" Audere, agere, auferre.
To dare, to strive, to conquer. "
To dare, to strive, to conquer. "
For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School... read full description
reviews
Oct 06, 2010
Lauren
rated it: 
May 1st, 2007 (Two weeks before Ava was born)
Not recommended!
I went to Kepler's a week ago and almost came home with four new books. But I instituted an emergency policy on the spot -- only one book purchase allowed -- and I picked this one. It sounded so promising... I love page turners and this was touted as "wickedly funny", literary, and all that good stuff. But my high hopes were dashed! And I gave up after about 120 pages.
In short, two nar More...
Not recommended!
I went to Kepler's a week ago and almost came home with four new books. But I instituted an emergency policy on the spot -- only one book purchase allowed -- and I picked this one. It sounded so promising... I love page turners and this was touted as "wickedly funny", literary, and all that good stuff. But my high hopes were dashed! And I gave up after about 120 pages.
In short, two nar More...
7 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 24, 2012
Splash Of Our Worlds
rated it: 
I don't know exactly why I bought this book. It looked nice to have a book on my shelves that was normal, with simple people, no magicians, no genius children and so. Well, I have to admit that most of the books I thought they are simple, they are not. And this is an example.
The book is telling the story of a young student. It's experiece. The way the school is working. And it's relationships with the people among it. It's family, its friends, its teachers.
The book is also telling More...
The book is telling the story of a young student. It's experiece. The way the school is working. And it's relationships with the people among it. It's family, its friends, its teachers.
The book is also telling More...
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Oct 30, 2008
Autumn
rated it:
Alright, I'll say right up front that I would have given this book five stars, except that it has more profanity and school-boy crudities than I'm comfortable with in a book. But, (and this might be a bad thing), I'm willing to put up with a little more of that in a really great book. This book is definitely more PG13 than PG.
That being said, it's a great story. It's set in a boys' prep school in England and the story centers around Roy Straitley, a latin professor who has taught there for More...
That being said, it's a great story. It's set in a boys' prep school in England and the story centers around Roy Straitley, a latin professor who has taught there for More...
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Nov 20, 2009
Cygny
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 20, 2008
Lindsay
rated it:
"Gentlemen and Players" may not be the best known of Joanne Harris's works, "Chocolat" undoubtedly holds that title, but this novel is a riveting story worthy of praise for its intelligence and ingenuity. Centered around the public (private for those of us in the US) St. Oswald's grammar school for boys where things begin to go terribly wrong - and we are not talking paper airplanes and spit balls disorder, more like school for scandal.
As the school, and surrou More...
As the school, and surrou More...
3 comments
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Aug 17, 2008
Debbie
rated it: 
I liked this book better than Chocolat--which isn't saying much, but still.
Its major problem for me is its length. It's a long book--which doesn't matter--but it doesn't need to be--which does. So much of the length is sheer repetition that it's astounding. Blah blah St Oswald's blah blah blah disguise blah blah blah Leon blah blah blah Leon blah blah blah Leon...blah blah blah old age blah blah blah drunk blah blah blah nasty mother.... The same ideas in the same words over and More...
Its major problem for me is its length. It's a long book--which doesn't matter--but it doesn't need to be--which does. So much of the length is sheer repetition that it's astounding. Blah blah St Oswald's blah blah blah disguise blah blah blah Leon blah blah blah Leon blah blah blah Leon...blah blah blah old age blah blah blah drunk blah blah blah nasty mother.... The same ideas in the same words over and More...
