Home School

The Graduate #2

by Charles Webb

At the end of Charles Webb's first novel, The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock rescues his beloved Elaine from a marriage made not in heaven but in California.

It is now eleven years and 3,000 miles later, and the couple live in Westchester County, a suburb of New York City, with their two young sons whom they are educating at home. Through no accident, a continent now stands between them and the boys' surviving grandparent, now known as Nan, but who in former days answered to Mrs. Robinson.

As the story opens, the Braddock household is in turmoil as the Westchester School Board attempts to quash the unconventional educational methods the family is practicing.

Desperate situations call for desperate remedies—even a cry for help to the mother-in-law from hell, who is only too happy to provide her loving services—but at a price far higher than could be expected.

Charles Webb has a knack for pinpointing the horrors and absurdities of domestic life, and Home School displays all the precision and wit that made The Graduate such a long-lasting success.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Audiobook

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 3, 2007

About the author

Charles Webb (born in San Francisco, California) was the author of several novels, mainly known for his most famous work, The Graduate. The novel was eventually made into an enormously successful film.

Reviews

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you reach the end of "The Graduate" (1963), you can't help but wonder what happens to Ben and Elaine after the wedding.
Charles Webb did finally answer our query. He wrote "Home School" in 2005, and it was published in 2007.
"Home School" is absolutely brilliant, this book is a period piece, "Home School" illustrates a segment of life in the suburbs of New York in the 1970's, comparable to the manner in which The Graduate had illustrated a segment of suburban life in California in the 1960's had (though I should point out here that I was not yet alive in the 1960's, I've heard numerous times from people who do remember the era that in many ways, The Graduate did paint an accurate portrait of a slice of life of suburban California in the 1960's).
And much like The Graduate, the story is humorous, clever and witty. The plot is notably far from realistic, this is very intentional, this is Webb's style. The storyline is unrealistic, almost cartoonesque, but Home School leaves the readers pondering numerous aspects about how preposterous the pace of life in the suburbs has become in a manner which is truly unique to Webb's wording style.
If you enjoyed reading The Graduate, you won't be disappointed with Home School.

[Arren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought my copy of the Home School at a nearby thrift store for books, even though I am yet to have a copy of The Graduate book.

Home School was basically how Elaine and Benjamin would go lengths just to stand by their decision to have their children home schooled, even going ridiculous ways, ie. having Mrs. Robinson, now Nan, do the things she was well, great in, ie. seduction. Who can forget the epic line, “Are you seducing me, Mrs. Robinson?”

It was well, short. Really short, even. Had I not been a wee bit busy and had I have the normal attention span, I might have finished it in just a day. It really felt like just right for another movie, with no scene that had to be cut. This makes my dire need to have a copy of The Graduate even more.

Contrary to its prequel, Home School was deprived of Mrs. Robinson’s (in)famous sultriness and seduction, with just one or two escapades. She was still as crazy as she was, but tamed and more grandmother-like, which of course, she ought to be. Mrs. Robinson was as still a biting character, her witty remarks coupled with her being grandmother-y made her almost endearing, but I have to admit that I miss the old Mrs. Robinson. Her evil, wicked plans put a different spice to The Graduate, while she was a bit boring in Home School.

Probably the age, though. Of course, it might be ridiculous and disturbing to have her still with insatiable craving for sex, but you know, she’s Mrs. Robinson.

Good thing Webb managed to revive the lovable Benjamin. (I seriously resist the urge to put a <3 every after his name.)

[Peter William Warn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Mrs. Robinson seduces again. Charles Webb revisits the main characters from The Graduate. Anyone unfamiliar with either that novel or the cherished 1967 movie version probably will not be amused. Because there are almost no descriptions, fans of adjectives should look elsewhere.

_____


Home School, Charles Webb's follow-up to his debut novel The Graduate, features a scheme so sordid it makes Benjamin Braddock hyperventilate when he thinks about it. The person who dreamed it up must be desperate. Daring. Devious.

Benjamin can't believe he thought of it.

It has been 11 years since he and Elaine ran away from her wedding to someone else and boarded the public bus that sped them away from the church full of her family, friends and new husband. There was an annulment and now Benjamin and Elaine are married to each other. They are raising their two boys, Matthew and Jason, teaching them at home and living in New York State in suburban happiness.

