Historical October 1985 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
A Good School by Richard Yates, Delacorte Press, N.Y. 1978. I saw Richard Yates—a tall, thin, sad looking man—on the campus of the University of Iowa when he spoke at the writers’ workshop back in 1966.
Since then I’ve read about all his books.
A Good School is a brilliant novel. I’ve recommended it more than any other book in the Kiosk.
It is set during World War II in an unusual prep school called Dorset Academy in New England.
They were unusual in the sense that they accepted boys that no other school would have.
One such student is William Grove, a high strung, nervous boy who would like to become a writer.
But Grove is just one of many of the cast of characters in the book.
There is Robert Driscoll, the school disciplinarian and Jack Draper, a crippled professor whose wife is sexually involved with another man.
As the story moves along, some of the boys go off to war and are killed whilst the school goes into bankruptcy.
This is a beautifully textured narrative that will dig into you. Any of Yates books can be ordered from the branches or downtown. I would particularly recommend Revolutionary Road and Easter Parade. Escape Plus by Ben Bova.
A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 1984. • This paperback book can be found in the Science Fiction section of the Kiosk. Danny Romano, the main character, winds up in a futuristic house of correction where a computer called “specs” watches them everywhere and reports anything unusual to the headmaster, Joe. Joe is a dedicated, kindly man who devotes himself to the boys and actually teaches science. Danny gets no argument from Joe when he falls asleep in history and dubs it a boring subject. Little by little, Danny sees the light and quits trying to escape.
Although he is a tough cookie, Joe sees potential in him and the story ends on a happy note. I would recommend this to a student short on time to turn in a book report.
It has 112 pages and it is a pleasant, little, fast paced story.
My favorite prep school story is Catcher in the Rye which I consider the book of my generation. I first read it in the early 1950’s and have had several re-reads over the years.
A close second is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks. Set in Scotland between the two World Wars and during the Spanish Civil War, it is witty, ironic and gives us a glimpse of fascism.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, October 1985.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1985_10.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