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Mar 19, 2008
whatthedeuce
rated it:
There was something about this novel that put me off, but I can't really put my finger on it. I found the premise of a young teacher seeking vengeance against a private all-boys school more than intriguing, and the writing was well-paced, but something just didn't quite gel for me throughout most of the novel. I will say though that the twist towards the end of the story is one that I never saw coming, and it knocked my socks off and gave me more of an appreciation for the author's creativity an
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Feb 16, 2009
Wendy
rated it:
The thing I really like about Joanne Harris (Chocolat, Five Quarters of an Orange, etc.) is that she is not a formula writer. Each of her books is unique and can stand on its own merits. Gentlemen and Players is a bit of a cat and mouse thriller that effectively uses a chess analogy throughout the novel. Lots of twists and turns in this mystery. Many of the characters' names are cleverly used to offer some insights and hints. But don't read too, much about the story beforehand if you want t
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Feb 02, 2009
Anne
rated it:
I listened to the first half of this on audiobook, and had trouble differentiating between the two narrators. Frustrated and tired of the younger (evil) narrator, I sent the audiobook back to the library. When the paperback arrived at the library for me, I gave it another go from the middle on to see what the surprise ending was I'd read so much about. I enjoyed the last pages of back-and-forth quick-fire narrative perspectives more th an the rest of the book, and am glad I persevered.
Feb 21, 2009
Babs
rated it:
Gentlemen and Players is definitely not one of Harris' best novels, which possibly explains why I found a hardcover copy of it on the B&N bargain table for $5.98 not all that long after it was released. I'm a fan of Harris, however, and so I finally pulled this book out of my "to read" pile. I liked the book. It isn't as captivating as her other novels like Chocolat and The Girl With No Shadow. The book's chapters alternated between the points of view and story-telling of the two m
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Sep 03, 2011
Madeleine
rated it:
This thriller by Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat, which I STILL need to read) centers around St. Oswald's, an ancient all-boys school for the social elite. It is the Ozzies who populate the halls Oxford and Cambridge and get doctorates and go abroad. The story focuses on two characters and narrators: Roy Straitley, a Classics teacher, whose given his entire life to St. Oswald's only to see it destroyed by incompetence and computers, and a mysterious, unnamed narrator, the child of the old Port
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Jul 27, 2011
Jenny Sparrow
rated it:
Для меня, читавшей до этого только околоШоколадные книги Харрис, роман "Джентльмены и игроки" оказался очень неожиданным и приятным - в книге совершенно иной оттенок, стилистика, настроение, реалии и герои, нежели в "Шоколаде" и "Леденцовых туфельках". Видно, что автор может отлично писать и вот такие истории - мрачные, загадочные, детективные, реальные. И это очень приятное открытие. Кроме того, я всегда питала слабость и горячую любовь к книгам о школах, а старая
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Jan 18, 2011
Louise
rated it:
This novel was very readable and enjoyable- like so many other reviewers I did not see the twists coming at all. Harris controls the plot with impressive dexterity. I loved the characterisation of Straitley- the humour and warmth of the portrayal taking me back to memories of the old guard of teaching, especially when I was a young teacher getting to know some of the oldest staff members as their colleague. His narrative voice provides the perfect contrast with the other young voice, and I was
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Jul 10, 2010
Karen
rated it: 
This book started out just a little slow for me and I began to think I wouldn't like it as well as Joanne Harris' other books. I was so wrong. After just a bit, I was hooked and was so sad when I finished it.
The story is about an elite school in England for boys, St. Oswald. The story is told through two voices - Roy Straitley, who has taught at the school for 30 years, and a teacher who is new to the staff as the book begins. This new teacher, unknown to everyone but the reader, More...
The story is about an elite school in England for boys, St. Oswald. The story is told through two voices - Roy Straitley, who has taught at the school for 30 years, and a teacher who is new to the staff as the book begins. This new teacher, unknown to everyone but the reader, More...
May 17, 2010
Diane
rated it:
Joanne Harris is the author of Chocolat,, as well as several other books interesting for their variety. One blurb of the back cover of Gentlemen and Players,/i> indicates that once a reader starts this book, he or she will not want to put it down. However, I have to say Harris is a master of pacing, and even though the book's early chapters have a measured pace, she implies enough of the mystery to come to keep anyone turning the pages. This is one of those books that I wish I could read agai
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Feb 01, 2010
Tori
rated it:
In many respects this novel reminds me of the two more thought provoking films I’ve ever seen, Memento and The Game. You carry on for the majority of the story thinking you know what’s going on and then, at the last minute, a mind bending plot alternative is presented that casts EVERYTHING you have just read into an entirely different light and then all of a sudden the pieces fall into place. To this end, it is a very clever book and I honestly had a moment where I thought to myself, “Oh no way…
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Jul 26, 2009
Booklogged
rated it:
by Joanne Harris (read August 2006)
I read this novel because of a review on JenClair's blog, A Garden Carried in the Pocket. I read Harris' Five Quarters of the Orange and really did not like it. As much as I disliked that book I liked Gentlement and Players. The story takes place in England at St. Oswald, an exclusive school for boys. Five new teachers are hired for fall term, one of them has a vengeance to inflict on the school. Like watching dominoes fall, the descent of St. Oswald's fr More...
