Election

When I was in high school there was a scandal. It was never clear exactly what the scandal was but for one reason or another, whether the president was into drugs or if he didn't come from enough money or what the truth was, our student body president was relieved of his duties and the vice president of the student body was given the job. The following year on Columbus Day weekend when the vice president who had become our student body president was trying to come home from college to see his girlfriend who had been the homecoming queen of our senior class he and two other boys got into a car accident, hit an embankment and they all died. The original student body president went on to sell cars at a local dealership. So who cares about that stupid election?If Tom Perrotta were Shakespeare his book very well may have been entitled "Much Ado About Nothing: Who Doth Care About Thine Stupid Election?" And a very good question it is. The only people who profit winning student body elections are the students who win them. And what difference does it really make in their lives if they do? Sure, it's a nice thing to put on paper when you're trying to get into college, maybe it will even allow you to commiserate with some interesting people. But for some reason, students and their parents and even teachers occasionally seem to put abnormal importance on it and on who wins. But rationally speaking is it really worth an outstanding teacher losing their career over throwing a high school election? Isn't it all just a popularity contest after all?The style of "Election" is written in short musings told by the different characters in the book much like the darker tale "The Sweet Hereafter" and the choice to do so works. We get to see each of the character's perspective on what happened and maybe even more importantly we find amongst them there really is no true hero here. Paul Warren seems sweet but we later we see his insincerity in the way he signs one of the other character's yearbooks. Tracy Flick sleeps with her teacher, lies and destroys her opponent's posters. Tammy Warren's motivation is primarily revenge on those who don't understand her. And the lead character, Mr. M. who commits the main crime in the book performs a few other selfish acts as well. Normally this would not be a good recipe for a story as we must ask ourselves who we should root for here. But in this case it works brilliantly because as much as each character is a villain the author shows us there is something redeeming in them all, even some unexpected similarities leading us to an examination into ourselves, others and our own values.The film of the same name originally used a different ending. I was fortunate enough a few years back to attend a Q and A with the screenwriter and the audience was shown the original ending of the film which stays true to the book and is excellent. There is only one thing I would change about it but that is more or less my opinion. Unfortunately as far as I know the DVD does not contain that alternate ending in its extras and it should. Also something that was prominent in the film that was not originally in the book was the premise "What is the difference between morals and ethics?" which runs as an undercurrent in the novel and is stated definitively and verbally in the film, the point being of course that there is no difference and it is the tip off to what sends Mr. M. on his spiraling downfall.Election is a very well written masterfully paced book. It is not a story that makes you comfortable when you read it but it is not one to easily put down either.

Who can read "Election" now and not think about the movie starring Matthew Broderick (as Mr. McAllister a/k/a Mr. "M") and Reese Witherspoon (as Tracey Flick, the high school junior with the crazy ambition)? Through a rotating format of a few pages of narrative from mostly four different characters, the author weaves an absorbing tale about a do-good high school teacher who feels compelled to knock down to size an overly-ambitious student when she runs (uncontested at first) for student body president. The characters jump off the page, which is why the book basically doubled as a screen play for the movie. The movie embellished the characters and made the story simultaneously more humorous and sinister (one of my favorite scenes - the hilarious running dialogue of the difference between "morality" and "ethics" - was original to the movie).I think "Election" is one of those very quick reads that anyone can enjoy. Tom Perrotta's characters often are more complex than meets the eye, and I think he subscribes to the philosophy that you can find good and bad in most people.

Many reviewers note the lightness and breeziness of the book, which comes at a cost: the book lacks depth. I can't criticize Perrotta too much on this account because it's pretty clear he wasn't trying for much more than an evening's read.The barebones plot isn't terribly momentous, centering on a high school student body election. The characters are sketchily drawn: Tracy is a fatherless little overachiever, her opponent Paul is a mediocre student nudged into the race by a helpful teacher whose intentions go sour, his sister is a rebellious budding lesbian, and the adults are all sleeping around -- in fact one of them sleeps with Tracy. Their purposes align, cross, overlap, and fizzle.But there's plenty of fun: the clean writing, the dry humor, the hopping pace as we jump between the characters' points of view (this sounds as though it may cause confusion, but Perrotta separates the voices well and creates suspense), the kids who neatly manipulate adults, the adults who treasure kids while recognizing how silly and cruel they can be, and the general rat-raciness of life.Perrotta also includes a few searing or heavy moments, such as the story of a retarded girl who is gang-raped, and a boy who spits in the face of a cheating teacher. These indicate that he was up to more than the trifling movie that was made from the book.There are worse ways to pass an evening, and there are better. If you can find it cheap and you like little stories about Middle America, go for it.

Before I read Election, I saw the film first and in my opinion it was quite funny. The book is funny too don't get me wrong I do like both the film and the book overall.

Good written and as usual Smith Perrotta about different characters and their relationship but Athos time on personnal view of each protagonist giving good self menaient of otherwise difficultés to explain interpersonnal relations, well donne!

Better than the movie, and the poor teacher and student settle the differences the have, reese witherspoone sucks! The book is a great read tho!

I appreciated the book although I would recommend it to teenagers rather than to adults. The story is good but deals with teenage issues. I preferred the other novels by the sale author.

As with one or two other disappointed reviewers, I was annoyed and disappointed in the lack of character depth. The book makes some really interesting points, but being so short and relying so much on a reader simply buying in to what he's told, not what's shown (as another reviewer points out, there's no realy evidence why Tracy would be an obvious choice for President, or what makes Mr M. a popular teacher) the whole thing ended up feeling extremely superficial. For a very short book, it was quite a slog; I didn't really empathise with any of the characters; overall, I just felt like it was a let down when it could (should?) have been a fascinating book. It was OK, but just OK. I couldn't see myself re-reading it or recommending it to others, and based on this and  The Abstinence Teacher , I won't be jumping at the chance to read any more Perrotta. The Abstinence Teacher