What keeps me coming back to "Barry Trotter" is the vividness of Mike's imagination: I can still picture Barry's owl with a cigarette clenched in her beak and the hipster centaurs adjusting their berets as they canter into the woods. He's done an amazing job of creating a parody that is as entertaining as it is hilarious.I should mention that some parents might find "Barry Trotter" inappropriate for children. It's a great book, but it is aimed at an older audience. If you feel that "South Park", "The Simpsons" and Mad magazine are not for kids, you may want to wait a few years before getting "Barry Trotter" for your child....
Rating: 
Summary: Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody.
Review: In my own opinion, Barry Trotter is way better(and funnier) than Harry Potter. Why? I'm almost 13 and am begining to see the real series as just a fad for the younger readers. It started out very nice untill they made it into a movie.( Along with school supplies,backpacks,toys,games,etc.)Then I began and have grown out of it. But then I picked up Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody and found a new favorite book.This book has got to be the best parody ever! The jokes are very humorus and more my age! The story is about 22 yr-old Barry Trotter who must save his beloved school of Hogwash,or must get a job. You see, already over-run by the Barry Trotter books fans, Wanger Bros. plans to make a movie form the books! Then Hogwash will shut down because then everybody will know how to get there! So Barry,Lon,and Erminie come out of retirement to try to stop Lord Valumart and the people at Hollywood to stop the movie before it's too late! Micheal Gerber really does make fun of Potter in this book.The book inspired me to become a Trotter fan and read other parodies like Bored of the Rings. If I were you, grab a copy of this book today!If you are a Harry Potter fan and are looking forward to Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheniox this summer, Trotter fans like me will be looking to Barry Trotter and the Unnessary Sequal coming this fall!
Rating:
Summary: Very exciting
Review: It's always exciting when an artist comes along and resurrects a forgotten form in a new and wonderful way. Think of what Ira Glass did for radio with This American Life; what Dave Eggers did for lit-mags with McSweeney's; what the White Stripes did for garage rock with White Blood Cells; what Sammy Sosa did for under-the-table steroid use with 4 60+ home-run seasons.
Gerber's form is the parody book (long since defunct from it's "Bored of the Rings" glory days), and he re-invents it masterfully. His Barry Trotter is an obnoxious, snot-nosed brat, made famous and rich by books and movies about his magical life. Gerber's satire is especially sharp: by creating a grown-up Trotter, he suggests that a character of the imagination is not only real, but can be changed and shaped by the crass marketing forces around it. Barry Trotter and Harry Potter are no longer so different. That's a scary thought and it's what makes the book so successful.
Plus, the book is real funny. There's sharp satire and poo-poo humor and everything in between. Any students of comedy, fans of Harry Potter, or just people who want to have a good, non-meanspirited laugh should check this book out. I personally cannot wait to see what Michael Gerber does next.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably fabulous!
Review: Looking for a book that'll make you laugh harder than you have in YEARS? This is the one. Gerber's parody is witty, outrageous, twisted, bizarre...and absolutely fabulous! Whether you're completely enamored by Rowling's Potter books, or if you hated them and lose your lunch whenever the series is mentioned, "Barry Trotter" will blow your mind and is guaranteed to bring on uncontrollable laughing fits. It's extremely important to note, though, that this book is NOT for children. There's adult content (some of which would honestly go right over kids' heads...some of which wouldn't) and many "mature" references. This is for teen and adult audiences-the audiences that are able to pick up and appreciate the nuances of phenomenal parodic writing and the over-the-top hilarity of modern adult-culture references. Everyone from CEOs to high-schoolers will love this (and those aren't arbitrary determiners--both the CEO of my company and my 17-year-old niece read and loved it), so BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for the movie!
Review: Man, this book really seems to ... off 12 year olds! I'm 33, and I loved it. A friend of mine gave it to me. I've read the HP books, and liked them, but was always a bit unsatisfied. Back in the day, when I was representin' as a 12 year old myself, I read everything by Piers Anthony in sight. And it really ticks me off when people say that J.D. Rowlins, or whatever her name is, is so clever because she comes up with stuff like "The Whomping Willow." Ever read a Xanth novel (there are only like 30 of them at last count)? I think everyone who finds the HP books so clever oughta take a ride on Mr. Gerber's "Buggering Birch." Anyway, the Barry Trotter book is hilarious, and it has a good storyline as well. I read a chapter or two a night before going to bed, and laughed my heiny off every time. The only bummer was that the book had to end. I really liked the characters, particularly Lon Measley. There's something really endearing about the moronic dog-boy. And after reading this book, I can't remember most of the real names of the characters and places in the HP books. I wish that there were more of these suckers coming out. I'd definitely look forward to them more than HP 5, 6, and 7. Hopefully, Mr. Gerber will at least continue to write novels, parody or otherwise. My final piece of advice to all the 12 year olds out there is to try reading something else (like the first two Xanth novels), because there's an awful lot of sci-fi/fantasy literature out there besides HP, and if you got a little perspective, you wouldn't cry foul when someone like Mr. Gerber bumrushed one of your icons.
Rating: 
Summary: A funny, fun read
Review: Simply put, if you like "Harry Potter," you'll enjoy this book. If, like me, you don't particularly like Harry Potter (but can't avoid the hype), you'll enjoy this book. It's thoroughly entertaining, and its sharp satire doesn't miss a detail of Rowling's stories. Best of all, your money won't go to any pumped up media monopoly... Definitely check it out.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money !
Review: The funniest part of this book are the "mutilated" names (i.e. Laord Valuemart, The Dork Forces, etc), and that probably says it all.
While it is somewhat amusing to imagine a "grown up" Harry Potter who feeds off his notoriety, that's not enough to make a good parody.
My advice : save your money for the next Harry Potter book !
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Horrible!!!!
Review: The funniest part of this book are the "mutilated" names (i.e. Laord Valuemart, The Dork Forces, etc), and that probably says it all.
While it is somewhat amusing to imagine a "grown up" Harry Potter who feeds off his notoriety, that's not enough to make a good parody.
My advice : save your money for the next Harry Potter book !
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: There's a good reason Mad magazine and similar publicatons have pictures: Because pure narrative can only carry such base humor for so long. "Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody" is undebatable proof of that.
An attempted parody of J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter series, "Barry Trotter" is at best a poor attempt at humor. Filled with 174 pages of fingers being randomly shoved up noses and endless bathroom jokes, it is entirely devoid of cleverness, a key element -- strike that: THE key element -- of good parody.
(The word sophomoric comes to mind, but then that seems to be a little generous. Perhaps "excretory" is more fitting. It certainly is in keeping with the theme of the book.)
If you're tempted to pick up this book for your children out of a misguided attempt at coaxing them to read, resist. Instead, have them look up dirty words in the dictionary. That way, they might actually learn something worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: There's a good reason Mad magazine and similar publicatons have pictures: Because pure narrative can only carry such base humor for so long. "Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody" is undebatable proof of that.
An attempted parody of J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter series, "Barry Trotter" is at best a poor attempt at humor. Filled with 174 pages of fingers being randomly shoved up noses and endless bathroom jokes, it is entirely devoid of cleverness, a key element -- strike that: THE key element -- of good parody.
(The word sophomoric comes to mind, but then that seems to be a little generous. Perhaps "excretory" is more fitting. It certainly is in keeping with the theme of the book.)
If you're tempted to pick up this book for your children out of a misguided attempt at coaxing them to read, resist. Instead, have them look up dirty words in the dictionary. That way, they might actually learn something worthwhile.
