Snicker Snag by Drew Toop

Book review: Snicker Snag by Drew Toop

The first part of this book describes the school days of Richard when he appears to be a promising if distracted author. His brother has run away and he, perhaps, gets special treatment at school. His antics with friends Kowalski and Samantha are very humorous. He is quite open and relaxed with Samantha until any conversation gets to a part where it becomes clear Samantha ‘fancies’ him then Richard becomes very shy with amusing outcomes. Kowalski is a very dry ‘fat’ guy who creates an opportunity for ‘fat’ jokes but also leads Richard into adventures due to his fantasies. It is funny to see how the head teacher tries to befriend and understand Richard without any obviously positive outcomes.

The next part of the book is more tragic and involves the background to Richard’s older brother ‘Tadpole’ running away from home. The lack of effort from Richard’s parents in their upbringing is apparent although they think they are doing a good job. Tadpole is artistic and misunderstood but he also appears to still be around, perhaps living rough on the streets where Richard occasionally find his arty signature.

The final part of the book is quite complex and psychological (well that’s how I found it). This is not a criticism but you have to spend a bit more time reading and thinking about it in order to understand what is going on. Richard is on a downhill path and Samantha no longer fancies him and most people view his previously seen talent as fake. He daydreams about leaving home like his brother and he has many negative thoughts.

Overall it is a balanced and entertaining book that investigates the complexity of and dissatisfaction in many people’s lives during their upbringing. My favourite part was when a girl in class sends a note to Richard to say she likes him but when he turns out not to be impressed by his responses pretends the whole thing was a joke. At least that is how I read it but there are probably other interpretations for this and many other adventures described in this book. Overall it is complex but enjoyable psychology.