Part of their happiness is that Elaine's mother is in California. Anyone who has read The Graduate or seen the movie remembers her as Mrs. Robinson but now she is called Nan. She couldn't abide being Granny Robinson. For many years, the only contact between her and Elaine's family has been long-distance phone calls and presents mailed for birthdays and Christmas. The strict limits are monitored by lawyers, a precaution demanded by more than the tensions resulting from Benjamin's having slept with Mrs. Robinson before she was his mother-in-law.

But when the local school board decides that Matthew and Jason must return to public school after three years in home school, Elaine and Benjamin decide they need to involve Mrs. Robinson. That is they need to involve Nan. It's hard for anyone who has seen the movie to think of her as other than Mrs. Robinson.

Webb could have had the Braddocks spend a lot of time devising the plan. They could have debated the morality and then put it into motion. They could have waited tensely to see if it worked, and not have known for sure for a long time. The scheme is so audacious that by itself, it could have taken an entire novel.

It takes only the first 73 of Home School's compact 229 pages. Webb devotes the remainder to the aftermath, a series of amusing events that bring to mind the old admonition to be careful what you wish for because you might get it. Among the things the Braddocks get is a house full of guests. These include a kid who thinks space aliens are real and omnipresent on Earth, an eight-year-old who still breastfeeds and, worse, Mrs. Robinson. Oh, Nan. Old habits . . . .

The strength of Webb's narrative is the story. It unfolds unpredictably for the most part. There is humor in his situations and wit in his characters' dialogue.

There are almost no descriptions. When we first see Mrs. Robinson, Webb tells us only that she wears a "red coat, a scarf and dark glasses." That is Home School's most detailed description. One suspects that Webb could have written pages of illuminating, exhaustive prose and still not have erased memories of Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross and Dustin Hoffman. So he doesn't try. The result is that when Benjamin speaks, one can't help but hear Hoffman's voice.

In an exchange that reflects the novel's tone, Benjamin has come back from a meeting with the school's principal and superintendent. He is frustrated that it went badly. Benjamin calls them "lying hypocrites." Then he hears his son call someone "crazy" and tries to discourage his using such terminology.

"Matt, what have I said about labeling people?"

"Crazy?"

"Any label."

"What about lying hypocrites?"

His father carefully dried the sides of his cup. "And you need to learn the difference between labeling people and accurately describing their qualities."

Another passage also is characteristic, although it begins with an exceptionally long sentence:

Underlying the education of the children was Benjamin and Elaine's conviction that a child's natural learning impulse must be allowed to develop freely, unfettered by direction from above any more than is strictly necessary, and that if this freedom is permitted, innate curiosity will guide the child to the objects of greatest interest and relevance to its life, resulting in an absence of those inhibitions derived from forced institutional learning that can stamp various kinds of psychologically damaging behavior on the emerging personality of the traditionally schooled child. So it was not out of the ordinary the next morning that the family found itself in the back yard to discuss the possibility of Jason constructing a guillotine behind the house.

Those are not the best lines in the book.

Webb knows that The Graduate, both the novel but even more the cherished movie, still resonates after 40 years. He channels those resonances. His writing is brisk, unadorned and efficient. Without memories of the earlier works, Home School would not have sufficient voice of its own. But it sings as a coda.

Or maybe it is not that. The novel concludes one part of the Braddock family history, but Webb lets linger the possibility that there is more about them to be told.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurd and deadpan hilarious. Webb was a master of comic tone.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny book especially if you have seen or read The Graduate. This book picks up a few years later. Benjamin and Elaine are homeschooling their kids and run into a problem with the local principal who has the power to make them put their kids back into school. You have to remember that this would have been during the 70's when there wasn't as many people homeschooling as there are now. There is also a family that those of us who have homeschooled will definitely know!

[Irina Pom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light read that resembles nothing I've read before.
I loved it and had a good laugh. It’s fast-paced, full of sarcastic dialogue, and rich in cultural subtext. When two homeschooled boys are threatened with being returned to a traditional classroom, their parents call for help from their grandmother, who had been absent from their lives for five years. Upon her arrival, she assists them in carrying out a rather shady plan, which ultimately renews their relationship.

While reading, I kept wondering what had happened that made her deserve such disrespectful treatment. At first, I was appalled by the parents’ behavior, but as the author gradually revealed more details, my opinion of the grandmother shifted — she turned out to be an utterly immoral person.

I think she would make a fascinating case study for a psychologist. I’d recommend this book to those majoring in psychology or English language, as it contains slang, idioms, irony, innuendo, and even vulgarity that require a strong grasp of context and cultural nuance

[Ken Ronkowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just discovered that Webb wrote a "sequel" to The Graduate which is one of my top 10 movies and was a book I really liked too. I also found out that Webb and his wife (her name is Eve but she changed it to Fred) managed a nudist camp in Basking Ridge, NJ for some time. They have led an odd life.

