Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"ENDEARING PORTRAIT OF AN ENGLISH SCHOOLTEACHER", September 26, 1999
This short, sentimental composite portrait tugs at my heart with each reread, even though it was never my privilege to have a teacher like Chips. An instant "classic" when it first appeared in book form in America in 1934 (after serialization in the Atlantic Monthly), this unpretentious tale about a mild-mannered teacher charms us by its very simplicity of style and honesty of emotion. We snatch glimpses into the unremarkable life and becalmed career of a Master at a gracefully moldering English boys' school--and even into his more distinguished retirement. We celebrate Mr. Chipping's gradual metamorphosis from indifferent disciplinarian, average teacher, gentle eccentric, confirmed bachelor, glowing husband, fusty Acting Head--ultimately to achieve social distinction and honor: becoming a beloved institution in his own right. For despite decades of academic obscurity, Chips emerges as the representative of what is right and good about Brookfield. He becomes a living symbol of harmony between ancient ritual and "modern" methods and ideals. World events beyond the hallowed walls seek to touch and reshape the lives in this secluded school, which witnesses the ceaseless stream of future new boys, waring Masters and Heads. Yet all their strivings take back seat to the gentle dodderings of a witty, childless graybeard in a shabby robe, who prides himself on being the father of thousands of boys. This book is a light-hearted tale which will bring both tears and joy to readers of all ages.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilton's simple paean to a teacher wears well, May 21, 2000
James Hilton's work sometimes shows its age from the vantage point of sixty five years later. In the case of Lost Horizon, the story becomes a set piece, lost in its 1930s era assumptions. Random Harvest is rarely read, as its voice also seems better suited to BBC makeover dramas than poignant reading. Hilton's simple, sentimental story about an English school teacher, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, remains as unabashedly accessible as it must have been when it was written. The story recaps the professional life of a devoted teacher. But Mr. Chipping is not the "to the ramparts" crusader we see in our current movies of the week. Unlike Hard Times or the sloganeering of our current political debates, Goodbye, Mr. Chips is not a call for wholesale reform of an educational system. Instead, Hilton uses the Chipping character as a metaphor for the value of education in giving the student that most elusive of the commodities of civilization, a sense of proportion. The novel's style is magazine fiction in the best sense of the phrase. The story is propelled jauntily along, through flashbacks and ironic anecdote. Although the author's approach may be said to be sentimental, the construction of the plot and the direct yet subtle way in which the themes are driven home are quite appealing. Hilton wrote at the time that "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" was written in a single burst, with little need for revision (a work of "inspiration"). The book does indeed read as though the author understood the potential in his story from the opening paragraph onward. Mr. Chips' schoolbound world is not a "real world" in many ways, and yet the novel retains a sense of warmth and reality that many schoolboy days books cannot sustain. Hilton squeezes into a brief novella gentle wit, a mild love story, and shrewd observations about the importance of a sense of permanence. In some ways, Mr. Chipping is a metaphor for the survival of English middle-class life in the wake of the first world war. We might also view Hilton's creation of Mr. Chipping in the late 1930s as an attempt to preserve the English middle-class sense of proportion and the rightness of things for a generation under the shadow of the impending war against fascism. Whether we take Goodbye, Mr. Chips as an extended metaphor, or merely as a crackling good read, we are drawn again and again to its quiet, direct story and simple message. In a time when we are rediscovering the virtues of simplicity, perhaps it is time we rediscovered the value of educators who pass our values through the generations. This English novel retains its relevance to contemporary people worldwide. Hilton's simplest novel may well be considered his best one. I highly recommend this slim volume.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Goodbye Mr. Chips is a story that relates to all of us., July 24, 1999
By A Customer
Goodbye Mr. Chips is a fun and easy book to read. The story is about old man who was a teacher for his whole life. He taught to three different generations of students, and made a long-lasting impression on his them and on his fellow teachers. Mr. Chips was not a remarkable teacher with new ideas or a special way of teaching. He had a great memory, and remembered names, faces and stories from his many years of teaching at Brookfield. His stories and the experiences he shared with his students made him popular and well liked. What makes the story particularly interesting is that it gives the reader the image of a person who had a full and successful life. It was a life with no regrets that most of us would want for ourselves. It is easy to read because there are no long and difficult words to look up in the dictionary, and the story flows with interesting events and stories. Not everything that happens in the story is happy, but that makes it more real and more believable. It is very easy to relate to Mr. Chips because he was popular for who he was and what he knew, and not for what he did. If he were famous or special, he would be harder to relate to. It shows that you can lead a fulfilling and successful life without needing to achieve something remarkable or special. This book is a book that can be enjoyed by children, young-adults, and adults.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
