Compelling Narrative

I just finished, The Tragedy Paper, by Elizabeth LaBan (pub date 1/8/2013).
I found it to be a compelling narrative, reminding me slightly of Thirteen Reasons Why, due to its structure.

Duncan is a senior (high school) at a boarding school; he starts the novel's story as he enters the school's archway. The structure of the beginning and ending are slightly reminiscent of The Outsiders, and in the acknowledgement section, the author states how much that novel (as well as one other novel of Hinton's) changed her. So, Kudos to Ms. LaBan for writing that in the acknowledgements. I recently read a novel called Ten, clearly an homage to Dame Christie, and the author chose not to mention that in her acknowledgement section..something I personally found distasteful.

But, I digress. The room Duncan is given was previously lived in by a senior named Tim (Macbeth, smile now)and as a reader you realize something horrible has happened to Tim. The narration switches back and forth between Duncan and Tim; Tim has provided the new tenant of the room with tapes of his year there, so the story follows these two boys through their respective senior years. At times I did have trouble distinguishing the voices despite one being first person and the other 3rd; my one quibble with the novel is the characters' voices weren't that different.

During the students' senior year, their English teacher, Mr. Simon gives an annual assignment called The Tragedy Paper; I had hoped to learn a bit more about this concept, if only to incorporate something similar with my students...perhaps glimpses of the ones Mr. Simon has found most compelling over the years, but the papers end up being merely a structure to bind the characters' narratives, and storyline.

I am glad I read the novel, and I think it is a worthwhile read for many. Its life-lessons so to speak, are subtle, but all to real. As we question ourselves, and worry about how we are perceived, we might be setting into motion, events that will cause tragic events.

And there is the difference between this novel and Thirteen Reasons Why, it is more subtle, and lends itself to more people thinking deeply about their own self worth, than perhaps Thirteen Reasons did. Thirteen Reasons was wonderful if a person were to really look at bullying and own any of their bullying behavior, but The Tragedy Paper, can potentially make all reading it, look deeply at their own insecurities, and hopefully, "go forth and spread beauty and light," Mr. Simon's version of "Seize the Day"