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Finally, the sequel to the international bestseller and one of the most classic movies of all time, The Graduate, has arrived. At the end of Charles Webb’s first novel, The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock rescues his beloved Elaine from a marriage made not in heaven, but in California. For over forty years, legions of fans have wondered what happened to the young couple after The Graduate’s momentous final scene. The wait is over.Eleven years and 3,000 miles later, Benjamin and Elaine live Westchester County, a suburb of New York City, with their two sons, whom they are educating at home. A continent now stands between them and the boys’ surviving grandparent, now known as Nan, but who in former days answered to Mrs. Robinson. The story opens with the household in turmoil as the Westchester School Board attempts to quash the unconventional educational methods the family is practicing. Desperate situations call for desperate remedies—even a cry for help to the mother-in-law from hell, who is only too happy to provide her loving services—but at a price far higher than could be expected.At long last, the unforgettable characters that made The Graduate such a classic are back …and they’re better than ever—including, of course, the extraordinary Mrs. Robinson. Wryly observing the horrors and absurdities of domestic life, Home School has all the precision and wit that made The Graduate such a long-lasting success. Praise for Charles Webb and Home School:"There's a lot of sharp, funny dialogue....those who remember the good old days will have some fun." --Hartford Courant“Charles Webb is a highly gifted and accomplished writer.” – Chicago Tribune"Brilliant...sardonic, ludicrously funny." --The New York Times on The Graduate“Charles Webb's sequel to The Graduate sparkles with as much wit and invention as the original. Throughout the book, everything – dialogue, characterization, even incident – is pared down to a minimum, and yet the result, far from being undernourished, hums with richness and vitality. So here’s to you Mrs. Robinson, and to Charles Webb for doing such a fine job of resurrecting her.” --Sunday Telegraph (UK)“[Home School] offers a witty and bitingly accurate tale of suburban frustration whose slightness is integral to its charm.” --Daily Mail (UK)“Distinctive, wry, spare and beautifully modulated.” --Daily Telegraph (UK)“Forty years overdue, the sequel to The Graduate was worth the wait. A great read.” --The London Paper (UK)“By utilizing the same wry humor and pinpoint characterization of the first novel, and by delving even further into the dark motives of the iconic Mrs. Robinson, Webb has made this continuation of a classic believable and entertaining.” --The Works (UK)
I've always been irritated by the fact that all anyone ever remembers about The Graduate is the seduction of the protagonist by the archetypal Older Woman Mrs Robinson. While of course this is a pivotal aspect of the story, the book and film have so much more to say about alienation and obsession. I reread the novel recently and was particularly taken by its anti-consumerist stance, especially given it was published in 1963, before the ideas it presented became truly trendy.These themes are picked up again in Home School, which stands alone as a well-conceived continuation of the lives of the characters first introduced in The Graduate 44 years ago. The book is set 11 years after the tumultuous events of that novel. Ben and Elaine are still together and now have two young boys whom they are teaching at home so that they don't have to go through the educational system that Ben is still chafing against.Home School is a fine example of Webb's droll style and ability to record the minutia of life we cling to in stressful times; the arguments while making coffee or brushing teeth, the need to maintain the quotidian while our lives threaten to fall apart. The story takes some surprising turns and I had a strong sense that these characters mean as much to Webb now as to the young man who wrote the first novel so many years ago. Certainly there is a youthful vigour in the writing, and the book is at times laugh out loud funny.This is not some pointless cash-in sequel, but a fine and mature novel that complements its predecessor but can be read without any knowledge of what went before.And yes, Ben and the marvellously monstrous Mrs Robinson have a rather interesting trip down memory lane that brings the novel to a deeply satisfying conclusion.