146:"'Dystopic' describes neither the madness nor the method here. The heart of Antrim's enterprise, the thing that allows him to make credible his wild surmises, is his keen insight into social and marital relations and his masterful linguistic skills. Antrim sketches his characters—Rotarians, tennis buffs, suburban moms, wayward teens—with indelible lines. They speak a perfectly rendered American argot. They go about their lives doing all the things comfortably domesticized Americans do. They attend potluck suppers, ogle one another's spouses, chauffeur children to appointments, borrow plumber's snakes, all in pursuit of happiness in a place where happiness can no longer exist."
126:, and that he was formerly an elementary schoolteacher before the local school system was entirely defunded. Pete's ambition to run for mayor after resurrecting the local educational system under his own administration—and the thwarting of this ambition—are major elements of the novel's plot. Other elements of the plot include Pete's thwarted attempts to bury pieces of the former Mayor's body in Egyptological rituals, and his wife Meredith's growing detachment as she becomes more involved in ichthyomorphic trances in which she transforms herself into a
27:
121:
As the novel opens, Pete
Robinson is supervising the drawing and quartering of the town's mayor by four automobiles. We learn that Pete Robinson is an expert in the history of torture, with special emphasis on the
113:. It is Antrim's first published novel. The novel depicts the grisly, and occasionally surreal misadventures of a downsized schoolteacher, Pete Robinson, in a vaguely post-apocalyptic America.
239:
285:
295:
270:
92:
26:
290:
300:
275:
280:
191:
165:
87:
264:
110:
106:
40:
213:
240:"Jeffrey Eugenides Hails Donald Antrim's 'Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World'"
123:
139:
127:
142:
of comic surrealism." However
Jeffrey Eugenides writes:
138:
The novel has no chapter breaks, and has been called a "
86:
78:
70:
62:
54:
46:
36:
8:
19:
233:
231:
18:
192:"Elect Donald Antrim for a Better World"
214:"Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World"
166:"EGOS & IDS; The Day Civility Died"
156:
20:Elect Mr. Robinson For A Better World
102:Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World
7:
238:Eugenides, Jeffrey (2 June 2012).
14:
164:Pener, Degen (October 10, 1993).
74:Print (hardcover & paperback)
286:Debut speculative fiction novels
190:Kiesling, Lydia (27 July 2012).
25:
296:1993 speculative fiction novels
1:
271:American magic realism novels
317:
82:192 pp (first edition, hc)
24:
148:
144:
16:Book by Donald Antrim
291:1993 American novels
216:. Publishers Weekly
130:, or ancient fish.
105:is a 1993 novel by
31:First edition cover
21:
301:1993 debut novels
276:Postmodern novels
98:
97:
93:978-0-670-85139-3
63:Publication place
308:
281:Dystopian novels
255:
254:
252:
250:
235:
226:
225:
223:
221:
210:
204:
203:
201:
199:
187:
181:
180:
178:
176:
161:
29:
22:
316:
315:
311:
310:
309:
307:
306:
305:
261:
260:
259:
258:
248:
246:
244:The Daily Beast
237:
236:
229:
219:
217:
212:
211:
207:
197:
195:
189:
188:
184:
174:
172:
163:
162:
158:
153:
136:
119:
71:Media type
32:
17:
12:
11:
5:
314:
312:
304:
303:
298:
293:
288:
283:
278:
273:
263:
262:
257:
256:
227:
205:
194:. The Millions
182:
170:New York Times
155:
154:
152:
149:
135:
132:
118:
115:
96:
95:
90:
84:
83:
80:
76:
75:
72:
68:
67:
64:
60:
59:
56:
52:
51:
48:
44:
43:
38:
34:
33:
30:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
313:
302:
299:
297:
294:
292:
289:
287:
284:
282:
279:
277:
274:
272:
269:
268:
266:
245:
241:
234:
232:
228:
215:
209:
206:
193:
186:
183:
171:
167:
160:
157:
150:
147:
143:
141:
133:
131:
129:
125:
116:
114:
112:
111:Donald Antrim
108:
104:
103:
94:
91:
89:
85:
81:
77:
73:
69:
66:United States
65:
61:
57:
53:
49:
45:
42:
41:Donald Antrim
39:
35:
28:
23:
247:. Retrieved
243:
218:. Retrieved
208:
196:. Retrieved
185:
173:. Retrieved
169:
159:
145:
137:
120:
117:Plot summary
101:
100:
99:
58:Viking Adult
249:18 February
220:18 February
198:18 February
175:18 February
124:Inquisition
265:Categories
151:References
140:picaresque
128:coelacanth
55:Publisher
107:American
47:Language
109:author
50:English
37:Author
134:Style
79:Pages
251:2014
222:2014
200:2014
177:2014
88:ISBN
267::
242:.
230:^
168:.
253:.
224:.
202:.
179:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
