Read Recently: “Old School” by Tobias Wolff

Title: “Old School”

Author: Tobias Wolff.

Synopsis: A semi-autobiographical novel of a senior at an elite New England prep school in the early 1960s. He dreams of becoming a writer and much of his semesterly excitement is the arrival of a visiting writer and a contest the school holds to offer one student an audience with that writer.

Backstory: My friend Brenden and this wise person recommended it to me. I loved “This Boy’s Life” when I read it many years ago.

Notes: Not a long book (200 pages give or take) so you could finish it quick if you wanted. But then you’d missing out on its gifts.

Verdict: Lovely, lovely book. Nearly every page has at least three turns of phrase you want to hold up to the sun like precious stones. Read with a notebook or a highlighter. Wolff gets more heart and grace out of one short novel than most writers get out of their first 3. Also should be required reading for anyone who thinks that “sophisticated writing” needs to be tangled and wordy. Wolff is as clear and refreshing as a deep breath.

Highly Recommended. Like best-book read so far in 2007 recommended.

• Category: Reading and Books