PREP

[swordmage]

One the ever-fluctuating personal list of stuff to read is currently Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.

The book's been getting lots of press lately, it's being billed as a female version of Catcher in the Rye, so I'm looking at reviews on Amazon of the title.

I can't help but smile at some (for the record, I like to sort reviews by lowest rated first). Reading about the book, I get the feeling it's a better read if you've attended one of the schools, especially one in New England. Apparently, Ault is based on (and at times a thinly veiled ringer for) Groton, which Sittenfeld attended.

In my experience, private schools are their own odd little world. Call them bubbles. Don't get em wrong, I love it here (and will miss the Abbey when I leave), but it's something else. We're not centers of virtue (*insert laugh here*), but I don't think that we're the centers of vice some books make us out to be. can't think of any off the top of my head though.

It's supposed to be a good read. Catcher, while a good book, isn't my favorite, and I think it to be a bit over-hyped. And I don't tend to view it as a book about boarding school per-say. Keep in mind I read it about three years ago.

Comments

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

Catcher in the Rye is a decent book, but I remember liking Franny and Zooey much better.

I've talked to one or two kids here at Dickinson who went to New England prep schools. It's kind of funny to compare our high school experiences, because they really are very, very different. I think I might've liked private school, to some degree, though...

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

Private schools really are something unto themselves. It's funny talking to people who have attended public high schools, because experiences, as you said, are very different.

Personally, I love the one I attend. Of course, as I said to my mother when we were talking about my little sister and next year, "You don't think it's a shining beacon of virtue, do you?" It's got chaos and drama, at some points in extreme amounts.

It's not for everyone though. Anyone who can't stand the place won't last more then two years though. If you've made it to junior year, no matter what you may complain about, deep down you like the place.

Catcher in the Rye, thinking back, I thought was a bit too over-the-top. Don't get me wrong, it was well-written, and the characters good, but it didn't have the same effect as Lord of the Flies.