Customer Reviews

The Class

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is, in my opinion, Segal's best writing. As is his way, he weaves fiction with portions of historical fact, and realism in locale which make the reading more credible, and imminently enjoyable. It moves through conflicts and peacetime; from Cambridge to Europe and the Middle East.

It is a delightful journey of a handful of young people through their respective lives. It has unrecognized (by some, at least) and public triumph, the struggles, and uncertainties that we all have gone through. These members of the Harvard Class of 1958 start in very different places, move together in Cambridge, and then move away (and back together). The well managed story takes the fortunate reader right along with them.

In this novel, I see friends (and acquaintances) from high school, college and law school. A touching and warm book, I have read (like many other reviewers) time and time and time again.

Erich Segal is truly one of the greatest novelists of all times, all of his works evoking pathos. "The Class" is no exception. Each character has a distinct personality, and the incorporation of real and fictional characters is pure genuis. This is a book I have read over and over again, and enjoyed each and every time. A wonderful, stirring read.

'The Class' is an unputdownable book that tells the story of five people who are classmates at Harvard. Each of these five characters is crafted with expertise, and they are so fleshed out, so real, that you almost feel as if you know them in real life. Indeed, any college student who reads this book will find one Dany Rossi, one Jason Gilbert, one Ted Lambros and one one George Keller. And every college student will dream of being Andrew Eliot himself. In Andrew Eliot, Erich
Segal has created his greatest character yet, one he hasn't been able to match so far. The guy is so real, so well underplayed, so *human*, that he will not fail to touch us. When I read this in my senior year in college, I could feel every moment of this book. To call it a masterpiece would put it beyond reach -the book's primary attraction is that it reaches out and embraces us and tells our story through its characters.

Erich Segal takes you through the lives of five Harvard men from 1958 to 1983. Andrew Eliot creates a diary during these years, detailing his life and his four classmates and their families and experiences with trials and triumphs, with what they believe is expected of a Harvard graduate and some surprising results when they have their class reunion. This book is so well written with the lives of each man and includes historical facts during this time period. You didn't have to attend college to enjoy this novel, and I highly recommend it for all ages.

This book chronicles the lives of five members of the Class of 1958 of Harvard University. It begins as the members of the Class enter Harvard from many parts far and wide - their first heady, promising days as freshmen in the autumn of 1954, and ends with their 25th year reunion, in June of 1983.

The book is a very enjoyable read, chronicling the fictional lives of the characters while weaving their lives into the important events of the world in the 1960's and 1970's. There is the tennis champ from Long Island, who wishes only to be 100% American, but can never be due to his Jewish heritage. There is the son of the immigrant, growing up literally in the shadow of Harvard itself, but who is too poor to afford campus housing and thus maintains an outsider status through his college years. There is the musical prodigy, who pines for the adulation of his father. There is also the immigrant from Hungary, escaping after the Soviet crackdown in 1956, and finally, the diarist, who is unremarkable in every way except that he is the latest of a very, very long line of Harvardmen. It is he whose letters intersperse the story and provide key clues into the lives of his fellow classmates from an outside perspective.

This book is a very nice read, I highly recommend it.

When I was a senior in High School I took a reading course that hadn't been offered before. We were made to read...no, "made" is such a harsh term...we were asked to read several books with The Class being one of the "optional" selections. I've treasured this book ever since. There have been so few books in my life that I've kept after I've read them once or twice. The Class is one of the exceptions. You can't help but feel like you know these characters personally. Before you start reading this book, please make sure you have a clear calendar because you will not be able to put it down. And when you read the last page, you will want to start all over again. You will be cheering for characters and crying for characters. And you will wish that you could meet someone just like one of them, just so you could proudly say you were friends.

'This is life!'...So was my first thought after I had recovered from the shock that Segal's The Class gave me. The book reflects all the dark, weak and incredibly strong sides of us human beings. It makes you see plainly how a person can affect his own life -and others' alike- as you discover devotion in Jason Gilbert's sacrifice, good-nature in Andrew Eliot's humiliation, ambition in Ted Lambros' battle with life, conflict in George Keller's dilemma, and greed in Daniel Rossi's talent. From the moment you begin reading the first words you feel absorbed by the pages. First, you find yourself having fun in the dorms, together with young, carefree men and women as they shape their future. Later you feel as if you were side-by-side with them, trying to have a place in this world -sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. You wonder at the contradiction between what one wants out of life and what one ends up with. In short you learn about life with every page you turn!

This book surely makes you think about what "LIFE" is. And it also helps you to think about what you're going to be in your future. Since it tell you what had happened back then in 1950s to 60s, I guess it'll definitely help you in your history class as well. Especially putting Keller as a apprentice of Kissinger was interesting. This book has also teaches us that no one is actually perfect. All those students in Havard are human beings too. They have feelings and every human emotion. This book was about those who led this world and as a high school student who would lead the 21st century, I wish we can do as well as the characters in the book did.

This is the best book I have ever read and the only book I have read more than once.

A very powerful novel that completely touches the reader where it really feels !! No words can say anything about the book. You got to read it.

Truly, Erich Segal at his best. Its a must read. Takes you back to the college days...and as you read through you really can empathise with the characters. Its simply wonderful.