I quickly reread Election, since it had been a very long time. I will say that I think it’s the stronger of the two, just in terms of writing. Perrotta is more subtle and effortless with his wit in the first, and while the second one is definitely not bad, it feels forced at some points.
I love Tracy Flick in both, and I think there are things I identify with in her adult character. I understand deciding on a different career path than originally intended, measuring your self-worth by your productivity, and stifling your emotions to plow forward and save face (don’t I sound like so much FUN? haha). I also loved that she ended up in education, since I can definitely relate to that.
Perrotta’s format is similar for both- he ties a cast of characters together, examining intricacies of their lives, allowing the reader to empathize in situations we might not otherwise. The only drawback is that in the second one, especially, I would have liked to see maybe one or two threads left out and more depth with others.
The ending of Tracy Flick was definitely written for a movie in mind… let’s just keep it at that
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