Different Class

Different Class
by Joanne Harris
Published April, 2016

Let me start by saying that I think Joanne Harris is fabulous. Her earlier books (Five Quarters of the Orange, Blackberry Wine and of course, Chocolat) were some of my absolute favourites back in the early 2000s but I'm ashamed to say that since then, I'd kind of forgotten just how fabulous she is. Different Class serves as a timely reminder that I really need to find copies of everything else she's written, immediately.

How's that for creepy..?

Set in the fictional North Yorkshire town of Malbry (also featured in her novels Blueeyedboy and Gentlemen and Players), Different Class revisits St Oswald's Grammar School, where Latin master Roy Straitley is entering his thirtieth year of teaching. With the school in academic and financial decline, a new headmaster is brought in - complete with Powerpoint, computer literacy, management-speak and a Crisis Management Team. As if this wasn't bad enough for the decidedly old-school Mr Straitley, the new head is also rather familiar to him ("The arrogant, sullen little boy has been reborn as a smiling, smooth-voiced politician"), stirring memories of a twenty-year-old school scandal, when a St Oswald's boy did some very, very bad things.

As chapters alternate between Straitley's present-day narration, Straitley's twenty-years-ago narration and some very disturbing historical diary entries, the story of the scandal becomes clearer and suspense builds beautifully. The unique setting of St Oswald's is beautifully brought to life in all its dusty, scholarly glory, as the world of chalk-covered, gown-wearing Straitley collides disastrously with the dawning age of education-as-business. The characters are wonderfully memorable and Joanne Harris writes with incredible insight, from the perspective of everyone from elderly gentlemen, to tormented adolescents, to a complete psychopath, all of it completely convincing.    

Admittedly, this is completely unrelated but this is also one of the BEST ALBUMS EVER.

Different Class is dark, creepy and incredibly compelling - the characters and the story will draw you in so quickly that a relatively lengthy book becomes a single-sitting read.  It's shadowy and disturbing but it's also genuinely funny in parts, Joanne Harris bringing a wry tone of humour to a story that might otherwise take itself a little too seriously. This comes largely through the wonderfully sardonic tone of narrator Mr Straitley, who is just fabulous. For example: "Penny once went on a course entitled Kids in Counselling, which left her under the delusion that she is approachable and relates well to 'youth issues'", or "Bob Strange seems impressed by the fact that, under the new regime, all St Oswald's current problems will be transferred to a series of policy documents, and will therefore completely cease to exist in the real world", or (on the subject of Parent Teacher evenings) "I shook their hands and invited them in (much as folklore dictates we should invite a vampire before he can feed)".

With Gentlemen and Players (set before Different Class) and Blueeyedboy (set afterwards), Different Class completes a trilogy of novels set in and around Malbry. Many of the characters appear in all three books and there are common settings and themes across the three. While I have now read all three books, I must confess to having completely forgotten everything about Gentlemen and Players (except that it was set at St Oswald's school) and Blueeyedboy (except that the main character was decidedly creepy). This very minimal understanding of the background story did not impact on my enjoyment of Different Class in the slightest. Haven't read the other two books? No problem at all. Different Class works beautifully as a stand-alone book, with no previous reading required. Having said that though, I plan to go back and re-read the other two books ASAP, because I loved these characters so much that I really want to find out more about them.

Different Class is a subtle, masterfully written psychological thriller with a rich backstory and a darkly humorous tone. Like everything Joanne Harris does, it's a great read - give it a go and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down.

9/10