I read this novel because of a review on JenClair's blog, A Garden Carried in the Pocket. I read Harris' Five Quarters of the Orange and really did not like it. As much as I disliked that book I liked Gentlement and Players. The story takes place in England at St. Oswald, an exclusive school for boys. Five new teachers are hired for fall term, one of them has a vengeance to inflict on the school. Like watching dominoes fall, the descent of St. Oswald's fr More...
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May 25, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris is a complex novel. The story takes place at Oswald's School for Boys (fictional), a school steeped in tradition and values of an older generation. The school caters to the wealthy and elite and the students often find themselves at conflict with the other students of the local public school. At the start of a new teaching season, St. Oswalds finds itself slowing unravelling, being swallowed by scandals that get increasing more controversial. Can the school
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Oct 08, 2010
Rebecca
rated it:
As Nancy Pearl says, life is too short to finish books you don't enjoy. I gave this one a fair chance, but I was unimpressed and saw no reason to continue. This book is supposed to be a thriller/suspense novel, but I found myself yawning with boredom through the first several chapters. We know very early on in the story that one of the narrators is planning on taking down a boy's grammar school from the inside by securing a teaching post there, with the goal of murdering someone out of reveng
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Dec 15, 2011
Sonia
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
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Jul 06, 2010
Libby
rated it:
Vengeance is an awesome and complex human motivation. Very few of us pass from childhood to old age with no episode for which we would like payback. Gentlemen and Players is a tale of just such a revenge played out in narrative from the avenger and his unwitting target. The setting, St Oswald's School, is a venerable institution, clothed in gentlemanly tradition and the scent of old money. Its graduates go forth armored with computer science, a little Latin and the assurance that they are in no
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Aug 11, 2011
Elaine
rated it:
Литературный обзор романа Джоанн Хэррис "Джентльмены и игроки": (пер. с англ. Старостиной Т.)
Врачи часто оперируют понятием «не навредить». Многие писатели подспудно хотят «не наследить». Не в истории литературы, а так, чтобы читатели, среди которых обязательно найдутся прототипы тех или иных героев произведения, не смогли бы привязать историю к конкретному месту и обвинить автора в предвзятости и компромате. И во вступительном слове к своим произведениям часто пишут: «Сов More...
Врачи часто оперируют понятием «не навредить». Многие писатели подспудно хотят «не наследить». Не в истории литературы, а так, чтобы читатели, среди которых обязательно найдутся прототипы тех или иных героев произведения, не смогли бы привязать историю к конкретному месту и обвинить автора в предвзятости и компромате. И во вступительном слове к своим произведениям часто пишут: «Сов More...
Sep 25, 2011
LindyLouMac
rated it:
I read in 2006 and here is the entry I wrote for Bookcrossing.
Journal Entry 16 by LindyLouMac from Viterbo, Lazio Italy on Friday, May 12, 2006
What a really good novel Joanne Harris has written with Gentleman and Players. It is an enthralling and haunting read and in a new direction for this author. It really held my attention from the beginning but the last hundred pages or so I just had to keep going. It deals with deception, betrayal, ambition and forbidden longings, More...
Journal Entry 16 by LindyLouMac from Viterbo, Lazio Italy on Friday, May 12, 2006
What a really good novel Joanne Harris has written with Gentleman and Players. It is an enthralling and haunting read and in a new direction for this author. It really held my attention from the beginning but the last hundred pages or so I just had to keep going. It deals with deception, betrayal, ambition and forbidden longings, More...
