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sylxweb 's review for:
Dead Poets Society
by N.H. Kleinbaum
”O me! O life! of the questions of
these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities fill’d with the foolish, . . .
What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer
That you are here—That life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
3.5 stars.
I’ve always wanted to be an English professor, and I grew up attending very controlling private schools similar to Welton Academy. I’m also a bigender trans man who had a very strange relationship with my queerness as a child, so of course this was right up my alley.
While I have yet to see the movie (though I certainly will after this!), I can tell that this plot fits much better into a film rather than a novel. There were some parts that felt slow and awkward to read, and it was a bit of a struggle in the beginning to differentiate the characters from each other as the writing style made them feel a bit clunky. I also felt a little uncomfortable by a certain scene in the novel where one of the characters groped his love interest without her consent; while I’m not necessarily sensitive to seeing content like that in creative works, it still felt like it was brushed off and the character was barely punished for their actions, and in fact rewarded later.
Apart from these downsides, I found the novel to be very relatable to my own experience of growing up. Mr. Keating was a sweetheart and was so nurturing to his students that I found myself reflecting on the times that my English teachers behaved in the same way. I loved the countless literary references and that true sense of freedom that felt present by simply viewing literature through a lens of passion rather than through robotic analysis (which rings even truer to me now as a college student!).
Also, I wish the text was more blatantly queer because Neil and Todd were meant to be together. Came for the literary merit, stayed for the subtextual gay romance.
these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities fill’d with the foolish, . . .
What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer
That you are here—That life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
3.5 stars.
I’ve always wanted to be an English professor, and I grew up attending very controlling private schools similar to Welton Academy. I’m also a bigender trans man who had a very strange relationship with my queerness as a child, so of course this was right up my alley.
While I have yet to see the movie (though I certainly will after this!), I can tell that this plot fits much better into a film rather than a novel. There were some parts that felt slow and awkward to read, and it was a bit of a struggle in the beginning to differentiate the characters from each other as the writing style made them feel a bit clunky. I also felt a little uncomfortable by a certain scene in the novel where one of the characters groped his love interest without her consent; while I’m not necessarily sensitive to seeing content like that in creative works, it still felt like it was brushed off and the character was barely punished for their actions, and in fact rewarded later.
Apart from these downsides, I found the novel to be very relatable to my own experience of growing up. Mr. Keating was a sweetheart and was so nurturing to his students that I found myself reflecting on the times that my English teachers behaved in the same way. I loved the countless literary references and that true sense of freedom that felt present by simply viewing literature through a lens of passion rather than through robotic analysis (which rings even truer to me now as a college student!).
Also, I wish the text was more blatantly queer because Neil and Todd were meant to be together. Came for the literary merit, stayed for the subtextual gay romance.