Time For Some More Book Talk, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             I will try and get to what you all want to know, as soon as possible.

                                             "The Topeka School" made "The New York Times Five Best Works Of Fiction List."

                                              My verdict--"Phooey!"

                                              While, on its own a respectable work of literature, it does not go the extra mile that makes a Best Book for me.  It did, for someone on The Times staff.

                                                It does have potential.  Jonathan and Jane Gordon live with their teen aged son, Adam, in Topeka, Kansas.  Adam goes to Topeka High School, and his parents work at a psychiatric facility--they are both psychiatrists--but that is as normal as the book gets.  Told from different perspectives, depending on whose POV the reader believes, the Foundation is a sexist place where, if a woman tries to advance herself she is regarded as suffering from penis envy(Jane); there is a secret organization within called The Men that believe in 50's values of women and how they should be treated (Jonathan); while Adam, though bright, is your typical testicular hetero jock, who cares more about eating pussy than winning for his debate team.  And a detailed description of Adam doing the former is simply disgusting.  Add to the mix a bullied kid, named Darren Eberhart, whom Adam graciously tries to bring into his social circle, with dire consequences that leave the young man traumatized for life.  He reminded me of Benny in "King's Row."

                                                The word "school" in the title refers as much to schools of thought, as to the building itself.  Lerner's thinking is muddled.  He does not successfully connect together all this ideas he is sending out, and his views on toxic masculinity seem to be muddled--is he for, or against?  The way Darren is ultimately treated did not make for a good feeling, for me; I imagine Lerner himself is some hetero, chest pounding gorilla.

                                                    Had the story been fleshed out more, and some compassion displayed, "The Topeka School" may have had the potential to be a Best.  As it stands, it is merely engaging, throwing out ideas, as quickly as it disparages them.

                                                      The book does not make Topeka or Kansas look good.

                                                       Leave that still to L. Frank Baum and "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"