My weeks are filling quickly with seasonal shopping, plans for the holidays, directing a children's play at UW-Manitowoc and Heart-A-Rama prep. Starting a book that I didn't feel compelled to committing to seemed smart, but that won't be the case. I had a hard time putting it down, and although I am not far, I can already tell ....it's gonna be good.
For starters, I'm drawn to anything set in a school. A British school makes it even better. And a private school at that. We all know those British, private school kids all have a secret life. Then there's the fact that the book was written by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolate (which was made into a move starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp). She never fails me.
Here's a concise bit from the back cover....
After thirty years at St. Oswald's Grammar in North Yorkshire, England, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. Each class has its clowns, rebels and underdogs - all who hold a special place in the old teachers. heart. For the many good children Straitley has come across, he has seen his fair share of damaged ones - after all, St. Oswalds is no stranger to scandal.
With insolvency and academic failure looming, a new headmaster arrives at the venerable school, bringing with him modern technology, sharp suits and even girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist these steps toward the future, a shadow from his past begins to stir again. A boy who still haunts Straitley's dreams twenty years later. A boy capable of terrible things.
The book alternates between the boy's diary written twenty years prior, and the present school year. It is shaping up to be a doozie.
Before beginning a novel, I always red the author's bio. I love this line about Harris -"She lives in Yorkshire with her family, plays bass in a band first formed when she was sixteen, works in a shed in her garden, likes musical theatre and old sci-fi, drinks rather too much caffeine, spends far too much time online, and occasionally dreams of faking her own death and going to live in Hawaii."
Thanks for stopping by....maybe I'll have some spoilers for you next week,
