Dija Mulla reviews the Kingdom of Children
The Kingdom of Children by Rebecca Coleman is a book full of literary treats for anyone who enjoys the art of good writing and spectacular story telling. The front cover promised ‘the most anticipated and controversial book of the year’ and I was not disappointed. The story focuses on two characters at a Waldorf influenced German school: Judy McFarland, a kindergarten teacher in her forties, who has an affair with a 16-year old student Zach Patterson.
The rollercoaster of expectations met and broken are fierce in this book. The whole story is told through flashbacks and split narratives and this disjointed structure ensured that my empathy towards both Zach and Judy was constantly challenged.
The teenage boy is a particularly interesting character. Zach is unusually intellectual for a sixteen year old and for some time in the narrative this fact justifies his intimacy with a woman who is older than his own mother. As the story progresses, however, the extent of emotional damage a student-teacher relationship can incur is brought to our full attention; the plot darkens and it becomes evident that such a controversial relationship does not come without severe consequence. A book that rushes at a great pace, provokes conflicting thoughts and reactions, finishing with an explosive and unpredictable conclusion, it left me open-mouthed and breathless.
The rollercoaster of expectations met and broken are fierce in this book. The whole story is told through flashbacks and split narratives and this disjointed structure ensured that my empathy towards both Zach and Judy was constantly challenged.
The teenage boy is a particularly interesting character. Zach is unusually intellectual for a sixteen year old and for some time in the narrative this fact justifies his intimacy with a woman who is older than his own mother. As the story progresses, however, the extent of emotional damage a student-teacher relationship can incur is brought to our full attention; the plot darkens and it becomes evident that such a controversial relationship does not come without severe consequence. A book that rushes at a great pace, provokes conflicting thoughts and reactions, finishing with an explosive and unpredictable conclusion, it left me open-mouthed and breathless.