Gwyn Parry

I thought this was one of the funniest, most entertaining books I have read in a quite a while, but it definitely appeals to a certain audience. The blurb on the book compares it to Wodehouse, and I would have to agree. Set in modern times, the novel is narrated by Chesterfield, a 30-something male 6th grade teacher with an American Marine father and a British mother. As the book opens, Chesterfield's wife is having an affair and leaving him, and as he muddles through the school year he varies from seeking revenge to finding a new (and we hope true!) love himself. The characters surrounding Chesterfield are funny and likeable, but it is the original and amusing narrator who is the real attraction to the book. He holds to the old-fashioned standards of the heyday of the British - lots of dry, witty comments, quotations from Shakespeare and cocktails. It appealed to me because I have always loved that whole British understated wit. I have already read this book twice, and it will be one of those books I return to whenever I need a lift!… (mehr)