Customer Reviews

A LITTLE LEARNING

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This book took some getting into. I found it slow and had to persevere before the plot thickened enough to keep me reading it for any long period of time.

Most people in it had sad and sorry lives, which became a bit of a downer and seemed a little too much like real life.

The main story is about Carla and effectively her boredom in her easy life. She has been married to Alan for 20 years, has no children and has known no struggle throughout this time. The story develops through those who are connected to her in different ways - her friends, colleagues, students etc. Thinking herself completely unattracted to her husband any more Carla starts an affair with a new teacher, Peter - 14 years her junior, who comes to work at the private school her husband is headmaster of, & where she teaches part-time. She thinks she loves this man, however, he has no interest in her apart from the physical, which she doesn't realise until too late and with significant consequences. Thinking themselves the masters in having a secret affair (not) it soon becomes public knowledge, except for her husband who is (typically) pretty much the last to know. By the end of the story there is a complete breakdown as the inevitable confrontations happen and Alan has his own bombshell to drop on Carla.

Intertwined with their problems are the issues of 15 year old Katie and her 18 year old sister Beatrice, (both who are students in the same school where Carla and Alan work) as well as their parents - Jenny, their mother is a friend of Carla's and Mike who is also a teacher at the school and a major womaniser. This whole dynamic I found interesting and could particularly relate to both the kids internal dilemmas and their powerlessness. The development and outcome of Katie's relationship with Daniel I found really moving.

Overall, the book was a poignant illustration of people's lives in a modern world. Worth a look - it makes you take another look at how you feel about what's going on in your own life and appreciate the good things you have and not take them for granted.