"The Abstinence Teacher" by Tom Perrotta

An essay-like review of a novel I'd waited 2-3 years to get across to reading

It all started with Kate Winslet. She was the inspiration behind it all. I'd been following her film career, of the films she was cast in that gained my interest, since the Titanic days as a young teenager to the lesser publicized ones such as Iris and, finally, to the film adaptation of author Tom Perrotta's Little Children. It wasn't just for the roles she took and how she had to convey them, but for her acting abilities and the talent she has to convince the audience that the character she is playing is the one you see and not just "Kate Winslet" in some movie. Her Academy Award nominations and wins have been proof that she is, as one entertainment writer once put it, "the finest actress of her generation." 

With regards to how she influenced this essay-like review, here's the catch. Being the intellectually curious fellow I am, I naturally wanted to find out if the novel/book version of Little Children, the film I saw her cast in as Sarah, the lapsed feminist-turned-neighbor mom, would be anything like the film adaptation Hollywood created. As any intriguing, well-written novel usually goes, it was equally captivating, if not more so. And the reason is simple: Tom Perrotta is a talented novelist. No, he's not J.K. Rowling, nor is he James Patterson, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Danielle Steele, or any of these other so-called "authors" attempting to write some book in order to say they've written one worthy of a New York Times Bestseller accolade and earn more money while they pursue other professional matters. Tom Perrotta is, for me, one of the great novelists of our time in spite of not having the world-renowned reputation authors might receive once they write the novel or series that sells 300 million copies worldwide and draws a media frenzy that can only be "highlighted" by having A-list actors make contractual appearances on Morning or Late Night Shows for publicity purposes. 

No, Tom Perrotta has a flowing, prose-like style where story and dialogue of his characters mix with each and every single paragraph, specific part of the novel and the diction involved to articulate his messages to his readers. He himself has admitted to having had to learn how to develop his style, much like any great writer has to, with effort, practice and constant repetition. It was because of my professional fascination with Winslet's performance that led me to Tom's novels and the discovery of "The Abstinence Teacher". Like I said, once I read Little Children and hooked myself on Perrotta's style of storytelling, my intrigue went to the little world he created in The Abstinence Teacher. My main purpose is finding that particular tale was to determine whether, in fact, Mr. Perrotta's style would indeed change or become so fixed in my mind that I wouldn't necessarily "need" to read any more of his novels for the reason that his style became predictable. 

Yes, I told myself, his novels were both enjoyable to go along with for the ride. Once I caught hold of the characters' personalities after the first 50 pages and into the first 100 of The Abstinence Teacher, for example, I knew they were people worth my time. It wasn't just the way the story unfolded. It was the way Perrotta created and presented these characters to the reader that intrigued me. You see, with the likes of Ruth Ramsey, the protagonist, (Coach) Tim Mason, the other protagonist, Pastor Dennis, arguably the antagonist, both Ruth's and Tim's ex-spouses, Mike and Alison, respectively, their kids and the children of the soccer team Tim coached all involved in bringing about aspects of the characters' personalities through the storytelling "minisodes" they found themselves in, Tom Perrotta masterfully crafted every single word in the pages of his novel with precision. The story was the nature picture an audience may find coming together on the canvas where Bob Ross was the ringmaster at play. 

And yes, within a few moments of the first few pages, I received, I got, the answer to my question without having the need to go any further. It was, in fact, another excursion into the world of Tom Perrotta I only recently began investing in. When I completed my journey in his world, I felt I knew enough about the characters to "see" them in every little part of my world, where I recognized them. What I liked, especially in The Abstinence Teacher, was the presentation of a mini book discussion Q&A at the end, so the reader could feel that "Special Features" section just as they completed the last line of the novel. It was one of those let's-discover-more-than-what-the-story-told vibe meant for digesting and understanding more about how the author thought about their own work after experiencing it. 

Set in Stonewood Heights in today's world, the reader followed the lives of Ruth Ramsey, the Sex Ed. Teacher at the high school, her gay friend Randall and his partner Gregory, the few teachers mentioned for context purposes, including JoAnn Marlow, a former beauty pageant winner who basically represented all the "proper" values and aspirations a pleasant community like Stonewood wished to instill in their youth, and a few of the school officials that had a place in the story's overall scheme. Then there was Tim Mason, the born-again Christian rock-and-roll musician and single father to Abby, under the guidance of Pastor Dennis and his evangelical crew of Bible worshipers at the Tabernacle Church. They mingled with the Stars' teammates and fellow parents who looked to Coach Mason for direction and uplifting motivation when dealing with the games as well as role-model behavior when living life between them. When Mason shared his spiritual influence on the girls' after an emotionally empowering win, Ruth decided she didn't want Maggie, her daughter, to be a part of influences that were not of her own control. The scene she caused in front of the team, the parents, and the community at-large, whether she realized it or not, caused enough of a stirring in public to make everyone mindfully aware of the bigger issues at large: imposing personal views on the general public, whether small-town culture is at-risk to mainstream beliefs and how to balance outside perspectives on the values and ideals you wish your children to learn as they grow. In other words, at what point do other peoples' views and ideas cross the line between what is "allowed" and "not allowed" in today's world when those views are not the same as your own? 

Anyway, a satirical piece that unfolds with each page and the singular dramatic sense that comes within the lives of a few, recognizable people in recognizable situations, The Abstinence Teacher not only delivers on topics that seem to dictate our current society's toughest, and sketchiest, issues of debate: religion, liberation, raising children in suburbia with mass, generally-accepted educational topics, how a family develops and the influences they wish to instill on their children, how to balance personal happiness with the sheer reality of a family, broken and whole, leaving one lifestyle to embrace another, and how to find friendships in places one doesn't think possible but somehow come about. But it also renders itself to many things going on below the surface: the very real concerns of a mother and daughter in a single parent household to a step-parent and that household, the surreal life of transitioning from one stage of life to the other and accepting that how things are now is how they are versus the way you wished them to be back in the day when things felt better, however that was.

Yes, for me, this little piece of 350 pages was a heavy, familiar and quick read, once the pages started turning and the mind had enough strength to keep up the attention waves. Of course, with the way Tom Perrotta wrote this and Little Children, I, at least, found the story intriguing, simple as it may have seemed once the final half-page was read. No, this wasn't a crime thriller with page-after-page of car racing, blood spurning murders and clue after clue leading to who-knows-where. No, this wasn't some contemporary romance built and designed to be SO completely on the surface of things that the reader didn't have to actually think and digest insightful passages to get deeper meanings from them. Nor was this some "oh, look at me and my reflections on life and how these reflections can help make your own life better because they worked for me and we can share those experiences together and be happier people for it" sort of tale. This was a novel, people. A New York Times Notable Book & bestselling novel from an established writer who has much to say, much to contribute, and did so for me. I believe he, and it, can do the same for you.