The Topeka School

A Novel

De: Ben Lerner

Narrado por: Nancy Linari, Peter Berkrot, Tristan Wright

2019 New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year

2019 NPR Best Book of the Year

2019 National Book Critics Circle Award - Nominee

2019 Vogue Magazine Best Books of the Year

2019 Time Magazine Top 10 Books of the Year

2019 NYT Outstanding Books of the Year

2019 The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year

2020 Folio Prize Shortlist

2019 Washington Post Best Books of the Year

2019 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year

2019 New York Magazine Best Books of the Year

2020 Pulitzer Prize - Finalist

2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year

2019 Esquire Magazine Best Books of the Year

2019 NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing

Named one of the most anticipated fall books by Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Vogue, Vulture, The Observer, Kirkus, Lit Hub, The Millions, The Week, Oprah Magazine, The Paris Review Daily, Nylon, Pacific Standard, Publishers Weekly, Slate, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Guardian

From the award-winning author of 10:04 and Leaving the Atocha Station, a tender and expansive family drama set in the American Midwest at the turn of the century: a tale of adolescence, transgression, and the conditions that have given rise to the trolls and tyrants of the New Right.

Adam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of ’97. His mother, Jane, is a famous feminist author; his father, Jonathan, is an expert at getting "lost boys" to open up. They both work at a psychiatric clinic that has attracted staff and patients from around the world. Adam is a renowned debater, expected to win a national championship before he heads to college. He is one of the cool kids, ready to fight or, better, freestyle about fighting if it keeps his peers from thinking of him as weak. Adam is also one of the seniors who bring the loner Darren Eberheart - who is, unbeknownst to Adam, his father’s patient - into the social scene, to disastrous effect.

Deftly shifting perspectives and time periods, The Topeka School is the story of a family, its struggles and its strengths: Jane’s reckoning with the legacy of an abusive father, Jonathan’s marital transgressions, the challenge of raising a good son in a culture of toxic masculinity. It is also a riveting prehistory of the present: the collapse of public speech, the trolls and tyrants of the New Right, and the ongoing crisis of identity among white men.

Cover photograph from The Wichita Eagle. © 1990 McClatchy. All rights reserved. Used under license. Kansas.com

©2019 Ben Lerner (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

challenging

it took a long time (I was almost done) for this book to teach me how to read it. I found the application of multiple literary gimmicks disorienting, but by the time I got to the end, I suspected the author intended exactly that effect. When I got it, I was impressed by the depth and richness with which the story explores its themes.It is probably worth a second read,, but i doubt I will.. I felt like it was an overwhelming indictment of our expectations of modern masculinity with no glimmer of hope or path foward, which made me sad.

Great novel, narration flawed...

A beautiful novel, a beautiful writer. The story was graceful and quiet but moved swiftly, I couldn’t put it down. I felt like it was moving towards something major with the Darren character but it kind of didn’t— regardless of that I still thought it was great. One note is that one of the narrators should know how to pronounce popular musicians names/musical acts, such as Brian Eno (it’s pronounced “eee-no”) and for crying out loud, The Fugees are world famous and pronounced like slang for word “refugee” and not like “FOO-GEES.” How did no one notice this during editing? Embarrassing. It’s 2020 come on.

Droll

I listened to this book and still have no idea what it what’s about. There were several points of view...and I have no idea why. The ending was a bit baffling, seeming to come from nowhere, and the main point of the story is completely lost on me.

interesting, unique and compelling

A strong investigation of language, meaning and noise. Not as political as other reviewers complain.

Great Family Drama--And More!

A really fantastic story dealing with life in the latter part of the 20th century. I really liked the multiple perspectives (different characters POV and at different times). The "whole" story slowly comes into focus.

Lerner creates characters and settings that feel "real" to me.

I thought the narration was good albeit with a few pronunciation bloopers.