I'm sure there was lots of pressure on Webb to write a sequel and it took him almost 40 years to give in. I read that he didn't want it published in his lifetime because he didn't want a film made without his input. But his financial situation was really bad, so he gave in. I don't know that anyone will want to make a film version, but maybe... Filmgoers probably would be curious to see what happened to Ben and Elaine. And Mrs. Robinson.

This book is set 11 years after Ben took Elaine from the altar. And, yes, Mrs. Robinson is back. The couple is still married, living in Westchester County, New York, and have two sons. The conflict is their battle with the local school district to allow them to homeschool their kids. (This is a battle Webb fought in his own life.)

Other than those 3 characters, there is very little in the book that would remind you of the original novel or film. Maybe that's how it should be after a few decades. The novel is set in the 1970s.

In a weird turn, the couple allows Mrs. Robinson to fly in from California to help their cause. Some spoiler here - Mrs. R. turns to seduction and blackmail.

I saw some really harsh reviews of the book and a few decent ones. I'm okay with a *** review because I did read it quickly with some interest but it was disappointing. The dialogue (one of his strengths, I think) just feels off. Of course, I wanted the old Ben & Elaine and Webb didn't want t give them to me. I wanted to follow them right after the run from the church. Where did they go? How did they earn their livings? Did they have kids? Did their families ever forgive them? Did the marriage last? Very few of those questions get answered here.

UPDATE
Webb died in Eastbourne, England from a blood condition on June 16, 2020, at the age of 81. His life would make an interesting book or film as it was quite bizarre. He lived most of his life in self-imposed poverty. He got a one-time payment of $20,000 for the rights to The Graduate. He declined an inheritance from his wealthy doctor father. He gave the book's copyright to the Anti-Defamation League and he and his wife donated most of their possessions. They lived a nomad life in the U.S. and then in England in a VW Bus, campgrounds, trailer parks, nudist colonies, and a squatter's shack. They worked menial jobs and homeschooled their children. They rejected much of society, especially marriage (they divorced and stayed together), formal education, and success based on money and possessions.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Home School is the sequel to Webb's much celebrated novel, The Graduate. The book takes place 15 years after Ben and Elaine's fateful bus-escape from her almost-wedding to Carl. They are living in New York with their two elementary school aged sons whom they home-schooling. When the local school district threatens to force the children to enroll in public school, Ben and Elaine call out to Mrs. Robinson for help. The majority of the story is told through dialogue - which may be helpful if anyone decides to turn this one into a movie - but unfortunately, it means there is no description of these characters and how they came to be here from their awkward inappropriate beginnings. There is reference, but hardly any acknowledgment, of the affair between Ben and Mrs. Robinson. This past incident - and the characters' inability to address it made many of their current interactions unbelievable. I found all of the characters irritating and self-centered, but often for no explicable reason. In the 40 years between The Graduate and Home School, with characters the American public has been so enamored with, I would have hoped Webb could have written something a little more substantial.

[Clara Donnantuono · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the first one so much, and the film as well. This sequel is a comple disappointment, the story is just ridiculous. Not bother to read it, especially if you loved the Graduate. I've surely regretted it.

[Thames Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Supposedly a sequel to The Graduate, this entire book is permeated with, either in reality or in thought, the presence of Mrs. Robinson. Benjamin has married Elaine, they have two sons and live in north east suburbia. Benjamin homeschools the boys so they will not have the sort of education thrust upon them that he had. He wants them to learn to think.

Because of taking the boys out of government school, the Braddocks run into trouble with school authorities. They call upon the nymphomaniac in California to help them out. This is of course Mrs. Robinson. The whole thing is inane. Add in a "back to nature" family who moves in for a while and the story gets absolutely ridiculous.

The Graduate was such a generational classic that I hoped Home School would have something to say also. Not so. I think Charles Webb just needed some income in addition to the movie royalty checks.

[Walter Buchignani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was looking forward to this, because The Graduate remains among my all-time favourite reads. In the end, the follow-up leaves me with mixed feelings. The mostly masterful use of dialogue is unmistakably Charles Webb, but at times borders on the annoying in its wanderings. The plot is reminiscent of the original in its quirkiness, but then veers toward the unbelievable. As for the protagonists, despite their flaws, you might have felt some sympathy for them before; now, none of the characters is likeable, especially not the iconic Mrs. Robinson. Ironically, for a sequel that took four decades to emerge, some parts feel rushed. The closing line, in particular, reads as if it might have been dashed off on the bus on the way to the publishing house. And yet, I can't say I did not enjoy this book. Maybe that's the power of nostalgia.

