Gentlemen and Players - Joanne Harris

There's no doubt that there's great writing here, scanning like a torch around the darkened corridors of the world of being young, at schools and being old, in teaching. It certainly reminds one of 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis, and similar common-room tv dramas such as Teachers. At least on the entertaining side.....for here a darker, poorly-nurtured world also lurks and looks set to dominate overall. This penetrating, cyncial first-person narration, fuels the book and is almost too clever for its own good, despite being constructed with reference to a chess game. The lesser characters (mostly teachers) suffer and tend to be very sketchy ...  Read the complete review

"The place is St Oswald's, an old and long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the School, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally – reluctantly – contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the School, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for fifteen years, is about to erupt. Who is "Mole", the mysterious insider, whose cruel practical jokes ...  Read the complete review

Although I enjoyed the film Chocolat, I’ve never been particularly drawn to read any of Joanne Harris’ books. However, as soon as I read a review of Gentlemen & Players, I knew I had to read it. So determined to read it was I that I actually bought a copy – something I rarely do these days, preferring to save paper and borrow books from libraries. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. There is an air of mystery about the story that drew me into it and kept me going until I had got to the end. Roy Straitley is Latin master at St Oswald’s, a boy’s grammar school. About to retire, he is expecting to get through his final terms without much in the way of surprises. ...  Read the complete review