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A razor-sharp, deeply felt new novel—the twenty-first book by Ann Beattie—about the complicated relationship between a charismatic teacher and his students, and the secrets we keep from those we love
At a boarding school in New Hampshire, Ben joins the honor society led by Pierre LaVerdere, an enigmatic, brilliant, yet perverse, teacher who instructs his students not only about how to reason, but how to prevaricate. As the years go by, LaVerdere's covert and overt instruction lingers in his students' lives as they seek some sense of purpose or meaning. When Ben feels the pace of his life accelerating and views his intimate relationships as less and less fulfilling, there seems to be a subtext he's not able to access. And what, really, did Bailey Academy teach him?
While relationships with his stepmother and sister improve, and a move to upstate New York offers respite from his anxiety about love and work, LaVerdere's reappearance in his life disturbs his equilibrium. Everything he once thought he knew about his teacher—and himself—is called into question. Written by one of our most iconic writers, known for casting a cold eye on her generation's ambivalence and sometimes mistaken ambition, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck is a keenly observed psychological study of a man who alternates between careful driving and hazardous risk taking, as he struggles to incorporate his past into the vertiginous present.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 2, 2019 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781984842596
- File size: 261735 KB
- Duration: 09:05:16
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Narrator Kirby Heyborne captures the ennui of this millennial coming-of-age story involving questions of privilege and responsibility, ambivalence and agency. The story is set at an elite boarding school in New England. At the center is Ben, a smart-enough and popular-enough student who, like many of his classmates, falls under the spell of Mr. LaVerdere, the school's provocative philosophy teacher. LaVerdere's teachings echo over the years post-Bailey as Ben moves predictably from college to a series of unremarkable jobs and unfulfilling relationships. Cleverly, Heyborne's performance matches Ben's personality--a bit dull, cynical, and tinged with inertia. In contrast, when LaVerdere re-enters Ben's orbit, Ben experiences a shift in his emotional balance, which is reflected in Heyborne's pace and tone. A.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
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