Book Review: Notes on a Scandal

The book club choice for August, I finished reading this (all but the last two chapters) while we were away in the Cotswolds and then forgot to take it on the train on Tuesday, so irritatingly I couldn't finish it before the meeting. I have since though.

Apparently the film has been given the "Hollywood treatment." The family gets back together and lives happily ever after and the narrator moves on to her next "friend." I hate it when they do this. If I'm ever lucky enough to be published and luckier enough to have my novel made into a movie I'd fight tooth and nail not to have the story bastardised and sweetened to meet the perceived needs of an audience that thrives on a diet of pap and predictability. Not that I think that audience really exists except in the minds of producers and movie moguls.

But I digress. Notes on a Scandal tells the story of a 30-something female teacher - Sheba - who is pursued by an inadequate sweaty mid-teenage schoolboy, convinces herself there is more to him than anyone else can see, and allows herself to succumb to his advances thus risking her family, career and life for several moments of madness. It's told from the POV of another, ostensibly more mature, female staff member at the school who befriends the main character and tries to offer her help and support during and after the crisis.

The writing is first-rate and the book was a rapid, if somewhat uncomfortable read. Zoë Heller crafts a claustrophobic air to the story very well and keeps the tale tripping along the whole time, even though much of it is told in retrospect. You always know where you are in the timeline and the build up to the eventual relationship is very well done - the teacher's arrival at school, her isolation from the rest of the staff, the narrator Barbara's desire to befriend her, her jealousy when Sheba chooses another "unsuitable" staffer as her friend to begin with, the awkwardness of the boy, his embryonic (almost imaginary) artistic flair and the slow but persistent build-up to the relationship are all very realistic.

Where the book falls down for me is when the sexual relationship starts. Even though (apparently) real life protagonists have gone on record that this is exactly how it can happen, for me there was not a sufficiently strong trigger for her to make that decision. She is the adult. OK her marriage is a bit stale, but it's not like she even fancies the lad. Or that he's even fanciable. The way it's written he comes across as barely more than Neanderthal. His first pass, and later ones too, are so clumsy and immature (what else would they be?) that the only realistic response would be to send him packing. And yet she persists in seeing him and eventually "caves in" to his demands.

The behaviour of Barbara too, from this point on, is unlikely. It's not clear whether Barbara is gay, but if she is then clearly she doesn't consciously know she is. But in either case her betrayal of Sheba is unlikely to say the least. She is well aware of the potential impact on Sheba's life. If she loved her, why would she want to punish her? And if she doesn't, why would it matter whether she was having an affair or not?

The rest of the club scored this book quite highly but it only got a 6 from me. The first half was well done but the second half, as I explained, lacked realism for me and on top of that the subject matter made for unpleasant reading to the point where I was glad when it was over.