[Catherine]

This is not a book I'd recommend but at the same time it's so bad it's actually kind of good. It is almost as if the author was begged for a follow up to the Graduate and anyone would know there isn't much of a possible happy ending to that book...but some how the book is hilarious. It's essentially a 2 or 3 star book but I oddly enjoyed hating and laughing at it so much I finished it in 2 days over part of my holiday.

[Sarah Herrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been more fitting as a 3rd in a trilogy. There really should be a story in between this and the first book (The Graduate), just to tie the whole story together. There just wasn’t enough context, two very different stories with little context to very strange characters and situations.

[Barry Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read some very poor books. This is not the the worst, but it does come in a very close second. Poorly written and a weak story line. I don’t recommend reading it unless you don’t have anything better to read.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was no need for a sequel to The Graduate. Webb's attempt was pretty aimless and boring for the most part until his end which basically just is a poor remake of the first book.

[Gold Dust · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dialogue obviously tries to be funny. There is not much visual description of anything or anyone at all. Everyone acts very panicked and distracted, and no one likes to give a direct answer but instead tries to avoid the question for pages of dialogue back and forth. Elaine and Benjamin act and talk so similarly, they could be the same character. They have two sons who are given names but never ages. It would also be nice to know the time the book takes place in. The characters act like an electric garage door opener is something new and fascinating, and that homeschooing is something almost unheard of. These things don’t match up with the modern times when this book was published. Nowadays electric garage doors are the norm, and homeschoolers have rights. But I read on Wikipedia that the author decided to homeschool his own kids, which was illegal in CA at the time, so that explains the situation in the book a bit. While Ben seems like the type of person to support homeschooling given his dissatisfaction with his college education in The Graduate, it doesn’t seem to match Elaine. Elaine seemed like a very ordinary woman in the movie. So it would’ve been nice to have some explanation as to why she decided to homeschool her kids.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considerably better than The Graduate in that it utilises its characters and allows them to interact in a manner more beneficial to the narrative and reader's experience. There are still hints of the original novel here as Charles Webb's repetitive dialogue does occasionally crop up but it's nowhere near as imposing as in the predecessor to Home School.
Home School has a larger array of characters this time around and manages them with good effect to creat an often funny and telling experience of the era the book is set in. The return of Mrs Robinson will no doubt have been controversial for lovers of the original book but it's handled well enough even if it does feel slightly misplaced.
Otherwise there is little else unusual here. It's an enjoyable reading experience without being a classic like the predecessor's film adaptation has become.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been quite some time since I read "The Graduate" by Charles Webb. But I just saw the movie and heard about the sequel. It's a bit strange that a novel published in 2003 (I think) plays in 1974 or so - and at no point explains this (Ben and Elaine now have kids, at one point they go to the movies to watch "The Towering Inferno", which started "a week before").

The movie's portrayal of Mrs. Robinson lets the viewer suffer with her. In this sequel she is portrayed more or less as a (sometimes ridiculous) she-devil. I didn't like that very much.

But the novel is quite funny and a quick read.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Billed as 'The long awaited sequel to The Graduate', this book brought the characters back to life with their familiar voices, but it lacked the spark and seductiveness of its predecessor. The story of Benjamin and Elaine as they home school their two sons felt grotty, dirty, and somewhat unbelievable. However, Mrs. Robinson hasn't changed a bit.

[Rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I could hear and picture each of the characters in this story from those way back when. LOL
Elaine and Benjamin really did get married. Eventually had two sons whom they are home schooling. I enjoyed their relationship with each other and with their sons. Not sure how much togetherness prepares one for the outside world. Mrs. Robinson does have a part in this narrative. Hope you remember and laugh at her antics. P.S. Neither she nor they have changed much.
I'll only say it's a very enjoyable read especially for those of us who remember.

[Ian Steffensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

"They call it Deathchester for a reason"

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible as it was, I enjoyed it. The biggest and funniest things about the book is stretching out a plot by a family to expel their nightmare mother in law.

[Sofie Andersen · Rating 1 out of 5]

2’eren til Fagre Voksne Verden. En fuldstændig absurd, dårlig og kedelig historie, som burde være blevet begravet i de 40 år det tog Webb at skrive den.

