Now that I have finished A Good School, I'm just one book away from having read all of Richard Yates. Yates' novels and short stories are never uplifting, but always intriguing. A Good School focuses on one year at a New England all-male prep school just at the start of WWII. Focusing largely on the relationships between the students, Yates captures the angst and awkwardness of teenage boys as they strive to fit in, make friends, discover their passions. As expected, there are fist fights, love affairs, hazing, sports, friendship, rivalries, and a few heartbreaking moments of isolation and loneliness. Yates also explores the relationships between the male professors and administrative staff and their wives or lovers. This wasn't my favorite from Yates, as it wasn't as rich in exploring the intimacies of relationships as some of his other novels (such as Revolutionary Road or The Easter Parade, but I would still say that A Good School is a "good" read.
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