Like his previous novel, Little Children, a novel not really about actual children at all, Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher turns out to not really be about an actual teacher of abstinence. Ruth Ramsey, one of the two chief protagonists, does, in fact, teach sex education. We find her in the year after a scandal which the school remedies by implementing an abstinence program in place of Ruth's sex education curriculum. Tim Mason, the other lonely soul wandering through this novel, is a born-again Christian, part of a new church which is largely responsible for the changes at Ruth's school.
Though the children are being taught to abstain, and Ruth laments finding herself in the position of an abstinence teacther, the real abstinence in question is being practiced by Ruth and Tim. Ruth, as we are reminded ad nauseam, is a forty-plus divorcee who hasn't had sex in two years. Tim is a recovering addict who found his way out of a serious drug and alcohol addiction through Jesus. These are the defining aspects of these characters, driving all of their decisions and interactions, and it is their abstinence, or the examination of their life in abstention, that teaches Ruth and Tim their most important lessons.
The Abstinence Teacher initially sets up a potential conflict between Ruth's sex education class and her belief system against the born-again church values and Tim's imposition of his religion on the youth soccer team he coaches (Ruth's daughter, Maggie, is one of his best players). This, however, is shadow play, yet again. The soccer team and the religious conflict bring these two characters together and loosely carry the story along, but there is no real conflict in this novel. Instead, Perrotta presents an interesting and heartfelt character study, a study of abstinence in a multitude of meanings, and through that examination, we also find indulgence to be as complex.
The lack of a true driving conflict gives this novel the feeling of a meandering journey through the lives of two suburban parents, each sorting through a different set of baggage. Once a reader stops looking for a more classic beefed up plot, The Abstinence Teacher is a pleasant, thought provoking read which keeps you largely in suspense as to its predictable foregone conclusion. This novel is not brilliant, but only because it is not heavy handed and the shadows are light and approachable. It is engaging and accessible, and though Ruth and Tim have very specific challenges to face and process, they too are light and approachable, which makes sharing their journey worthwhile.
Though the children are being taught to abstain, and Ruth laments finding herself in the position of an abstinence teacther, the real abstinence in question is being practiced by Ruth and Tim. Ruth, as we are reminded ad nauseam, is a forty-plus divorcee who hasn't had sex in two years. Tim is a recovering addict who found his way out of a serious drug and alcohol addiction through Jesus. These are the defining aspects of these characters, driving all of their decisions and interactions, and it is their abstinence, or the examination of their life in abstention, that teaches Ruth and Tim their most important lessons.
The Abstinence Teacher initially sets up a potential conflict between Ruth's sex education class and her belief system against the born-again church values and Tim's imposition of his religion on the youth soccer team he coaches (Ruth's daughter, Maggie, is one of his best players). This, however, is shadow play, yet again. The soccer team and the religious conflict bring these two characters together and loosely carry the story along, but there is no real conflict in this novel. Instead, Perrotta presents an interesting and heartfelt character study, a study of abstinence in a multitude of meanings, and through that examination, we also find indulgence to be as complex.
The lack of a true driving conflict gives this novel the feeling of a meandering journey through the lives of two suburban parents, each sorting through a different set of baggage. Once a reader stops looking for a more classic beefed up plot, The Abstinence Teacher is a pleasant, thought provoking read which keeps you largely in suspense as to its predictable foregone conclusion. This novel is not brilliant, but only because it is not heavy handed and the shadows are light and approachable. It is engaging and accessible, and though Ruth and Tim have very specific challenges to face and process, they too are light and approachable, which makes sharing their journey worthwhile.
