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A Student of History
A contemporary Los Angeles story of uncrossable social lines, allegiance and betrayal, immeasurable power, and the ways the present is continuously shaped by the past.
Rick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on his South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived. When he lands a job as a research assistant for the elderly Mrs. W—, the heir to an oil fortune, he sees it at first simply as a source of extra cash. But as he grows closer to the iconoclastic, charming, and feisty Mrs. W—, he gets drawn into a world of privilege and wealth far different from his racially mixed, blue-collar beginnings.
Putting aside his half-finished dissertation, Rick sets up office in Mrs. W—’s grand Bel Air mansion and begins to transcribe her journals—which document an old Los Angeles not described in his history books. He also accompanies Mrs. W— to venues frequented by the descendants of the land and oil barons who built the city. One evening, at an event, he meets Fiona Morgan—the elegant scion of an old steel family—who takes an interest in his studies. Irresistibly drawn to Fiona, he agrees to help her with a project of questionable merit in the hopes he’ll win her favor.
A Student of History explores both the beginnings of Los Angeles and the present-day dynamics of race and class. It offers a window into the usually hidden world of high society, and the influence of historic families on current events. Like Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby, it features, in Rick Nagano, a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn’t belong.
Rick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on his South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived. When he lands a job as a research assistant for the elderly Mrs. W—, the heir to an oil fortune, he sees it at first simply as a source of extra cash. But as he grows closer to the iconoclastic, charming, and feisty Mrs. W—, he gets drawn into a world of privilege and wealth far different from his racially mixed, blue-collar beginnings.
Putting aside his half-finished dissertation, Rick sets up office in Mrs. W—’s grand Bel Air mansion and begins to transcribe her journals—which document an old Los Angeles not described in his history books. He also accompanies Mrs. W— to venues frequented by the descendants of the land and oil barons who built the city. One evening, at an event, he meets Fiona Morgan—the elegant scion of an old steel family—who takes an interest in his studies. Irresistibly drawn to Fiona, he agrees to help her with a project of questionable merit in the hopes he’ll win her favor.
A Student of History explores both the beginnings of Los Angeles and the present-day dynamics of race and class. It offers a window into the usually hidden world of high society, and the influence of historic families on current events. Like Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby, it features, in Rick Nagano, a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn’t belong.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2019
58 people are currently reading
1245 people want to read
About the author
Nina Revoyr
13 books165 followersNina Revoyr was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a white American father, and grew up in Tokyo, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles. She is the author of four novels. Her first book,
The Necessary Hunger
, was described by Time magazine as "the kind of irresistible read you start on the subway at 6 p.m. on the way home from work and keep plowing through until you've turned the last page at 3 a.m. in bed."
Her second novel, Southland, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and "Best Book of 2003," a Book Sense 76 pick, an Edgar Award finalist, and the winner of the Ferro Grumley Award and the Lambda Literary Award. Publishers Weekly called it "Compelling... never lacking in vivid detail and authentic atmosphere, the novel cements Revoyr's reputation as one of the freshest young chroniclers of life in L.A."
Nina’s third book, The Age of Dreaming, was a finalist for the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Publishers Weekly called it "enormously satisfying;" Library Journal described it as "Fast-moving, riveting, unpredictable and profound," and Los Angeles Magazine wrote that "Nina Revoyr ... is fast becoming one of the city’s finest chroniclers and myth-makers."
Nina's fourth novel, Wingshooters, was published in March, 2011. It is one of O: Oprah Magazine's "Books to Watch For," an IndieBound Indie Next Selection, and a Midwest Connections Pick. Publishers Weekly described it as "remarkable...an accomplished story of family and the dangers of complacency in the face of questionable justice; and Booklist called it "a shattering northern variation on To Kill a Mockingbird.
Nina is the executive vice president of a large child and family service agency in Los Angeles. She has also been an Associate Faculty member at Antioch University, and a Visiting Professor at Cornell University, Occidental College, and Pitzer College. Nina lives in Northeast Los Angeles with her partner, two rowdy dogs, and a pair of bossy cats.
Her second novel, Southland, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and "Best Book of 2003," a Book Sense 76 pick, an Edgar Award finalist, and the winner of the Ferro Grumley Award and the Lambda Literary Award. Publishers Weekly called it "Compelling... never lacking in vivid detail and authentic atmosphere, the novel cements Revoyr's reputation as one of the freshest young chroniclers of life in L.A."
