Good Read
This month Lauren Molyneux reviews a latest best seller and a classic piece of modern fiction
The Graduate
Charles Webb
TOP TIP: If you can remember ever feeling a mind-boggling sense of dread when asked the question, ‘So, what are your plans for the future?’ then this book is a must-read.
After graduating from an acclaimed college with high honours and an impressive extensive list of extra-curricular contributions, Ben Braddock’s life seems to be sewn up quite nicely. His parents and their accomplished friends and neighbours carry very high expectations of him – he is to accept the teaching award offered to him and continue on his high-flying path of success, with a wage-slip to match. But when his parents’ friend Mrs Robinson decides to undress herself for him and encourage him into an affair, his path soon becomes one which is no longer so clearly defined, and she becomes the answer to his escape.
Set within the status-driven culture of suburban America in the 1960s, Charles Webb tells Ben’s story of anti-establishment rebellion, displaying perfectly the character’s wry wit and deadpan sense of humour. The sparsity of expression in Ben’s language effectively encapsulates the emotional inner turmoil that troubles him. The Graduate is successful not only in presenting what it is to be a graduate, but it is also successful in breaking down and examining the overwhelming existential doubt that has a tendency to bear down on new university leavers.
The Graduate is a classic piece of modern fiction that provided inspiration for Mike Nichols’ acclaimed film of the same title, starring Dustin Hoffman, and featuring an almost too fitting soundtrack composed by Simon & Garfunkel.
The Party
Elizabeth Day
TOP TIP: With curveballs thrown and twists brilliantly executed, The Party guarantees an exciting read.
Although Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice are an unlikely pair, they have found themselves inseparable since high school – Martin, always cast as the intelligent outsider, and Ben the popular, enigmatic, wealthy aristocrat. No one can properly understand the bond they have shared over their 25 years of friendship, not even those closest to them. Ben’s 40th birthday party sees the pair reunited at his extravagant home, with champagne, cocktails, and a celebrity guestlist to boast about. But amidst all the glamour there is something disconcerting in the air, throwing Martin once again out of his comfort zone and leaving him to question just how much he really knows about his oldest friend.
Emphasising the impact of history and heritage, friendship, trust and secrets, The Party leaves readers wondering until the very end. The telling of events is divided between Martin and his wife, Lucy – each chapter providing another piece of information which can be used to gain insight into these psychologically complex characters. The puzzle may be constructed gradually by the reader, but the activity is rewarded at the novel’s close. A real page-turner.
