Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A boarding-school story that delightfully breaks all stereotypes
The death of a teacher on campus provides a twist to an already engaging tale. The murder makes it a pageturner,giving the self-proclaimed Rule Breakers a chance to play Agatha Christie during school year,but the coming-of-age story of Charu remains in the spotlight.
Charu spends her early years in a sunlit Bombay apartment that smells of the sea. But when her navy officer father is court-martialled,they leave their perfect life for a one-bedroom life in Indore. A mysterious blot appears just above the lip,a little to the right. For years,her parents try every treatment,but the blot remains,expanding and shrinking and sliding depending on the situations that Charu finds herself in. It is my Rorshach blot; I had a whole science of judging character by the way people first looked at me in those days, she says.
Most boarding-school tales enjoy a readership of those who hope to study at one,those studying at one,or those with an odd nostalgia for bad food and close friendships. Miss Timmins School for Girls,though,will appeal to anyone looking for a quick,fun read. Told largely through the words of a teacher,it moves beyond typical boarding-school themes.
