An Honorable Profession: A Novel [Paperback]

John L'Heureux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2002

John L'Heureux is one of our most authoritative and compelling novelists, and An Honorable Profession, a New York Times Notable Book, is a "splendid novel" realized "superbly well" (Newark Star-Ledger) about an ordinary New England school where a young English teacher's life is about to undergo the most serious of tests. Miles Bannon works hard and strives to be fair; he enjoys his popularity with students -- a bit too much, sometimes -- but overall he is a good man. When he witnesses a group of students picking on one boy in the shower after football practice, he is suddenly forced to balance his responsibility for the situation with the unexpectedly intimate glimpse he now has of them. And when the victim begins to cling to him in the face of his own father's rejection, Miles finds it perhaps too welcome a feeling. Then comes an accusation of impropriety that will destroy his career -- and transform his life, and who he thought he was, forever. "An Honorable Profession is ... about survival both personal and professional, not merely that but survival with dignity and self-respect." -- Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World "A deeply ambitious novelist ... who isn't afraid of dealing with dark themes and what it means to be fully human." -- Robert Ward, The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Poet and novelist L'Heureux ( A Woman Run Mad ) here offers a modern-day variation on The Children's Hour with this portrayal of a teacher victimized by a whispering campaign. Miles Bannon is a popular high school English teacher in Boston who enjoys the respect of his students. His mother is dying, he is messily involved with two women and he is plagued by a deep insecurity about his sexual orientation. When a boy who has been sexually brutalized by a gang of football players in the locker room develops a crush on Miles, he fails to discourage it--an ambiguity that triggers bitter accusations after the boy commits suicide. Miles must confront his own nature as he faces the opprobrium of his colleagues and the community. In powerful, graphic prose, L'Heureux succeeds in presenting Miles as a weak hero without alienating the reader. The result is a troubling story--a combination interior odyssey and intense thriller--that doesn't settle for black-and-white answers.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (August 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802139280
• ISBN-13: 978-0802139283
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,900,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Immediacy in a Faculty Soap, April 30, 2005

By 

M. G Jackson (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honorable Profession (Hardcover)

I thouroughly enjoyed this novel, fast-paced and blunt about the sexual politics of a suburban high school, between both faculty and students. Focussing on the sexual ambiguity of popular English teacher Miles Bannon, "An Honourable Profession" exposes the homophobia in our institutions, our children, and ourselves. With a complex network of vivid characters surrounding him, and an ever-widening scandal involving a lockerroom rape, suspected pedophilia, alchoholism, promiscuity, and suicide, L"Heureux's tale balances a fine line between crass sensationalism and sober depiction of real problems. I was tempted at times to write him off as a homophobe, but the story must be read to its conclusion to appreciate his motives in exposing homophobia,its prevalence and insidious acceptance in the rearing of teenagers. But this is a plot driven story, not at all a polemic. It reminded me of the great novel "Staggerford" by John Hassler with its understanding of the dynamic between teens and their teachers and of the sometimes desperate politics of the teacher's lounge. I read this novel in three days and was very satisfied.

4.0 out of 5 stars Triumph over adverstiy, September 27, 2009

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: An Honorable Profession: A Novel (Paperback)

Miles Bannon is a successful English teacher, know affectionately as Milo by his students he is the most popular teacher in the school. But when a boys' initiation prank in the sports changing rooms goes wrong, it sets in motion a series of events that look to ruin his reputation and his beloved career.

Miles does what he can to help the victim of the prank, but the boy, distanced by his father and initially withdrawn, develops a crush for Miles, leading to confusion for Miles, and eventually accusations of improper behaviour on his part.

An Honorable Profession chronicles the events from the prank to the end of the school year and Miles' final realisations about himself. We follow him as he deals not only with the troubled boy and the rumours and accusations, but also his dying mother, his clinging and troubled girlfriend and the voracious Diane, who heads his English Department.

It is a story of eventual personal triumph over adversity, and makes for a satisfying read, if a little repetitive at times. I found myself switching from admiring Miles to almost despairing for him when on the occasion he makes some less than wise decisions. But finally one has to admire him for coming through it all one way or another.

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Accused of Child Molestation, You are Guilty in the Public Eye, May 4, 2009

By 

Bonnie Brody "Book Lover and Knitter" (Port St. Lucie, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: An Honorable Profession: A Novel (Paperback)

What happens when a teacher is unjustly accused of the crime of child molestation? Their lives are stripped bare. Secrets, which we all harbor - those personal, sacred things we choose not to share - become public and shine an ugly shadow on us. It's hard to maintain one's dignity and go forward.

This novel deals with an ordinary man who must examine his ethical and moral fiber. No better or worse than most of us, once accused, his actions are viewed from a different perspective. He is guilty until proven innocent. Even then, people will never look at him in the same way as prior to the allegation.

"He got up in the morning - every day in January, February and March - and prayed to survive
the day's insults and ridicule and contempt, and he endured it somehow, with kids looking at
him funny, watching his crotch sometimes, flirting with him to catch him out. Nothing was
beneath them. They would say anything, do anything, to expose him further, to see him raw".
(P. 360)

This is a book that has staying power. It is one that you will remember years after reading it. It is an amazing and all too true novel.