[Pauline Butcher Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful book which follows The Graduate ten years on is beautifully crafted and full of surprises. The odd-ball supporting cast like Goya who breast-feeds her nine-year old son is a hoot. I could feel the well-meaning heart of Benjamin and Elaine's efforts to school their two sons at home and although it's hilariously funny, strangely the ending left me feeling very sad for reasons I can't explain.

The succinct dialogue between Benjamin and Elaine is wonderful. For example,
'Speak,' Elaine says.
'I'm choosing my words.'
'I hope you choose them well.'
It was quiet.
'How long do you plan to spend choosing them?'
'They're chosen.'
'May I hear them?'
'You may.'
Several more seconds passed.
'When?' (and then he speaks).

Or,
'Benjamin.'
'Are you coming? Elaine?
'Do you remember the sound of me screaming, Benjamin?'
'Screaming?'
'You haven't heard it for a while. I wondered if you remembered it.
'Let me think back.'
'In ten seconds you won't have to think back.'

The trouble is the other characters also speak in the same way as if they've all completed two years at assertiveness training.

The other reason for the four stars relates to the seduction scene between Benjamin and Mrs Robinson, an attempt I think to re-create those other scenes from The Graduate, but it's so off-the-wall, it's unconvincing.

Those points aside, I recommend this book to everyone as a little gem of a read.
[Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa]

[Ralph · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Altman's The Player, the sequel to the Graduate is pitched as a absolutely horrid comedy where Mrs. Robinson lives downstairs from Benjamin and Elaine and they get into all sorts of zany trouble. That movie within a movie would have been better than the travesty titled "Home School." There's absolutely no reason on earth this book should have ever been written as a sequel to the Graduate. It makes this book a thousand times worse to have those beloved icons of the 60s turned into trite, flat characters who make wisecracks at the end of every chapter or conversation. It's best to picture the Benjamin, Elaine and Mrs. Robinson characters as just sharing the same names by coincidence as characters from The Graduate. Even that revision puts the book about on par with what I could've written when I was a sixth grader when concepts such as irony were beyond my ken. Another train wreck from the Popular Library of the LA library.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot say I learned anything from this novel other than sometimes a smutty novel is an enjoyable one. This novel gives a unique (and sometimes raunchy) view of life in suburban America. It reminds the reader that no household is without skeletons in the closet and that no family is perfect. Although after the first 1/3 of the book I was ready to be done with the novel Webb's use of character kept me reading. There were multiple characters who were so different than those found in traditional novels I had to keep reading to see if there would be any major breakthroughs and/or changes within the characters. I often found myself chuckling at some of the dialogue contained within the novel. I was mildly surprised by the resolution of the book.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that is was my stated opinion "Revisionists annoy me when their dislike of things seems genuine" that got me in trouble with an uneducated locksmith who also runs a printing press. And I only say this because we both seemingly agreed with my other stated opinion of "Sleeping through films is no way to fairly judge them."

Of course, I might have gotten myself in trouble with the uneducated locksmith who also runs a printing press when I rubbed him in his fat, fat belly and said "Erik Estrada called... he wants his 'Ponch' back."

The moral of the story, however, is probably this: Never again will I have Hooters cater my political fund-raising event as there was great confusion as to who was/wasn't a prostitute.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a sequel to The Graduate. It is several years later, and Benjamin and Elaine are homeschooling their two sons, way back before homeschooling was normal. Grandma comes to visit. Basically, though it felt like another story and another family with the names Benjamin, Elaine, and Mrs. Robinson tacked on to the characters.
There were some amusing parts, but I couldn't stand the storyline. This book feels like it will end up in the one dollar bargain bin at your local bookstore, which is how much it is worth. Or better yet get it from your library. (Or better yet, don't read it at all.....)

[Peg · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing 229 page sequel to The Graduate. Fast forward to Benjamin Braddock's life with his wife Elaine, 11 years after their marriage. Living in Westchester County, NY with two sons they are home schooling.
Estranged from Elaine's mother "Mrs. Robinson," but enlist her help in blackmailing a member of the community trying to block their home schooling of the boys. She, once again, becomes a force that is hard to deal with in their lives (the mother-in-law from hell.)

[misha · Rating 1 out of 5]

About half way through it, and I am not loving the book. It's... ok.

The only thing that I'm finding interesting about it is that the culture of home schooling (fighting The Man to home school so that your child can get a better education) is what most closely matches my experience with home schooling. It used to be that you home schooled your kids so that they could learn more... not learn less.


Update... this book is terrible, and was a total waste of time.