Tons of fun.
Oliver is, undeniably, a genius -- just no one has any idea and he likes it that way. He learned English (and some Spanish) from the nurses in the hospital when he was born, so knew from his second day on earth that his father doesn't deserve to get any of his genius-reflected glory. He's not the most pathetic boy in school, but he's close...regularly feigning fear of the most pathetic boy in school and confusion about assigned reading he completed at age two.
My only problem with the entire book (which regularly made me cackle aloud) was the ending. Oliver, as narrator, has demonstrated his father's disinterest and disappointment in his son's entire existence. I actually had a discussion with my husband in the middle of this book of how HEALTHY I thought Oliver's attitude was -- to truly fly above (or seemingly below) others' perceptions and opinions, ignoring whatever wasn't truth, even when the "other" in question is a parent who should, in a decent world, be in one's corner. But, in the end, we seem to find out that Oliver's the same as 99 percent of the population. He just wants Daddy to be proud of him. Boo.
B+
