false 347143 0307356361 9780307356369 4781 1151 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256082902m/347143.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/347143.The_Abstinence_Teacher 15907 Tom Perrotta 17171 2673 1 6 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 13 16:53:32 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 13 16:55:20 -0800 2007
I went to the theater but it was packed, so I opted out, went to a coffee shop and read Perrotta's book, which I finished this morning. Really bad. If you haven't read it yet, I wouldn't bother. There was something that bothered me about Little Children that I couldn't put my finger on until now. Perrotta is trying to be the moralist of suburbia, but his values are shallow and his insights banal, and I think mostly wrong. Not to mention, in the case of The Abstinence Teacher, a real snoozer-- 350 pages to describe a confrontation between a single soccer mom and born again recovering addict soccer coach who leads the kids in a prayer after one of their games. Maybe I've spoiled myself having just read McCarthy and Roth back to back, both masters of the austere. In comparison, this book is just farty.
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