Some people enjoy it... (The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta)

Member Name: Larachristina

Product:	The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta
Date:	18/03/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice plot, interesting characters.

Disadvantages: A bit quiet.

Tom Perrotta is known best for his books "Election" (which was adapted into the film starring Reece Witherspoon and Mathew Broderick), and "Little Children" (the film adaptation starring Kate Winslet).

I had never read any of his books before, although i thoroughly enjoyed "Election" the film, but when I was browsing through Borders in Leeds, I happened upon "The Abstinence Teacher" and thought it looked like a good book for my fella.

I ended up reading it before he did (that night), and I think I probably enjoyed it more than him.


Plot.
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"The Abstinence teacher" plops the reader firmly in NorthEastern America, in a small town called StoneWood Heights.

There we meet Ruth Ramsey, a sex education teacher, who has recently found that her all too honest approach with children, can land her in hot water with the local evangelical church, and their growing clutch upon the residents of the town.

When Ruth discovers that the girls soccer team, in which her daughter plays, has been guided in prayer by their coach, Tim, she goes ballistic. She doesn't want her children praying, just because someone has told them to.

Tim in the meantime is a recovering alcoholic and drug user. He has become a firm member of the Tabernacle of the Gospel Truth, where he tries his best to adhere to God's word....or at least the word that the Tabernacle hears.

With Ruth trying to understand the difference between what she wants and expects for her children, and what they want and expect from her, and Tim struggles to live his life the way he is being told to, the town of StoneWood continues to let the influence of the Church seep into every day life.


What I thought.
~~~~~~~~~
The Abstinence teach explores how otherwise unreligious people respond to evangelical christianity, and how it seems to be adopted as a search for a cure for many of life's woes. It also explores how unwanted its influence can sometimes be.

When Ruth's honesty about sex offends the local evangelical church, they demand that the school runs an alternative sex education class, or more to the point, an abstinence class. Ruth's frustration at this completely limited education is apparent, and its easy to sympathise with her. The idea that the best education is denial is an interesting one.

I don't think this is a particularly balanced look on religion. The characters not involved in the evangelical church somewhat look upon it with disdain, and the devout characters are almost parodies. well, hopefully they are. It was obvious to me that author Tom Perrotta was giving a somewhat amused view on the whole idea of strict religion slithering its way into everyday life.

All of the characters are flawed and human. Ruth is an every day, utterly normal forty something woman, who struggles with the upbringing of her children, her divorce, and her love life.Tim however seems to think he has found the solution to all of his woes, in God, and because of this, he widely ignores the unsatisfying relationship he has with his altogether boring, and Church approved wife Carrie.

There is no big clean answer by the end of the book. We never find out whether the Church wins, or even whether there was ever a battle to begin with. The characters continue to stumble along, attempting to do whats right, and making plentiful mistakes along the way.


Overall.
~~~~~
I quietly enjoyed this book. It wasn't anything magical, and it didn't leave me questioning my religion or lack of it afterward, but it did engross me for few hours, and I put it down having very much enjoyed it.

Its just a very quiet look at a section of American suburbia, with lovely well thought out characters, amusing dialogue,and bizarre situations.
This book is funny, mildly thought provoking, and in the end entertaining, which is probably what I find most important in a novel.


You can,
~~~~~~
buy from here, for £4.39.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abstinence-Teacher-Tom-

Perrotta/dp/0007261012/ref=sr_1_1?

ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237384217&sr=8-1

(Link is split in 3, to keep it under 80 characters. Just paste it back together).

Summary: A nice entertaining book.