Elliot Allagash

Simon Rich

Average Rating 6/10 (1 Review)

Seymour isn't cool, but he isn't a geek either. He's a lonely, obedient 8th grade loser at Glendale, a second tier prep school in Manhattan. His chubbiness has recently earned him the nick name "Chunk Style" and he has resigned himself to a life of isolation. All of this is about to change.

After successfully getting himself expelled from every reputable school in the country, Elliot Allagash, the arrogant heir of America's largest fortune, finds himself marooned at Glendale. Try as he may, Elliot cannot get expelled this time; his father has donated too much money. Bitter and bored, Elliot decides to amuse himself by taking up a new hobby: transforming Seymour into the most popular student in school.

An unlikely friendship develops between these two loners as Elliot introduces Seymour to new concepts, like power, sabotage and vengeance. With Elliot as his diabolical guide, Seymour gradually learns about all of the incredible things that money can buy, and the one or two things that it can't. Hilarious, ingenious and tightly plotted, Elliot Allagash reminds you what your teens were like, and why growing up is so hard to do.

'Savagely funny.'

'Simon Rich's absurdist approach to the underdog archetype makes for a hilarious and heartwarming romp.'

Review by Ben Macnair (200126) Rating (6/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 6/10
Elliot Allagash is a tale of riches beyond avarice, of bored teenagers and the possibilities inherent within the American dream, which can only be fuelled by unlimited wealth, opportunity, and a willingness to work.

Elliot Allagash is one of the richest boys in the world. He is heir to an enormous family fortune, and he sees Seymour, painfully shy and inept, unprepossessing, but from a loving family, and made of integrity and ethics as his latest project.

Allagash is the kingmaker, wanting to turn Seymour into the most popular kid in the school, and as Seymour raises through the ranks, becoming class president, due in part to a dirty tricks campaign, his self-worth goes through the roof.

There is something of a Wodehouse pact here, with Jeeves having an evil streak, wanting to put Wooster through the wringer, both emotionally and financially, but knowing that there is always a way out for him.

This is a coming-of-age story for Seymour, but nothing seems to change for Allagash. His relationships remain stagnant, his riches mean that he has staff and not friends, and everything he does is an impotent show of power, trying to impress his Father, who seems to take much more interest in Seymour than he does his son.

Mr Allagash buys expensive gifts for Seymour, he is much more used to the simple pleasures of Monopoly nights with his parents. Elliot, on the other hand, has moved from school to school, never settling due to his riches, and the fact that the teachers indulge his bad behaviour and bullying ways because of his family's wealth.

The end of the book is a reckoning of all of the morally dubious things that Elliot Allagash and Seymour did during their years at school, from faking serious illnesses, to bogus qualifications and experiences. As well as being funny, and poking fun at the awkwardness of teenagers, and the teenage years, where we are all trying to find our feet, there is also a moral lesson to be learnt from the book. For all of his wealth and influence, Elliot Allagash will never be a fully emotionally mature adult, whilst Seymour will be. It is not the comfort that provides the strength of character, but what we have to go through in life that does.
Ben Macnair (20th January 2026)