Author: David Gilmour
The premise of this book really got me going: With his son hating and failing school, David makes a deal - drop out of school but watch 3 movies with me per week. I loved the idea of this unusual education and looked forward to learning about the films they watched, seeing how David turned this into an education, and finding out how Jesse fared in the world after his unschooling.
Unfortunately, the book itself was more about father-son relationships and teenage love/angst. Not to say the book wasn't good - it read well and the themes are important. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Being neither a father, nor a son, a giant chunk of the thematic beauty of this book may have been lost on me. I found myself, from time to time, wanting less "I love my son" and more "I love this movie".
The majority of the book was spent on Jesse's love life - how a father deals with a heartbroken son, how a man can struggle to get over a woman, etc. Jesse was rather obsessed with two different women through the course of the story, and his anguish over these relationships felt out of place when there seemed to be so much more he should be concerned about: like his drug use and his lack of schooling. Perhaps I am just too removed from these characters. A straight-A, school-loving female, I couldn't place myself in Jesse's shoes.
I'm not sure what my ultimate recommendation on this book should be. If you are looking for a book focused on education through movies, this is not for you. If you are looking for a father-son relationship book, then I'd say pick it up.
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Lesa's Book Critiques; Letters on Pages; Lotus Reads;
Question: Are there any good books out there about using movies to educate?
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Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, Non-Fiction Five,
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