A review by djgarraway
A Good School by Richard Yates
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A Good School, A Great Novel - 4.5 stars
Set at a prep school over the bleak backdrop of war, this book is one of the better bildungsroman stories I’ve read. While similar to Knowles’s A Separate Peace, I enjoyed this Yates narrative more because of its honesty. Yates is frank about boarding school culture—smoking, hazing, sex—and, doing so, uncovered each character’s essential humanity. Everyone is a protagonist, each with unique flaws. While the story isn’t shocking, the plot is riveting. We glimpse into the lives of many different people within the school’s network; we’re wrapped in the rumours and teenage antics. And yet, Yates still nicely laces the narrative with the melancholia of the war.
Set at a prep school over the bleak backdrop of war, this book is one of the better bildungsroman stories I’ve read. While similar to Knowles’s A Separate Peace, I enjoyed this Yates narrative more because of its honesty. Yates is frank about boarding school culture—smoking, hazing, sex—and, doing so, uncovered each character’s essential humanity. Everyone is a protagonist, each with unique flaws. While the story isn’t shocking, the plot is riveting. We glimpse into the lives of many different people within the school’s network; we’re wrapped in the rumours and teenage antics. And yet, Yates still nicely laces the narrative with the melancholia of the war.