Rating: 
Summary: Self indulgent
Review: I had high hopes based on the published reviews, but was sorely disappointed after reading Christopher. It is a self indulgent mess. I do not recommend it at all.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, Poorly Done
Review: I have to say I'm glad that this was a gift and not something I spent money on. I read a lot of fiction, some gay some more mainstream, and there is a class of gay fiction that is published and praised simply because of content, without much attention paid to literary quality. CHRISTOPHER is such a book. It reads like a student thesis project, primarily because of the absolutely convoluted and clunky structure. Didn't [Mr.] Burnett have an editor? There is much potential in the story (albeit it a bit trite), but the novel suffers from a lack of cohesion, thin character development, and some downright silly sequences that should have ended up on the "cutting room floor." Edit, edit, edit.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully Written
Review: I love this book, but what I love most isn't the story (though it's a brilliant story). I love the language in which it's told. Allison Burnett reminds us all what English is capable of when properly utilized. We've all had crushes before, but what makes this `tale of seduction' so engaging is Burnett's ability to bring us to the doorstep of B.K. Troop's smoky, cluttered New York apartment. We find ourselves listening along with him for signs of Christopher lurking next door. Caustic, cantankerous B.K cajoles us into falling in love with Christopher despite, or perhaps because of, his faltering idealism, his vulnerability, his flaws. Suffice it to say that Mr. Burnett's way with words is such that I find myself wishing he were around to narrate the story of my own life. My memories would all be so much more colorful and amusing if he would recount them for me.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo To A New Novelist
Review: I love this book.It made me laugh till I cried in January (the first chapter) and left me smiling for more by December (the last chapter).I can't wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recomend
Review: I loved Christopher. I was so moved, I cried and laughed out loud while reading it. Burmett has such a sense of drama that it's riveting. I gobbled up the book in two days. The characters are so touchingly portrayed. They are crazy and damaged and wounded but totally loveable. Some of it was so heartbraking. Burnett shows us their fragility and vulnerability in all their pain and confusion. These characters making their way through life trying to make sense out of what "The Fates" are offering up. At first I was somewhat put off by the narrator B.K., his cynicism was too much for me but I came to be totallly endeared to him. He is tragic and sad, somewhat pathetic but brilliant and hilarious. Through his painful and unrequited relationship with the main character Christopher he becomes a human being capable of love. Having grown up in New York City during the time this novel takes place I found it so true and seeing this world through the eyes of B.K. I got to relive that time and found some new insight and understanding. It's also about the making of an artist and becoming an adult and as an artist and human being I found it inspiring. The courage it takes to accept and face life as it is and to grow. It's one of those books that you are sad when it's over.
Rating:
Summary: marvelous
Review: I loved getting lost in this book. The writing was great and the story surprised me with its twists and turns. I laughed my way through the whole book but then burst out crying at the end. I've already passed my copy along and would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpected pleasure
Review: I picked this book up for a good beach read just because I liked the cover. It was a great beach read and so much more. Light and funny on the one hand and literary and moving on the other. I can't understand why this wasn't a huge hit or did I miss something. It's brilliant. I love B.K. Troop. I bought this book for tons of friends and family and you should too. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and well-written story! Great Read!
Review: I read a lot of books, and this by far is the best I've read this year. Allison Burnett (a man I assume) writes like Kurt Vonnegut combined with John Kennedy Toole. The main character's (...) eye on the straight guy gives a whole new perspective to the year (and book) 1984 overlooked until now. Who cares about Big Brother, when there is a hunk next door? It is scary what lengths some people will go to in the name of seduction. Will the hunter nab is prey?Give this book a read and you won't be disappointed. I'm looking forward to more books from Mr. Burnett.
Rating:
Summary: A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE
Review: I read this book about a month ago and wouldn't have written a review until I saw another reader's inaccurate commentary amidst the blaze of favourable reviews. I hope this isn't the beginning of a forum which in its way would eventually demean honest comment for Amazon, for readers in general or for working and putative novelists. Myself, I originally approached CHRISTOPHER with some apprehension; the cover didn't describe a book I'd naturally buy. But browsing through an extract changed my mind and it stayed changed. The book is not just witty, it's wise. It's not just literate it is literature. If some of those in the Writers' Pantheon (Updike, Bellow, oh all right Wolfe and the rest) had written CHRISTOPHER as a first novel, it would have been no surprise since Burnett combines insight, clarity and humanity in a way which distinguishes the American novel. To use the word "banal" in connection with this book shows either a poor grasp of the nuance of language or faulty invective. It may be many other things but banal ain't one of them. CHRISTOPHER is original, interesting and really good.
Rating:
Summary: Text fetishists will delight in this delicious Ouroboros.
Review: I read this novel once quickly, then again at a more leisurely pace so I could enjoy its clever phrasing and allusions. How smart the writer is, how erudite. What a delight for a text fetishist. Is it ever quiet in this author's head? As he reminisces or meets new people, does he compulsively churn out metaphors and similes? I appreciated his ruthless meta-modelling and honesty - as well as his command of plausibility and well timed humor. La Ronde, Ouroboros, Pelastration, the Wheel. . . .time swallows itself as the orbits come round again. Story within a story within the story. I like the literary layers.
As I read I enjoyed the thought of his process and the author's dedicated struggle to express and refine -- the product is passionate, engaging, imaginative, and elegantly executed. I'll leave the book clubs and the critics to deconstruct his literary devices. I will simply comment as a connoisseur of art and superior literature. His skill, labor, focus, pain and humor are all deliciously evident.
It was impossible for me not to wonder about the writer's creative process and artistic discipline in the creation of this novel, his characters and their journeys of self-discovery.
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