Nina’s third book, The Age of Dreaming, was a finalist for the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Publishers Weekly called it "enormously satisfying;" Library Journal described it as "Fast-moving, riveting, unpredictable and profound," and Los Angeles Magazine wrote that "Nina Revoyr ... is fast becoming one of the city’s finest chroniclers and myth-makers."
Nina's fourth novel, Wingshooters, was published in March, 2011. It is one of O: Oprah Magazine's "Books to Watch For," an IndieBound Indie Next Selection, and a Midwest Connections Pick. Publishers Weekly described it as "remarkable...an accomplished story of family and the dangers of complacency in the face of questionable justice; and Booklist called it "a shattering northern variation on To Kill a Mockingbird.
Nina is the executive vice president of a large child and family service agency in Los Angeles. She has also been an Associate Faculty member at Antioch University, and a Visiting Professor at Cornell University, Occidental College, and Pitzer College. Nina lives in Northeast Los Angeles with her partner, two rowdy dogs, and a pair of bossy cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
February 24, 2019
“It started for the same reason that so many other things did then, because of my need for money.” Rick Nagano needs this job working for the very, very Rich Mrs. M—-, as her research assistant, transcribing her personal journals to make his rent. His graduate school stipend is barely enough. This is how he becomes entangled in the lives of these moneyed families, and the opulent lives they lived, but his involvement becomes deeper as he becomes blinded by his infatuation for a young woman in this circle of rich people. His downfall is really so much more related to how he deluded himself into thinking that he could actually be a part of this group of people, many of whom lived lives of lies and deception because they could afford to. There are no likable characters here. It’s easy at first to connect with Rick, who is at a crossroads in his life, not sure of the direction to take with a waning interest in his dissertation. He makes some terribly stupid, or maybe naive decisions that ultimately for me didn’t separate him from the many times immoral and sometimes illegal behavior of the rich. While he recognizes what he has done, I never felt like Rick was fully remorseful. He used them for his own ambitions, just as they used each other.
This seems to be a good depiction of a piece of Los Angeles history and there is some about race, but to a lesser degree than the emphasis on the class differences. I am always wary of descriptions that make comparisons. Suffice it to say, that while the case could be made that this book is like Gatsby in some ways as the description says, it’s no Great Gatsby! I can’t say I loved it, but I really was interested in how this would turn out.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Akashic Books through Edelweiss.
This seems to be a good depiction of a piece of Los Angeles history and there is some about race, but to a lesser degree than the emphasis on the class differences. I am always wary of descriptions that make comparisons. Suffice it to say, that while the case could be made that this book is like Gatsby in some ways as the description says, it’s no Great Gatsby! I can’t say I loved it, but I really was interested in how this would turn out.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Akashic Books through Edelweiss.
February 1, 2019
Couldn't put it down. Revoyr's writing is so good...I felt like I was walking along with Rick, looking over his shoulder.
Will someone I know please hurry up and read it so we can talk about it?!
Will someone I know please hurry up and read it so we can talk about it?!
November 8, 2018
I approach the poor-person-gets-into-a-circle-of-rich-people books cautiously. They tend to follow a certain formula and glamorize wealth so much that it justifies the poor person doing whatever it takes to become part of it. This book considers that trope much more deeply, it's interested in displaying wealth to us and all that comes with it, but it's also not going to oversimplify anything. Revoyr is very skilled at diving past the surface and getting into all that's beneath.
Rick Nagano is the kind of downtrodden, listless protagonist who's perfectly set up to have his life changed by wealthy patronage. He's a 30-year-old graduate student who can't manage to finish his dissertation. He's just been dumped by his girlfriend. Whether Rick can manage to finish school or not, he doesn't have any idea what he'll do next. When he gets a job from Mrs. W-- through luck and a connection, it's just a way to make sure he can afford rent. But it turns into something more.
Rick soon becomes not just an assistant to Mrs. W, but her escort to all kinds of events. And this is where Revoyr's keen eye comes into play. Revoyr always catalogs the important dynamics that are often overlooked, that in this kind of room it's not just that everyone looks a certain kind of way and acts a certain kind of way, it's also that they're all white...except for Rick. Rick isn't excluded because of his race, this isn't a story about racism, but it's the kind of important detail that gives you a fuller picture of the exact kind of system Rick has been brought into.
Rick doesn't follow the typical obsession-with-new-rich-friend storyline. He doesn't pretend to be someone else or pretend he is more well-off than he is. But he develops obsessions nonetheless and is willing to rationalize all kinds of bad behavior to feed them. Rick is a first person narrator and doesn't let himself off the hook.
