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A review by caroline77
School's Out by Christophe Dufossé
1.0
***NO SPOILERS***
What School's Out is supposed to be about: a class of sinister freshman students with murderous tendencies. What it is instead: 321 pages of tangents, plus five pages of an unfocused, yawn-inducing main plot. This is such a frustrating book. Here are just some of the tangents I was subjected to while impatiently waiting for the main story: a detailed memory of a punk rock concert; the narrator's ramblings about the television shows he likes to watch, the various sounds he can hear from his apartment, and his oddball neighbors; a television show the narrator liked to watch as a child, with special mention of the show's theme song; excessive detail of a home's gardens and property; and a bizarre out-of-the-blue incestuous encounter between the narrator and his sister.
Just when Dufosse focused on the main plot, just when the pace finally quickened the slightest bit, he switched back to some completely irrelevant, utterly boring, pages-long tangent. The pace then reverts to a snail's crawl. I was desperate for more details--about the students, the dead teacher, the history the students had with each other, something having to do with the main plot line.
Equally problematic is that School's Out tells but doesn't show. A few characters describe these students as "peculiar" and "scary," but the students are never shown actually doing anything criminal; my curiosity never was piqued much. I was supposed to accept these kids are threatening and clannish simply because they are. As for the few creepy student-teacher moments...they're laughably underwhelming--at least to modern readers desensitized by stories of real-life school massacres.
The characters in this book are so cardboard, though, that I'm not even sure seeing them commit a crime would be so frightening. The most dimension Dufosse gave each student, for instance, was a first and last name--at one point even listing all twenty-four full names--as if full names are the most important kind of characterization. The students barely even speak. Additionally, this book has at least twelve extraneous non-student characters; they in no way relate to the main plot or serve any purpose. It feels almost as if Dufosse mistakenly believed that to achieve a certain level of literary sophistication he had to cram his work full of characters.
Stylistically, School's Out is flawed. Numerous sentences are rambling and convoluted to the point of nonsense. I'm not sure whether the fault lies with the translator or the author. Regardless, it's torture:
The ending is supposed to be dramatic and shocking but is meaningless. Again, because Dufosse barely focused on the main plot and failed entirely to flesh out his main characters (and show them acting criminal), the ending has zero impact--and doesn't even make sense.
I can't praise a single thing about this book. As a short story or novella, this tale could have turned out beautifully, as Dufosse would have been forced to home in on main characters and main plot only. The premise is provocative, and it's obvious Dufosse wanted to create something chilling and memorable, but unfortunately he failed entirely in its execution.
Final verdict: Throw out School's Out.
What School's Out is supposed to be about: a class of sinister freshman students with murderous tendencies. What it is instead: 321 pages of tangents, plus five pages of an unfocused, yawn-inducing main plot. This is such a frustrating book. Here are just some of the tangents I was subjected to while impatiently waiting for the main story: a detailed memory of a punk rock concert; the narrator's ramblings about the television shows he likes to watch, the various sounds he can hear from his apartment, and his oddball neighbors; a television show the narrator liked to watch as a child, with special mention of the show's theme song; excessive detail of a home's gardens and property; and a bizarre out-of-the-blue incestuous encounter between the narrator and his sister.
Just when Dufosse focused on the main plot, just when the pace finally quickened the slightest bit, he switched back to some completely irrelevant, utterly boring, pages-long tangent. The pace then reverts to a snail's crawl. I was desperate for more details--about the students, the dead teacher, the history the students had with each other, something having to do with the main plot line.
Equally problematic is that School's Out tells but doesn't show. A few characters describe these students as "peculiar" and "scary," but the students are never shown actually doing anything criminal; my curiosity never was piqued much. I was supposed to accept these kids are threatening and clannish simply because they are. As for the few creepy student-teacher moments...they're laughably underwhelming--at least to modern readers desensitized by stories of real-life school massacres.
The characters in this book are so cardboard, though, that I'm not even sure seeing them commit a crime would be so frightening. The most dimension Dufosse gave each student, for instance, was a first and last name--at one point even listing all twenty-four full names--as if full names are the most important kind of characterization. The students barely even speak. Additionally, this book has at least twelve extraneous non-student characters; they in no way relate to the main plot or serve any purpose. It feels almost as if Dufosse mistakenly believed that to achieve a certain level of literary sophistication he had to cram his work full of characters.
Stylistically, School's Out is flawed. Numerous sentences are rambling and convoluted to the point of nonsense. I'm not sure whether the fault lies with the translator or the author. Regardless, it's torture:
"The well-proportioned quasi-neutrality of her silhouette, of her appearance, even in a seated position, the fragile rectitude of it all, evoked in me an irreversible negation, flaws concealed beneath a deceptive classicism."Gobbledygook like this completely halts the pace about every two pages.
The ending is supposed to be dramatic and shocking but is meaningless. Again, because Dufosse barely focused on the main plot and failed entirely to flesh out his main characters (and show them acting criminal), the ending has zero impact--and doesn't even make sense.
I can't praise a single thing about this book. As a short story or novella, this tale could have turned out beautifully, as Dufosse would have been forced to home in on main characters and main plot only. The premise is provocative, and it's obvious Dufosse wanted to create something chilling and memorable, but unfortunately he failed entirely in its execution.
Final verdict: Throw out School's Out.