Title: Voices From A Wendy House Contrivance: A Drama Novel
Author: Tom Walters
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 978-1728382142
Pages: 138
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Reviewed by: Tony Espinoza
Hollywood Book Reviews
In our formative years in life, one of the values which is instilled in us from a young age is the necessity for a top-tier education. Whether it is the need for our children to gain a basic understanding of math and literature, or to higher education pursuits for long-term careers through college and university, education is instilled in us so early in life, and the pursuit of a career to help these children gain that education is a true calling for many. As Abigail Adams once said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.”
In author Tom Walters’s Voices From A Wendy House Contrivance: A Drama Novel, the author explores education within the confines of a primary school. Set in the late seventies, the story focuses on the staff of an old London Primary school, with a multi-cultural student body and a staff of educators with their own quirks and pursuits, as they fight to cultivate a learning community against all odds set against them.
This is a profound and engaging read! The author brilliantly blended a novel setting with a play-style of writing and creativity. The thing which immediately stood out from the other narratives surrounding a school-setting was the focus not on the individual students, but rather on the relationships and friction amongst the faculty of this primary school. What was fascinating for me as a reader based out of the US was the differences in the education system this London-based school featured, and how it integrated into the teachers’ actions as well. The shifting perspectives which the author utilizes in this narrative are well balanced, and lend to the almost play-like writing style for the narrative.
The book is absolutely entertaining, and would make the perfect read for those who enjoy literary dramas and fiction, especially with themes of education, inter-office relationships, plays, and shifting character perspectives. The infusion of a couple of surprise genres into the latter parts of the narrative too will keep readers on the edge of their seat, and the blend of humorous friction between several of the staff and the growing drama these relationships and the struggles of education took on in the narrative made this story so inviting to readers.
A marvelous, engaging, and thought-provoking read, author Tom Walters’s Voices From A Wendy House Contrivance: A Drama Novel is a must-read novel. The narrative quickly took on a feeling of a “dramadey”, the classic combination of humor and tension that elevates the character’s relationships while highlighting the friction and growing divide that the events of the novel are creating between these characters. Entertaining as heck and leaving readers with a shocking twist ending, this narrative will be hard to put down for anyone, and is not to be missed.