What the book considers isn't just the divide between the ultra-rich and everyone else, it's the question of what makes you a good person. I wish the book had dived into all of this a little more, it's a slim novel. And there are times when Rick is a frustrating narrator (you make every conclusion several pages before he does). But I found the world Revoyr brought me into compelling enough to want much more.
Rick Nagano is the kind of downtrodden, listless protagonist who's perfectly set up to have his life changed by wealthy patronage. He's a 30-year-old graduate student who can't manage to finish his dissertation. He's just been dumped by his girlfriend. Whether Rick can manage to finish school or not, he doesn't have any idea what he'll do next. When he gets a job from Mrs. W-- through luck and a connection, it's just a way to make sure he can afford rent. But it turns into something more.
Rick soon becomes not just an assistant to Mrs. W, but her escort to all kinds of events. And this is where Revoyr's keen eye comes into play. Revoyr always catalogs the important dynamics that are often overlooked, that in this kind of room it's not just that everyone looks a certain kind of way and acts a certain kind of way, it's also that they're all white...except for Rick. Rick isn't excluded because of his race, this isn't a story about racism, but it's the kind of important detail that gives you a fuller picture of the exact kind of system Rick has been brought into.
Rick doesn't follow the typical obsession-with-new-rich-friend storyline. He doesn't pretend to be someone else or pretend he is more well-off than he is. But he develops obsessions nonetheless and is willing to rationalize all kinds of bad behavior to feed them. Rick is a first person narrator and doesn't let himself off the hook.
What the book considers isn't just the divide between the ultra-rich and everyone else, it's the question of what makes you a good person. I wish the book had dived into all of this a little more, it's a slim novel. And there are times when Rick is a frustrating narrator (you make every conclusion several pages before he does). But I found the world Revoyr brought me into compelling enough to want much more.
May 29, 2019
Nina Revoyr is a Los Angeles treasure. Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a White American father, she grew up in Tokyo and Wisconsin, then Los Angeles. Her own experiences inform both her writing and her life's work to serve children affected by violence and poverty. I think her keen eye for injustice is what makes her novels so honestly close to the bone while not ever beating you over the head.
In this, her seventh novel, A Student of History, she takes on the huge disparity between the super rich and the rest of us here in my own town. Rick is a graduate student in history at the University of Southern California. He has lost his way trying to write his thesis and faces two bad outcomes. If he doesn't make progress he will lose his financial assistance from the university and will have no way to afford, well anything. The only skill he has is researching. Also his girlfriend has recently left him.
By a stroke of luck, he is offered a research assistant job with an elderly woman. Mrs W-- is heir to a stupendously large oil fortune and wants her handwritten journals typed up. Working 10 hours a week in her Bel Air mansion, Rick is thrown into a world so far from his racially mixed, blue collar upbringing that it might as well be a foreign country.
Soon enough Mrs W-- also begins to use him as an escort to high society events, even going so far as to buy him a wardrobe so he fits in. His innocence about how these people live and operate leads him to make questionable choices, resulting in a huge breach of trust with Mrs W--.
My husband has done some work for an uber-rich Los Angeles woman, running sound for her lavish series of annual Christmas parties. He had seen this world and come home with stories, but he grew up in an upper middle class environment, so he knows how to handle himself.
Watching Rick fall into the rabbit hole, risking everything, his innocence betrayed by people who have agendas incomprehensible to regular people, was unnerving in the extreme.
You know that feeling one gets that the enormously wealthy of this country don't really have the good of others in mind as they wheel and deal? This is one of those novels that peeks into that world, all the while making these people come to life. They are not on the whole happy, fulfilled individuals. They have secrets and grudges and personal sorrows. Revoyr evokes a certain sympathy for some of them but they are untouchable, by the law, by any conception of the world outside their world. They literally get away with murder and more.
In just 238 pages of uncomplicated prose, Nina Revoyr makes it chillingly real.
March 30, 2019
Halfway through A Student of History, I began to wonder if the book was a different one than the author intended.
The original intention, I believe was to reveal the gilded world of privilege and wealth, a world composed of its own unwritten rules, a world that is not chronicled in a newspaper. Richard Nagano, a graduate history student, stumbles into this world when he lands a position as research assistant for Mrs. W__,
From the start, the mega-wealthy Mrs. W__, is a study in contradictions: a "misanthrope who gave generously to causes she claimed to despise; an aesthete who welcome people who didn't share her sensibilities." Rick Nagano is alternately awed, repulsed, and drawn to this world. As the son of immigrants (part Japanese, part Polish), he feels like a stranger in a strange land. When he finds himself drawn to Fiona, a socialite close to his age, he begins to succumb to a culture that he can barely understand.