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Jul 26, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
If I had track the moves in the book like a chess game, I would have guessed the murderer's identity. In all honesty, I'm glad I didn't because I enjoyed the final confrontation all the more. The book like many chess games starts out ponderous. The pieces are set up and the characters introduced. Pay attention to Staitley's description of his colleagues. It is the only time they will all be presented at once. From there the play flips between the black and white pieces, black represented by Stai
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 10, 2011
Sterlingcindysu
rated it:
I'm not much good with mysteries because I tend to peek at the end, or poke holes in the ending. This is a good story first and a mystery second. Lots of great character development, setting details, everything from the time period rang true, great writing. The only complaint I have is that it took me awhile to realize there were 2 voices at the beginning, and you never really know who the 2nd voice is until the end. (copied review) Two differing perspectives form our view of the elite St. O
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Nov 29, 2009
Boof
rated it:
What a great book; especially the end where I did NOT see any of those twists coming. It's the sort of book that makes you want to turn to the beginning again to see where you might have picked up clues or see what you missed.
I am a HUGE Joanne Harris fan, my favourites of hers being the "foodie" books and I must admit to being a tad sceptical when I picked this up thinking that maybe she wouldn't do thriller novels quite as well. I was wrong - this lady is no one-trick-pon More...
I am a HUGE Joanne Harris fan, my favourites of hers being the "foodie" books and I must admit to being a tad sceptical when I picked this up thinking that maybe she wouldn't do thriller novels quite as well. I was wrong - this lady is no one-trick-pon More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 12, 2009
Faith
rated it:
Joanne Harris new novel is set in St Oswald's, an old private school for boys. Everything is changing with the new technology coming into the school. This doesn't make things any easier fro the Roy Straitley, the old Latin master. And there is also a lot of old dark secrets to be revealed. 15 years ago the school's Porter's kid came into the school and pretended to be one of the boys, came up with a new identity...
Gentlemen & Players is even darker than Harris' previous books. There More...
Gentlemen & Players is even darker than Harris' previous books. There More...
Apr 01, 2011
L.
rated it:
I am trully fascinated with this woman writing. She is absolutely a kind of a non-formula writer, which I find trully unique nowadays.
After reading her wonderful books filled with scents, colours of France and its people, after even reading her Runemarks, I got absolutely caught and in the very end, stunned by this book.
The plot begins maybe a bit to slow. But the building of the plot is absolutely marvelous. Portrating of its characters also, in some way it completely stunned me w More...
After reading her wonderful books filled with scents, colours of France and its people, after even reading her Runemarks, I got absolutely caught and in the very end, stunned by this book.
The plot begins maybe a bit to slow. But the building of the plot is absolutely marvelous. Portrating of its characters also, in some way it completely stunned me w More...
Jan 04, 2009
Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris, A-minus, narrated by Steven Pacey, produced by Harper Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is the story of teachers, students and former students of St. Oswald’s School for Boys. It has all the British pomp of preparatory middleschool and highschool academic learning. There are two narrators, the most easily discernible one being the oldest professor at the college. He has taught there for 35 years, knows and remembers all the boys he wa More...
This is the story of teachers, students and former students of St. Oswald’s School for Boys. It has all the British pomp of preparatory middleschool and highschool academic learning. There are two narrators, the most easily discernible one being the oldest professor at the college. He has taught there for 35 years, knows and remembers all the boys he wa More...
Jul 03, 2008
Bethany
rated it:
I expected great things, this being a book by Joanne Harris (as Five Quarters of the Orange was brilliant). I was not awed like I thought I would be, but I was not disappointed either.
The style of this book is very different than Five Quarters of the Orange. This book is more of a suspense/mystery rather than a tale of life during the war.
Haunting, smart, funny and it left me wanting more.
The style of this book is very different than Five Quarters of the Orange. This book is more of a suspense/mystery rather than a tale of life during the war.
Haunting, smart, funny and it left me wanting more.
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