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How I Became Stupid (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Antoine had always felt he was living in dog years..." (more)
Key Phrases: Danny Brilliant, Professor Astanavis, Professor Edmond
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Twenty-five-year-old Parisian Antoine is sick. The disease? Intelligence. Desperate to find a cure for his overactive brain, Antoine considers alcoholism, suicide, and lobotomy, but none seems quite right for his special needs. A new job, though, is just the ticket. Accepting a position in his high-school friend's brokerage firm, Antoine finds the burdens of consciousness gradually slipping away. This delightfully over-the-top debut novel was a smash when it was published in France in 2001, but will it play as well stateside? After all, the mediocrity that Antoine deems essential to being happy in today's society features many elements common to mainstream American culture. Still, there is always an audience--if not an enormous one--for novels that skewer thick-headed simplicity, and this absurdist comedy mounts a formidable attack. Only an abrupt and puzzlingly optimistic ending detracts from the note of cheerful pessimism that drives the story. Beth Leistensnider
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review

A harmonious and surprising mixture of optimism and nihilism. -- La Vie Magazine

A wild yet powerful book. -- Elle
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 30, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0142004952
  • ISBN-13: 978-0142004951
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #521,653 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Adriana Hunter
Adriana Hunter
Martin Page
Martin Page

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Antoine had always felt he was living in dog years. Read the first page
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Danny Brilliant, Professor Astanavis, Professor Edmond
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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas poorly executed, April 1, 2005
By Laurie Fudd "loribd92" (Loganville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
I wanted very much to like this book. I had read reviews of it, and it seemed to mesh very much with how I have been feeling lately. However, when I read it, I was very disappointed. I felt like it was the outline of a better book, and wasn't very well fleshed out. The main character had very little insight into his own behavior, and was somewhat of a hypocrite. For example, there are many descriptions of Antoine stealing from and cheating people, and yet he goes on and on about how few moral people are left in the world. This can work as a literary device, but I got the impression from the way it was written that the author didn't have a lot of insight into Antoine's behavior either.

I mainly thought that the book was very lazily written. There are some potentially interesting supporting characters that are given short shrift. For example, Antoine has a friend named Aas that, due to a childhood trauma, only speaks in verse. Page doesn't ever give us a sample of this verse, only says things like, "In a magnificent sonnet, Aas told Antoine...." I can hear echoes of my old writing teachers: Show me, don't tell me. The book is replete with examples of this.

It was not entirely bad. There are some very interesting ideas in the book, and some phrasings that really caught my attention. The first paragraph is great. However, these shining moments were the exception and not the rule. My overall impression was that this was a book written by a very young author (he was in his mid-twenties when it was published, I believe) who had some great ideas that he was eager to get on paper. He got them on paper as quickly as he could, and couldn't be bothered with the details or internal consistency because they just slowed him down. Unfortunately, no agent or editor along the way asked him to slow down and fill in the blanks. I'd like to see Page, who obviously has unguided talent, rewrite this book when he is ten years older.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars tis a plight for sure..., March 8, 2005
Antoine, a twenty-five year old Frenchman, wants the finer things in life. He decrees that he shall no longer be burdened by intelligence, critical analysis, or culture. Instead, he wants to be stupid.

Now, this may seem like an idiotic thought, but to Antoine it makes sense because his attempts at becoming an alcoholic failed, after only a half-glass, and his suicide instructor accidentally led him away from the morbid path. Go figure.

Overall, this book is a glimpse, as one reviewer put it, into Antoine's "wonderful existential journey." Not too deep mind you, and that is one of the main faults. This book, sensibly enough, is especially alluring to the reader who finds that he or she relates to Antoine - pre-stupidity attempts. In this sense we feel his pain, and see a tidbit of ourselves. However, as previously mentioned, this book is short and does not offer us the expanded view, into either ourselves or existentialism in general, that we might have wanted.

(Also especially poignant for the Huckabees fan)
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful existential journey, December 15, 2004
"How I became stupid" is a gracefully narrated tale of a man afflicted by his intelligence. As the character tries to escape his curse by becoming stupid he learns of his own limitations, the true value of stupidity and the importance of friendship. This type of book teaches philosophy by showing rather than telling, and it does so in a hugely entertaining and funny fashion. At fewer than 200 pages and written in a very straightforward way, the book is a great, great afternoon read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars I kind of sort of get the point he was trying to make . . . but . . .
Here's the problem with this book - it's black and white. A liberal-minded, socialistic individual with self-proclaimed "intellect" attempts to become stupid by making asinine... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Glitter Girl

3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of a mixed bag
This book was kind of a mixed bag. I started out expecting to really like it a lot. In the beginning in was particularly funny and I was telling everyone about it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by oodles

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
*Spoiler alert*
When I read that this book was an international cult phenomenon I thought it might be worth a few hours of my time. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Linda Isakson

2.0 out of 5 stars good idea, lame finale
This could have been a really good book, humorously tackling serious issues in modern society, and in particular the role of intelligence in social living. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Massimo Pigliucci

5.0 out of 5 stars A Life-Changing Book
A humorous depiction of a man who thinks too much, which makes him miserable. For those of us higher mammals who just can't stop analyzing our snail-trails through the world, this... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ian M. Miller

2.0 out of 5 stars How I became stupid
This was a selection for a book club I attend. It is an easy book to read and parts made me laugh. I think the author's title is a bit tongue in check because the main character... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kelley R. Macmillan

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book, but it falls a bit short.
The book's main character, a 25 year old Frenchman named Antoine has a big problem - he's too smart for his own good. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Travis Stein

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer genius
This book is sheer genius and very well-written. It gently snarks at modern life and shows clearly the temptation to close one's eyes to any depth in life.
Published 17 months ago by Tulips4Ever

4.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Read
How I Became Stupid is, at best, irrevocably, an enigma. It's charming, frustrating, playful, dark, whimsical yet damning, and - overall - difficult to sum its total without... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jessica

5.0 out of 5 stars If I could give this book a six star rating I would....
Pretentious? Snobby? Elitist? Yes. Antione is exactly that. And perhaps I am too considering I loved this book so much. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Nathan Andrews

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