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4.5 stars. This was wonderful. Checked all the boxes for me.
Some of the book was a bit choppy, but I felt it came together in the final chapters.
I noticed this book when I saw it mentioned in relation to ads for a TV show that I noticed during the Olympics; this is the story that the tv show Rise will apparently be loosely based on. I will probably not watch the TV show, because I don't actually like TV that much, but this was a good story. The author felt to me like he was telling with a bit of reserve; despite knowing and having had the teacher as a teen, he framed a lot through his own memories and experiences, and I just wanted more info on the teacher, the students, the plays they did. And it's an amazing story; a man not even trained in theater manages for four decades to get superb performances out of working class kids in a declining town. I think this really points out how important theater and other arts are for kids and how we really shortchange them when we offer them only English and math test prep. Good story.
Set in a Bruce Springsteen rustbelt town, this biography of a high school drama teacher extraordinaire is engaging and even inspiring. The author - once a student of the book's subject - uses the narrative as an opportunity to look at modern social and educational developments. It's the story of education in the part of America that has been left behind. It's also the story of Lou Volpe, whose forty year career as a high school drama teacher has transformed the lives of hundreds, even thousands of students. And who doesn't love to hear about people doing the job the great universe intended them for?
Hard not to give this book 5 stars. I went in completely biased because it's about my hometown and a legendary theater director at a high school with a bad rep in all areas but one. I would have gone to that school had I not gone to Catholic school, and I ended this book feeling a little sad that I didn't. My aunt went to Truman and was a student in Volpe's drama program, and I feel like I finally get what she always raved about. I have read some reviews where people took issue with the author's depiction of Levittown, but I think it was accurate. I still lived in the area during the time period of this book. I was selling newspaper advertising, and trust me, it was bleak. A dying industry in a town that felt like it was dying, as most of the local businesses were struggling. And having now moved out of state, I related to the author's experience of returning to Levittown, and being acutely aware of your working class roots in a wealthier area. Not that everyone has the same experience, but it definitely resonated with me.
I have a theory that no matter how much high school sucked for us creatives, we each had at least one teacher that inspired us to keep doing what we’re doing. For me, it was Ms. Yu. She introduced me to the concept of feminism before I knew what to label it. She showed me that great literature could be subversive.
For many high schoolers, that teacher was Lou Volpe. Sure, Sokolove does make some dramaturgical missteps — Frank Wedekind’s Spring’s Awakening isn’t the obscure text Sokolove makes it out to be. (Most theatre majors still study the text.) But Sokolove’s account of Volpe’s final year of teaching at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and the years leading up to it is insightful and inspiring. A must-read for everyone who hated those teenage years.
For many high schoolers, that teacher was Lou Volpe. Sure, Sokolove does make some dramaturgical missteps — Frank Wedekind’s Spring’s Awakening isn’t the obscure text Sokolove makes it out to be. (Most theatre majors still study the text.) But Sokolove’s account of Volpe’s final year of teaching at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and the years leading up to it is insightful and inspiring. A must-read for everyone who hated those teenage years.
3.75/5 stars.
This book tells an incredible story of an amazing teacher. However, the book jumps around in the story in a manner that I couldn't always follow and the backgrounds of seemingly random people are delved into at random times with no true explanation.
This book tells an incredible story of an amazing teacher. However, the book jumps around in the story in a manner that I couldn't always follow and the backgrounds of seemingly random people are delved into at random times with no true explanation.
Incredibly interesting and very heart-warming, particularly for a theater fan! :) Review to come.