The story swings back and forth in time between when the black king was a student of Mr Straitley’s during the 1980’s, and the present, where St Oswalds is undergoing huge changes to try to stay relevant and, more importantly, to remain financially solvent. The black king was a former pupil at St Oswalds and is clearly troubled, with a history of killing animals and possibly even other children. I didn’t know who he was almost until the end of the book, despite guessing at his identity throughout. The black king is more of an unknown quality. He is passionate about St Oswalds, teaching and his form, who are known as his ‘Brodie Boys’. Mr Straitley is a traditionalist, who has few interests outside of the school. The white king’s chapters are told by an elderly Latin teacher, Roy Straitley, who has taught at St Oswalds for over thirty years. The story is alternately told by two narrators, whose chapters are represented by a white or a black chess king. The story is set in St Oswalds Grammar, a boys school in Mawbry, a fictional town in England. Joanne Harris’s Gentlemen & Players and Blueeyedboy are also set in Mawbry and share some characters, although Different Class can be read alone. Different Class by Joanne Harris is a psychological thriller which left me guessing, almost to the very end of the book.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |