Election
-
-
4.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers and Tracy Flick Can't Win comes a darkly hilarious novel about a high school election that brings out the worst in everyone—the basis for the film starring Reese Witherspoon!
Tracy Flick wants to be President of Winwood High. She’s one of those ambitious girls who finds time to do it all: edit the yearbook, star in the musical, sleep with her English teacher. But another teacher, staunch idealist Jim McAllister, aka “Mr. M.,” thinks the students deserve better. So he persuades Paul Warren—a well-liked, good-hearted jock—to throw in his hat. But that puts Paul’s sister Tammy in a snit. So she runs too, on an apathy platform, before starting a real campaign...to get herself kicked out of school.
The idea was to educate the students at this suburban New Jersey school in the democratic process and the American way. But with all the sex scandals, smear campaigns, and behind-the-scenes power brokers at Winwood High, it doesn’t look as if they need any lessons....
Customer Reviews
Flick pass
Author
American. Nine published novels. Two have been made into Oscar nominated films: Election (1999) and Little Children (2004). A third, The Leftovers (2011), was made into an award winning HBO series. In the 1999 movie version of Election, the female protagonist Tracey Flick was played by Reese Witherspoon in her breakthrough role. Mr Perrotta’s long awaited (by some) sequel Tracey Flick Can’t Win (2022) is not available in Australia at the time of this review. Having not read, or seen, Election, I thought I should prepare myself.
Plot
Overachieving high school senior is on course to be elected School President unopposed despite having slept with her English teacher in junior year, which led to him to resign in disgrace. A thirty-something male history teacher persuades a surprisingly diffident male jock to throw his hat in the ring too. Then his little sister decides to run as well. An election campaign ensues. Dirty tricks are deployed, which seem relatively tame by today’s standards but, hey, it was the nineties.
Prose
Multiple alternating third person narratives that drive the plot, such as it is, along in cinematic style.
Characters
A number are developed reasonably well using the short brush strokes of unfolding events: a master class in “show, don’t tell.” Tracey Flick, in particular.
Bottom line
Deeply shallow storyline, but worth reading for the technical skills of the author.