What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
The Education of Hyman Kaplan
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Humorous Adult Fiction (I think!) about a class where non-English-speaking adults learn English. Set in NYC? Protagonist was the teacher? One student (named Hyman?) was always saying "Hokay!" Read hardcover in early-mid 1970s. [s]
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Mopgirl
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Mar 06, 2022 12:42PM
The book had the flavor of Art Linkletter, a la immigrants say the darnedest things. I assume it was written in the '50s or '60s. As a 9 or 10 year old, I thought it was hilarious because of the students' mispronunciations, malapropisms, etc. I don't remember the teacher's gender, but I think they were the POV character. The students had jobs and families, and opinions and customs and quirks that were continually stopping the teacher short. So, Art Linkletter meets Welcome Back, Kotter. Maybe it had a yellow slipcover? Possibly it was a library book? In hindsight, I assume it was racist, paternalistic, chauvinistic, etc, and am very curious to look at it as an adult. Many thanks to anyone who can help!
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This might be completely going down the wrong path, but this reminds me of the short lived 80s U. S. sitcom What a Country- which it turns out was based on an earlier British sitcom Mind Your Language which came out in the 70s. I couldn't find reference to them being based off a book- but throwing it out there in case somebody has more knowledge :)
Definitely the H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N books. Originally published as short stories in the New Yorker.
Yes!! Yes!! I was wrong about the protagonist, the decade it was written, and I never would have guessed it was born in the New Yorker—but this is obviously and absolutely the book! Thank you so much!
I'm glad to have been of help in finding your book.
A very familiar description. I think I read something similar when I was in college. During my school years, I read so much different literature that I can’t even remember all the names. Try searching https://writix.co.uk/essay-examples for your book. Perhaps among essay examples students, you will find a detailed description of this particular work. Very often, students write essays on extracurricular reading, and it is likely that you will recognize a book from the description.
I’ll have to check those out. The only thing I thought of was a short story written either during or at least about the 20’s during Prohibition and the confusion over a hard vs soft ‘c’. They went in to a restaurant and ordered spiced (hard c) juice and were told they couldn’t sell alcohol.
