theladydoor 's review for:

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

4.0

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I was a little unsure of this book, having read Chocolat by the same author, and been slightly disappointed. However, I was very glad I did pick it up. This book, which largely takes place at a boy's boarding school, gave me a lot of food for thought. An important theme in the book is that of the role of education in a person's life. Harris herself was a schoolteacher for many years, and poured much of her experience into writing the novel. I'm an aspiring teacher myself, and I found it fascinating to read the differing points of view in the novel, one of an aging teacher, the other a vengeful former student. The two points of view are made even clearer by the assignment of chess pieces to each voice. I'm not a chess player, and chess metaphors often go over my head, but Harris writes so elegantly and engagingly that it's not a problem at all.