Mostly Harmless

Notes On A Scandal
Zoe Heller
2003, 244 pages

Notes On A Scandal tells the story of Sheba Hart, a teacher who begins an affair with one of her underage students. It is narrated by a fellow teacher, Barbara, an older teacher, overly critical and jealous of all around her. The novel recounts the events as Barbara eventually learns them in the form of journal entries. Barbara begins writing the journal after the scandal has become public knowledge, and she has been forced into retirement, and Sheba charged for her crimes. The notes are never objective, and you can feel Barbara’s contempt, loneliness and anger at the world seethe between the lines. Her criticisms of those around her ring true, and I found the book very funny.

I’m not sure it was supposed to be funny.

I really enjoyed reading Notes On A Scandal. It’s certainly not high literature, but it was a fun read, and I have passed it on to friends who I hope will also enjoy it. I have never spent time in a staff room at an elementary school, but I imagine that her characterizations of teachers, saying what they really think about the students behind those closed doors was spot on. I loved to hate Barbara, and I think it was her portrayal of the events that made the book so fascinating and enjoyable for me.

Souvenir Of Canada
Douglas Coupland
2002, 144 pages

Douglas Coupland is one of the modern writers whose works I consistently love. Three or four of his novels rank among my favourites, and I always find his works at least entertaining. This book is a little different, as it is a coffee table book, not a novel. It had about forty short essays accompanied by photographs of things he considers to be quintessentially Canadian. I ran through it in a couple of days, and thought it was charming. It wasn’t until I traveled outside of North American that I also realized how accurate it was. I grew up being bombarded with American broadcast television and radio, preferring it to the Canadian alternatives. I never really felt that different than Americans, except when trying to build a Canadian identity. There is an awful lot of “we’re not American!” cheering when Canadians get together, which I have never really understood.

Anyways, back to the book. It was pretty nice. A nice addition to my Douglas Coupland collection, but definitely not required reading. I’m not a lover of coffee table books for the nice part, so having one that is a little cheeky and ironic is nice.