There’s
a quote from this book, within a lesson during an English class, where
the teacher notes that “the reason why literature soars and critique
stings...is that the writer pursues what interests him while the critic
pursues what bothers him.” I’ll try to do both here, because what
“bothered” me about this book (if you could even call it that) is
greatly outweighed by what interested me about the story, the
characters, and the idea of a common or uncommon education.The book, which centers around a girl named Naomi Feinstein, is divided into five parts. The first part, which is set when Naomi is a little girl, is slow, graceful, and eloquently written. It meanders through various events, some significant (her father’s heart attack) and some seemingly inconsequential (being bullied for supposed cheating at school), all the while establishing Naomi’s character and internal dialogue. While it does have a slower feel to it than the rest of the book, each scene and snippet is carefully executed and important to understanding who the character (and perhaps the author) is, and who she will become.
The book picks up steam when Naomi is accepted to and departs for Wellesley, in her nearly single-minded pursuit of becoming a doctor. She’s had this fascination since her father’s heart attack when she was a young girl, but doesn’t seem to understand exactly what pursuing an MD entails, other than “fixing” that which is broken in other people, and making replacement hearts that will function when real hearts cease to. It’s not that Naomi understands how to fix people or even why they are ailing, only that they need help and she thinks she can give it to them by loving and worrying over them enough. This is why when she sees a girl fall through the ice while out on a walk during her second year on campus, she rushes to help.
This impulse leads her to the Shakespeare Society, a group of women who will help draw Naomi out of her shell and into a space where she can learn to be herself. Unfortunately, I thought most of the characters in “Shakes,” as the society is called, were written as rather flat and one-dimensional, when really there was potential for the author and Naomi to get so much more out of them. I also found it frustrating that Naomi tended to watch events happen around her as though she has no control over them, which is a characteristic reminiscent of Lee Fiora in Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. I did, however, absolutely love Jun, who is someone I’d love to see a whole book written around. She had such an interesting perspective, balancing her life at Wellesley with the demands her strict and successful Japanese family put on her.
Toward the end of the book Naomi becomes a more actively participating member of her own life, and when this happened I wanted to cry, laugh, and hug her all at once. It seems as though once she gives up trying to become a doctor and mend hearts, she finally finds hers and follows it. After that turning point, I wished the book continued on for another 100 pages. Sadly all we get is a hastily drawn but immensely satisfying conclusion that will have you thinking about the character long after the book is over.
If you enjoyed Prep, Commencement, or Dead Poets Society, definitely pick up An Uncommon Education.
Disclosure: TLC Book Tours provided me with a complimentary copy of this
book to review, however opinions and views are all mine.
