The Basic Eight is a novel which was written by Daniel Handler in 1999. The novel revolves around the main character Flannery Culp who is a senior in high school at Roewer High School which is located in San Francisco, California. Throughout the last year of high school, Flannery writes down everything that occurs in her life in her notebook (diary) and after modifying it a lot a few years later it is turned into a narrative piece of writing. The ‘Basic Eight’ consist of her and seven of her closest friends who are a teenage clique of their own. They regularly get involved with the party scene, explore new things, and experiment with various alcoholic beverages and more.
Where Absinthe Fits In
Absinthe becomes a huge part of the story in ‘The Basic Eight’ as the group of eight friends get intrigued by absinthe and how potent it was carried on to be in the past. The history of how dangerous drinking absinthe was believed to be is what was so appealing for the group of teens so they decide that it is ultimate one of the things that they want to experiment with.
The devious group of teens ultimately starts to experiment with absinthe and the results are somewhat disturbing. The addictiveness and dangerousness of drinking absinthe comes in to play in the novel ‘The Basic Eight’ very strongly. However, all of the tales on how dangerous absinthe is may just be a myth or over exaggerated. Also, the fact that so many novels and movies are depicting the dangerous side effects of drinking absinthe just further proves that it is becoming an over exaggerated point of view. |
