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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
Actually really good. Beyond my expectation. The start was a little less interesting. And you get the feeling that this pent up rage at his bully is a little underwhelming. He probably shouldn't have let it haunt him so badly or so long. But what he finds it really interesting and it has a great conclusion.
lavoiture's review against another edition
5.0
What an odd book. And what an odd book for me to give 5 stars to. Obsessive and kind of repetitive, this book just drew me in.
cheraford's review against another edition
2.0
At times I just wanted to say to the author let it go
yetilibrary's review against another edition
2.0
Whipping Boy wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. At nearly 300 pages, you'd think that the author wouldn't wait until the last 12 or so to actually confront his bully, but you'd be wrong.
Two-thirds of the way in, this exchange occurs:
Ruth nails the problem within moments of discussing Cesar (the bully in question) with Allen Kurzweil; it's a shame the editors of this book didn't do the same. Allen wanders all over the place in what's supposed to be his search for Cesar, occasionally literally (his search crosses continents), and sometimes figuratively (thanks for that sketch of foosball players, bro). He KNOWS this stuff is irrelevant, he KNOWS he's avoiding the real search and the real issues, and yet neither he nor his editors leave any of the filler out. As I noted above, Allen doesn't truly confront Cesar until there are about 12 pages left, and what ought to be the emotional denouement is a three-quarter-page, rather detached summary that made me wonder what the hell I'd been doing with my time. I could have forgiven all of his dithering and intellectual wanderings if he had just given the book an emotional payoff: instead, he robs the reader of even that.
Whipping Boy earns the two-star rating because the fraud case at its heart--yes, the bully himself is superseded by a fraud case he was involved in--is rather interesting. The author's son, Max, has some great moments with Allen (and great "lines," such as they are) too. In fact, I found myself thinking that this book would be much better if it had been written by Max about his father's search, instead of by Allen himself.
Two-thirds of the way in, this exchange occurs:
"Is it possible you're digging too deeply?" Ruth [author's cousin] asks.
"More than possible. It's a total certainty . . . "
Ruth nails the problem within moments of discussing Cesar (the bully in question) with Allen Kurzweil; it's a shame the editors of this book didn't do the same. Allen wanders all over the place in what's supposed to be his search for Cesar, occasionally literally (his search crosses continents), and sometimes figuratively (thanks for that sketch of foosball players, bro). He KNOWS this stuff is irrelevant, he KNOWS he's avoiding the real search and the real issues, and yet neither he nor his editors leave any of the filler out. As I noted above, Allen doesn't truly confront Cesar until there are about 12 pages left, and what ought to be the emotional denouement is a three-quarter-page, rather detached summary that made me wonder what the hell I'd been doing with my time. I could have forgiven all of his dithering and intellectual wanderings if he had just given the book an emotional payoff: instead, he robs the reader of even that.
Whipping Boy earns the two-star rating because the fraud case at its heart--yes, the bully himself is superseded by a fraud case he was involved in--is rather interesting. The author's son, Max, has some great moments with Allen (and great "lines," such as they are) too. In fact, I found myself thinking that this book would be much better if it had been written by Max about his father's search, instead of by Allen himself.
leftleaning's review against another edition
2.75
A memoir and an investigation for a childhood bully - asking universal questions we all have: whatever happened to them? The author's obsessive journey spans 40 years and expands to not just finding that tormentor that whipped him when he was a kid, recreating Jesus Christ Superstar, but to a whole criminal case with fake aristocrats. In a thriller style narrative of finding the bully, the confrontation is secondary to finding the freedom and healing from the past. A personal journey of the author, yet it feels redemptive for all of us who's ever been bullied. This book is funny, honest and intriguing, read it if you know who hurt you but don't have the language and courage (yet) to confront them.
emilysh's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very very fun read!! I loved watching this man grow from a scared boy to one who could defend himself. I also enjoyed seeing the character of a bully fully examined.
The book feels like a therapy session for the author but it's also an interesting story to be brought along for.
9/10 would recommend!
The book feels like a therapy session for the author but it's also an interesting story to be brought along for.
9/10 would recommend!
periodicreader's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not what I expected. As a victim of extreme bullying myself, I had imagined that this was going to be the author recounting his own story then how he confronted his own bully. Turns out that the bully's life of crime as part of a con was apparently more interesting. There are so. Many. Details. About the crime operation that I was overwhelmed. If you're in the mood for some true crime sleuthing, this would be a good book selection.