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Title: Dead Man on Campus: A Novelization by Anthony Abrams, Tony Abrams, Adam Larson Broder ISBN: 0671026445 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: August, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.50

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Average Customer Rating: 4

Rating: 4
Summary: The fine line between Stupid and Clever
Comment: These days, the typical movie novelization consists of little more than a direct transcription of the movie's screenplay; not much thought goes into creating a "new experience" for the reader. "Dead Man on Campus," however, despite what looks like decidedly threadbare source material, reads more like an actual novel than a quickie movie tie-in. The story revolves around Cooper and Josh, two party-hearty college roommates who find themselves in grave danger of flunking out. In desperation, they turn to an obscure clause in the school charter -- the "Dead Man's Clause": If your roommate commits suicide, the college compensates you for your trauma by awarding you straight A's for the semester. Cooper and Josh embark on a search for the most suicidal guy on campus, in the hope that he'll move in with them, "open up a vein," and solve all their problems. Various complications and hijinks ensue.

The book drags a bit during the f! ! irst 80 or so pages, mainly because of the endlessly repetitive scenes of Cooper and Josh partying and getting high. (This is an MTV Book, let's not forget.) But the authors compensate by creating a series of marvelously funny vignettes depicting the past history and inner life of each of the characters. And the story really kicks into gear once the Dead Man's Clause is introduced, and our "heroes" begin their quest.

The legendary David St. Hubbins once said, "There's a fine line between Stupid and Clever." In the course of its 215 pages, "Dead Man on Campus" jumps back and forth across that line more often than you can count. The set pieces range from the painfully obvious (a misunderstanding causes the other guys in the dorm to think Cooper and Josh are gay) to the genuinely inspired (a depressed poet hurls invective at his adoring groupies during a coffeehouse reading, to no discernible effect; Cooper gives outrageously inappropriate adv! ! ice to a bulimia sufferer who's contemplating suicide; a mo! ving van driver delivers a profane and hilarious monologue about the best customer he ever had). One suspects that the novel's funniest bits -- a stand-alone prologue that combines the sensibilities of O. Henry and Howard Stern, and a surreal chapter detailing the bizarre family history of Buckley, one of Cooper and Josh's potential roomies -- probably aren't even in the movie (which is as yet unreleased). No matter. In the duel between Stupid and Clever, Clever manages to win more often than not, allowing "Dead Man on Campus," the novel, to stand on its own as a lighthearted, enjoyably crass, and raucously un-PC entertainment.