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Joanne Harris' novel is a carefully-plotted tale of revenge targeted at an exclusive boys' school by someone who feels wronged by the school. St Oswald's School for Boys is an exclusive British boarding school that has seen better days. It has taken them too long to catch up to the times and now they are paying the price. The school is struggling day by day in the hopes of one day becoming glorious once again. Roy Straitley is one of a dying breed having taught Latin for over 30 years at the school and now, slowly, he is becoming redundant in an ever-changing world. He will have to prove his worth if he wants to continue his teaching career. Fifteen years ago, under the guise of Julian Pinchbeck, without telling anyone, the caretaker's kid managed to infiltrate the school as a student in order to see how the rich live. Julian had a lot of fun and was able to give respect to some of the academics in the school including Straitley. The beginning of the end began when Julian fell into a forbidden love with one of the students. When Leon dies after an unfortunate event the caretaker is blamed for the tragedy and, with no one being any the wiser, Julian disappears, planning retribution against the school for what was done to the school caretaker. Now, during the present time, the school is struggling with the change of the times. Departments are being integrated and they are facing budget cuts. Still, the school manages to bring in five new teachers in order to infuse it with new blood. Unbeknownst to the faculty is that one of the new teachers used to go by the name of Julian Pinchbeck and is now plotting revenge. This mystery teacher begins with some petty acts of thievery and sabotage until they can lure Straitley into the game in what promises to be a battle of wills. Only one will remain victorious and the fate of the school will be in that person's hands. Harris uses the Faulknerian device of having multiple first person narrators in order to get the full scope of what is going on. We first get Julian Pinchbeck as the past telling the story of what happened during that time at the school. Roy Straitley represents the present as to what is going on now and the road the school is taking. The third first-person narrator is Julian once again, this time in the persona of one of the new teachers who remains nameless until further ahead in the book. This teacher has an agenda for the future of the school and readers are privy to this character's thoughts while masterminding the school's demise. All three make for interesting reading as the pieces slowly begin falling into place until there is one final confrontation. The winner takes all with the school as the ultimate prize. You do not want to miss this.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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