The Grasshopper King

by Jordan Ellenberg

Book Overview

This debut novel is a profoundly absurd campus satire about immortality, obsession, obscurity, and true love.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566891396
• ISBN13: 9781566891394
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Coffee House Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An intelligent (but never boring) read

This book was recommended to me by a friend and I absolutely loved it! I read it very quickly because it was so engaging. Ellenberg did such a fantastic job that I was convinced that Gravinic was a realy language (I had to Google to make sure!). I wonder how much of what Ellenberg writes is based on his own life since he is a Math professor? Highly recommended to all!

It would be great to see Ethan Hawke in this role

I think Ethan Hawke would be great as Samuel Grapearbor. I'm not sure the structure of Mr. Ellenberg's book would work for Hollywood, but the indie scene did manage to get Shattered Glass made into a fine film. Here's hoping!

very enjoyable

As a fellow mathematician (even down to the same specialty), I suppose my tastes will naturally run towards those of Dr. Ellenberg's, but even objectively I think this novel was one of the more clever takes on campus life I have read in a long while. I found it a quite entertaining and enjoyable read.

A unique narrative of distinction

The Grasshopper King by Jordan Ellenberg is a deftly woven debut novel about a languishing small town and its university, and an infamous poet who is either a blip on the radar or a literary genius with the key to the shape of history itself. Populated with such memorable characters as Stanley Higgs and Samuel Grapearbor, The Grasshopper King is a quirky story which is warmly appealing in a rich tapestry of unfolding hidden secrets. The Grasshopper King is a unique narrative of distinction and very highly recommended reading and a novel which clearly documents Jordan Ellenberg as an author to keep track of!