYT's book reviewer compares the thing to Exley's work. And if that doesn't make the point clear, the "bio blurb" on the inside back cover additionally informs you that the author has won GQ's Frederick Exley prize for fiction.

Well, "An Underachiever's Diary" is a major letdown, folks. If Anastas has been, as he claims, underachieving all his life, then he is in full form with this production, itself a massive underachievement throughout. Exley was enormously well-read, led a life of harrowing misery, and could write like an angel. Anastas sports a smattering of learning, has dropped out of life largely because of self-pity, and cannot seem to craft a memorable character or even sequence.

With these shortcomings in mind, Anastas would have been wise to ask his publisher to tone down the whole comparison thing with Exley.

I kept waiting for the book to take off, to get the point where something incredible, horrid, or at least entertaining happened to Anastas. But page after page saw him doing nothing but envying his twin brother and bumming around the country. I know they tell writers these days to "write about what you know;" too bad they don't also stress the injunction to "make sure you have something to say."

I realize that coming to the book with stratospheric expectations might not have been fair to Anastas, and there are certainly snatches of good writing here and there. Take this:

"The place: New York City, a beautiful, decaying machine with many leaks, gaping holes, and moving parts, all of them hypnotic, and some dangerous to bystanders."

or this:

"At that point I had accepted my fate to live among the homely, or crippled, or slightly disturbed, and I had just begun to see the grace in human imperfection, whether the ultimate cause turned out to be the lottery of genetics or the more traditional original sin."

And the last couple of pages are deft and poignant.

If most of what Anastas has written is true, then writing the book was almost certainly a therapeutic experience for him. But as for any claim this volume might have on the time of someone who doesn't know him, I remain to be convinced.

Mercifully, you won't have to invest too much time following the course of Anastas's life, as the book is only about 150 pages long and can be gotten through in a evening.

A close friend recently shared this book with me and I must say that Ben Anastas has hit the mark in this his first published novel. I hope we see some more from this talented writer in the very near future.

Quirky, fun and short. Everything you need when you want a quick fix for a great book. Plus, it's different. You haven't read anything like this before. Try it, you'll love it.

I have read this book twice and have recommended it to everyone I know who has a sense of humor. It is truly refreshing to be able to sit down after a long work day and read a book where the author can analyze his own shortcomings with good humor...if only we all could do that.

Cast in the shadow of his successful, handsome, well-liked twin brother, the main character of this novella takes you through the unfortunate events that have made up his life. A quick read that will make you laugh out loud.

To the reader who thinks "An Underachiever's Diary" should have been either much shorter or much longer: I would argue that this novel's in-between length is an asset, particularly since William isn't a protagonist who changes over time. He comes of age only as an "underachiever," avoiding the success so clearly personified by Clive his perfect brother. Any longer and the novel would indeed be tiresome; any shorter and it would be lost in some collection or a literary magazine. What this novel leaves out most books depend on for padding between the good parts.