- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Fiction (April 4 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0380977680
- ISBN-13: 978-0380977680
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.4 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 771 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Kalpakian's narrative skill and interest in generational legacies are evident in her latest novel, in which the theory of progressive education becomes the catalyst for a fateful intertwining of several lives. The setting is Temple School, founded by Sophia Westerveldt, the daughter of a lumber tycoon. Sophia had an affair with avant-garde painter Denis Aron in France, where she'd gone to develop her artistic sensibility before WWI. After the war she returned to Washington and, with her husband, started the experimental school for "North American Women of the Future" on Kalpakian's trademark setting, Isadora Island in Puget Sound. Waverly Scott, the 14-year-old illegitimate daughter of a rich man and his secretary, arrives at the school in 1939. Although Temple is past its prime, the next two years are the most important of Waverly's life, because she meets Avril Aron, the daughter of Sophia's old lover, who in 1940 is sent from occupied Paris. Avril and Waverly eventually become "Wavril," two bodies, one soul. Both girls fall for Sandy Lomax, a local boy with aspirations, who becomes Wavril's lover in a teen menage a trois. Their summer of love is cut short when Waverly's mother removes her from the school. While Waverly fails to adjust to mainstream life, Avril marries Sandy and gives birth to a daughter before an accident changes everybody's life. Two decades later, Waverly returns to Isadora, where, adopting the nom de plume of Nona York, she becomes a successful romance writer. Memories of her youth are forcefully rekindled when her summer temp turns out to bear the legacy of long-ago love. References to characters in her previous Steps and Exes add depth to Kalpakian's story, but the narrative's main appeal lies in the well-kept secrets that eventually surface, casting the shadow of history on destinies formed in the wake of tragic events.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Veteran novelist and short-story writer Kalpakian (Delinquent Virgin) spins a fascinating tale of Waverley Scott's experiences from age 14 to the final stages of her life as an elderly, reclusive romance novelist. At 14, Waverley is unformed and uninformed but not na‹ve; she realizes that she has been sent to Temple School on isolated Isadora Island because she looks too much like her mother's married employer (also Waverley's "guardian"). Traveling with them on almost continuous business trips, she has not attended school or made friends. At Temple School, Waverley is inspired by independent, impractical headmistress Sophia Westervelt and forms a bond with classmates and Sandy Lomax, a local island boy. From these first significant relationships, Waverley forms her opinions on love, romance, and the independence of women. The characters are endearingly human and eccentric; the reader will empathize with their plights as they fulfill their destinies against the background of World War II. At times lighthearted and at other times heartbreaking, Kalpakian's novel is spellbinding from start to finish. Recommended for academic and public libraries. Cheryl L. Conway, Univ. of Arkansas Lib., Fayetteville
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Sputtering, distant and rhythmic, broke the afternoon quiet, and Nona York, trowel in hand, stopped weeding amongst the onions and paused attentively. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Sputtering, distant and rhythmic, broke the afternoon quiet, and Nona York, trowel in hand, stopped weeding amongst the onions and paused attentively. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting reading,
By BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Educating Waverley (Paperback)
I have enjoyed Kalpakian's books in the past and this one was no exception. I liked the way she presented an unusual situation and locale, and how the characters' lives all became so intertwined. This is a testament of the author's skills at weaving a complex story into a believable whole. The secrets that have been kept over the years, on Isadora Island and beyond, drive the story and keep the reader intruiged. The few students of the mysterious, free-spirited Sophie Westerveldt at Temple School learn unusual lessons that will stay with them far into their futures. I am not usually fond of books that move around in time, back and forth, but Kalpakian's skill kept the book from seeming choppy. The story emerged gradually and allowed the reader topeel back the layers and put all the pieces together. A good read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of 2003,
By Peggy Striegel (Broken Arrow, OK USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Educating Waverley (Paperback)
This is an excellently written and crafted story. Best along with Human Stain. This would actually make a very good movie as opposed to Human Stain which should not be a movie. The story is perfect in every way. I will read all of this author.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Romance-Novel Quality,
By A Customer
This review is from: Educating Waverley (Paperback)
This book was recommended to me by a friend & I found it disappointing - full of purple prose and flat characters. It made me wince sometimes, it was so corny. There's a moany love-triangle between three of the characters which is annoying and unconvincing. Supposedly, two girls, Waverley Scott and Avril Aron, are so smitten with each other that they refer to each other as "Wavril"- one soul and one person. Both of them are also moony and moany over their grocery-delivery boy, Sandy. All three enjoy a kind of romance-novel menage a trois on moonlit nights on the beach, sexed up with hot, melting marshmallows. The marshmallows are a metaphor for their passion? Ick. That's just too gooey, and the book is filled with bits like that. Most disappointing was the character of the "brilliant" teacher, a supposedly inspirational, free-spirited woman who is now past her prime. She's still supposed to inspire us, but she only reminded me of Robin Williams in The Birdcage, doing those imitations of Martha Graham and Madonna - very goofy, not intelligent. EDUCATING WAVERLEY takes itself way too seriously. I found myself shaking my head often and saying "Give me a break," which isn't a good sign. For much better writing about the adolescence of spoiled school girls, read ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan. And if you want the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, read SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson. Despite good marketing, EDUCATING WAVERLEY barely makes it out of the romance-novel category. I think Laura Kalpakian can do (and has done) better, and I recommend a skip on this one.
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