A sentimental book that also throws some light on a pretty much forgotten period in time

"Because all things are forgotten in the end." And this shouldn't be. | Good-Bye, Mr. Chips | James Hilton

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	• Good-Bye, Mr. Chips James Hilton Little, Brown Young Readers, 2004 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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a GREAT way to spend two hours, but dangerously FLAWED!

I love this book. Before I address its weaknesses, let me sing its praises:
1) It is seamlessly written - magically so. Hilton wrote it in a single passionate week, and it reads that way. Apparently he wrote a slew of other books, but this one alone puts him in the top tier of novelists.

2) Mr. Chips (the character, not the book) is ultra-lovable. He is the classic unsung hero who wins the contest in the end: rises above his lostness, insecurities, and weakness and gains admiration, respect, and even self-respect

3) The attention to detail is just phenomenal. It really is a marvel of a book, about a time and place so removed from my present world, yet still so metaphorical for it.

But the flaws (I hate to write this about a book I love so much, but so be it):

1) This book is a homage to mediocrity - the mediocrity (comfort, emotional blindness, averageness) that is killing our planet. Mr. Chips represents the mediocrity in us all. But if we think we can remain mediocre and create a healthy future for our planet, we are sorely mistaken.

2) Thus, I suspect that my love for this book is really about me wanting to believe the fantasy that the side of myself that is stuck can become a hero without growing. Not true!

3) The book rationalizes some abusive behavior of children (i.e. constantly humoring "thrashing" kids) and a certain degree of pandering to the norm (idealizing romance, marriage, comfort, and having kids). Yuck.

4) The book is a metaphorical tale of redemption. That's all good and well, but in this world of crisis the time for metaphor is over. Now is the time to change the world directly - not to strive to live in comfort to the age of 85. The challenge now is to write a book this good doesn't lean on metaphor.

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A sentimental book that also throws some light on a pretty much forgotten period in time

Good bye Mr.Chips is definitely a sentimental book but there is more to it than that. The book depicts some of the social controversies of the time such as the rise of the New Woman and World War I. I was very interested in this aspect of the book and this material served to keep my attention in the more sentimental sections of the book. Mr. Chips, by the standard of the time, was a gentle soul. However, he was still wont to giving thrashings to his students something that would be unacceptable today. This, and many other presentations of life in a school for boys at that time, are interesting for a peek at how things worked in a school back then. In general, between the descriptions of life in the academy of that day and the references to the larger world's events, I found this book to be worth reading.

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"Because all things are forgotten in the end." And this shouldn't be.

"Because all things are forgotten in the end." And this shouldn't be.
The life of a Latin teacher at an English grammar school, "a good school of the second rank," doesn't seem to be the most promising foundation for a novel, but Hilton creates a wonderful character in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. In this slim novel, a life of service is examined, and with each vignette, the gentle nature of Chips and the sadness and triumphs of his life are gradually revealed without fanfare, rather they take on an air of grace reflecting the character's own personality. With its brevity and lack of detail, this doesn't fall into the category of a "great novel," but rather a great character is revealed, one that deserves to be remembered.

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The Classic Novel of an Academic

This short book is approaching 75 years old and is still the classic novel about life as an academic. Yes, the writing style is a bit dated and the writer's approach differs from the Hollywood movie versions (Chips love interest is barely mentioned in the book) but overall it's a satisfying, quick read. The amazing thing is that Chips deals with the same things as modern teachers--students with short attentions, pressure to change due to economics and the reward that comes from him sticking to his academic standards. It needs to be updated with a modern version that doesn't vary from the classic story, because the lessons learned here are timeless.

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