The School (Brendan James Murray, Picador)

Brendan James Murray is a full-time high school English teacher and an award-winning writer. His new nonfiction work The School chronicles a year in his classroom, in a public school located in a pretty but nonetheless disadvantaged beachside area. Murray weaves the trials and tribulations of his students together with the stories of young adults who have had a particular effect on him over the years: hard-working migrant Wambui, good-natured sportsperson and cancer sufferer Kelvin, damaged but determined-to-succeed Charlie, and the studious Claire, whose love of literature is almost undermined by depression and anxiety. The School is a deeply human drama, but Murray weaves an important discussion about the school system—its blind spots and failings—around these student experiences. That is where the true power of this narrative lies: in showing how students like Grace, who desperately needs literacy support but falls just outside of the check-list for an aide, can so easily fall through the system despite the best efforts of teachers. There was a moment reading The School when I started to feel that the narrative was falling into a highly romanticised view of teachers, but it recovers; Murray is clearly not ignorant to the failings of teachers who have been overworked or under-supported, or who simply dislike young people. The School stands alone as a readable memoir and an emotionally punchy look at life in the classroom, and also as a companion to Gabbie Stroud’s popular books Teacher and Dear Parents. It is an important read for teachers and parents, but will resonate with anyone who has ever survived or thrived in a classroom environment.

Portia Lindsay is the book buyer at The Book Nest Mudgee and manages the Mudgee Readers’ Festival.

Category: Reviews