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A review by bethreadsandnaps
The Faculty Lounge: A Novel by Jennifer Mathieu
4.5
4.5 stars
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Jennifer Mathieu's THE FACULTY LOUNGE (publishes July 23, 2024), as I've never read one of the author's novels. It turns out that I was quite taken with this novel. At the opening, the reader learns that the former teacher and now substitute teacher Mr. Lehrer passed away in the faculty lounge at the age of 82. It might seem a little odd that they let the body languish there for the rest of the day, but after all the students would see if he was taken out of the third-floor faculty lounge while school was in session.
As the centerpiece of the story, we learn about Mr. Lehrer, the teacher who found him, and the other educators, including the current principal, who crossed paths with him over the years. I was happy to see that the custodian who had a friendship with Mr. Lehrer was also included in a chapter. Mr. Lehrer sounded like a great man and teacher. I have a fondness for novels that span decades, and in the vignettes/character studies, we do get the opportunity to go back in time to see Mr. Lehrer's first year teaching in the 1960s as well as other educators' first years.
This novel has a lot of heart, tenderness, and apt descriptions of being an educator with a mix of contemporary and enduring education issues: lockdowns, book banning, mandatory meetings, emails being replied to instead of forwarded, state testing, work romances, and more. While this novel lacks a bit on the plot front (sometimes a bit too zany - the ashes incident, for instance), the characters have a lot of depth, and you hope for the best for each of them.
I truly enjoyed this gem of a novel, and I need to check out Jennifer Mathieu's backlist.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Jennifer Mathieu's THE FACULTY LOUNGE (publishes July 23, 2024), as I've never read one of the author's novels. It turns out that I was quite taken with this novel. At the opening, the reader learns that the former teacher and now substitute teacher Mr. Lehrer passed away in the faculty lounge at the age of 82. It might seem a little odd that they let the body languish there for the rest of the day, but after all the students would see if he was taken out of the third-floor faculty lounge while school was in session.
As the centerpiece of the story, we learn about Mr. Lehrer, the teacher who found him, and the other educators, including the current principal, who crossed paths with him over the years. I was happy to see that the custodian who had a friendship with Mr. Lehrer was also included in a chapter. Mr. Lehrer sounded like a great man and teacher. I have a fondness for novels that span decades, and in the vignettes/character studies, we do get the opportunity to go back in time to see Mr. Lehrer's first year teaching in the 1960s as well as other educators' first years.
This novel has a lot of heart, tenderness, and apt descriptions of being an educator with a mix of contemporary and enduring education issues: lockdowns, book banning, mandatory meetings, emails being replied to instead of forwarded, state testing, work romances, and more. While this novel lacks a bit on the plot front (sometimes a bit too zany - the ashes incident, for instance), the characters have a lot of depth, and you hope for the best for each of them.
I truly enjoyed this gem of a novel, and I need to check out Jennifer Mathieu's backlist.