I must have thought I would enjoy the book based on a few things. First, it has the word "school" in the title so that must have captured my interest. Second, the cover picture brings up (accurate) images of a story about some sort of New England type boarding school from decades ago. Third, Tobias Wolff is a fairly impressive writer with some other pretty good novels.
Was the book enjoyable? Well, yes and no. On the positive, the book is amazingly well written. Wolff truly has a way with words and there are many sentences and paragraphs that I read more than once due to both the complexity and beauty of the words. The story is interesting but not great. I think the author is far more interested in the words and the connections he is trying to make in his analogies in the book than the actual plot moving forward. To say it's a character piece, is an understatement.
One of the odd parts of the book that bothered me is that the author never used quotation marks. While the dialogue is minimized for the most part, it did bother me the few times when individuals were talking. I also really enjoy dialogue as a part of the book so this was an annoyance for me.
On a positive, I did enjoy the "academic" nature of the book. To clarify, the book is about a bunch of adolescent boys at a prestigious boarding school, specifically focusing on the boys that are great writers. In the time of the novel, the school has visits from Robert Frost, Ayn Rand, and Ernest Hemingway. Hearing the author reflect his views of these writers through the characters in the story is very enjoyable to read as well.
Overall, the book is very well written and enjoyable foray into words. Wolff has a real talent with the pen and that is the most enjoyable part of the book. As far as looking for a book with a great plot and wonderful dialogue, I would look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a fun period piece about school, great writing, and honor, this is the book for you!
