I read this novel with no background information and loved it. Intelligent, reflective, beautifully written, excellent characters. Came on over to Goodreads to write my rave review and for the first time saw other reviews that reference the fact that this is based on a true story (view spoiler)[by an author who was himself dismissed from the same international school as his main character for the same reason (a relationship with a student) (hide spoiler)]. Spent a bit of time mulling the matter over before deciding that this new biographical information does not change my assessment of the novel. Martin Amis once said that “fiction is the only way to redeem the formlessness of life,” and even if it is true that scenes and characters in this novel correspond closely to those remembered and reconstructed by others, this author has ultimately transformed a disparate series of events into something more, something with shape and substance. (Mr. Amis is a great example of an author I find fairly distasteful as a human being, but whom I deeply appreciate as a novelist.)

Life is messy. I can understand why the ex-students are angry. The novelist may or may not be a jerk. However, I believe that an artist should be allowed to use just about everything at his or her fingertips in order to create art. The real issue for me is whether this novel, taken on its own merits, asks interesting questions and does so in a compelling way. The answer here is yes and yes. I highly recommend it without reservations.