This spellbinding book is well-written and kept me turning pages all the way through the end. But that doesn't mean that it isn't without its flaws. The wealthy are drawn with a broad brush and risk becoming one-dimensional and the constant descriptions of what they're wearing and how they look become redundant. But more problematically, in striving to become one of them, Rick Nagano relinquishes the moral initiative, reinforcing precisely why the "old money" families are so suspicious of outsiders. I'm not quite sure if this is what Nina Revoyr intended.
Ultimately, history is "taking shape all around us in ways big and small, and It seemed fruitless, even arrogant, to try to capture it.' It's a fine book but some of the nuances are lost.
May 27, 2019
As an avid reader of literary fiction, I don't know how Nina Revoyr wasn't on my radar before this. 'A Student of History' is a mesmerizing book, full of moral questions and ambiguities. It explores the ideas of loyalty, betrayal, the class system in the United States and the fallacy that all of these questions have an answer, even an easy one. To top it off, it is a page turner that I stayed up almost all night to finish.
Rick Nagano has been struggling with his doctoral dissertation for some time. Despite being ABD (all but dissertation), he has let his interest in his topic wane and has produced no new material in a long time. His advisor is unhappy and Rick is in imminent danger of losing his fellowship which pays $22,000 annually and keeps him afloat in expensive Los Angeles. He recently took a part-time job transcribing the journals of Mrs. W., a private and solitary woman, a member of Los Angeles's elite old money school. Rick tells his thesis advisor about his access to Mrs. W's journals and she encourages him to get information about Mrs. W.'s family because it would allow him to continue with his fellowship. She indicates that if he shows her something new, she will support the renewal of his fellowship.
As a transcriber for Mrs. W., Rick gets somewhat close to her and earns her trust. She takes him to galas and events, the type of which he's only read about or seen in movies. He comes from a working class background and isn't even aware of the existence of glamor and decadence of this order.
At one of the events, Nick meets Fiona and becomes enthralled, actually obsessed, with her. She is married but that doesn't stop her from flirting with Nick and leading him on, As they discuss a prior tragedy that affected Mrs. W., Fiona encourages Rick to get go the bottom of what happened. She believes there is more to the story. In his naivete, Rick never questions Fiona's motives or true feelings for him.
Rick's moral compass, if he ever had one, no longer points in the right direction. He is enamored of Fiona, the exclusivity and opulence of the events he attends, and dreams one day of belonging to this society. He doesn't realize that one must be born into old money or, sometimes, marry into it, but it doesn't come calling to outsiders.
As the reader watches Rick make one poor choice after another, we grimace and want to give him some slap therapy. But would he even listen? He has stars in his eyes and a cinematic vision of a different type of life than the one he is living.
This is not a book about the 'haves' and the 'have nots' though there is a lot of description of this order. It is about a man who, lacking a north star, falls into a maelstrom of deceit and betrayal. For a while, just a little while, he is enjoying playing roles and has lost his true self.
I have already ordered two more books by Ms. Revoyr and can't wait to read them.
Rick Nagano has been struggling with his doctoral dissertation for some time. Despite being ABD (all but dissertation), he has let his interest in his topic wane and has produced no new material in a long time. His advisor is unhappy and Rick is in imminent danger of losing his fellowship which pays $22,000 annually and keeps him afloat in expensive Los Angeles. He recently took a part-time job transcribing the journals of Mrs. W., a private and solitary woman, a member of Los Angeles's elite old money school. Rick tells his thesis advisor about his access to Mrs. W's journals and she encourages him to get information about Mrs. W.'s family because it would allow him to continue with his fellowship. She indicates that if he shows her something new, she will support the renewal of his fellowship.
As a transcriber for Mrs. W., Rick gets somewhat close to her and earns her trust. She takes him to galas and events, the type of which he's only read about or seen in movies. He comes from a working class background and isn't even aware of the existence of glamor and decadence of this order.
At one of the events, Nick meets Fiona and becomes enthralled, actually obsessed, with her. She is married but that doesn't stop her from flirting with Nick and leading him on, As they discuss a prior tragedy that affected Mrs. W., Fiona encourages Rick to get go the bottom of what happened. She believes there is more to the story. In his naivete, Rick never questions Fiona's motives or true feelings for him.
Rick's moral compass, if he ever had one, no longer points in the right direction. He is enamored of Fiona, the exclusivity and opulence of the events he attends, and dreams one day of belonging to this society. He doesn't realize that one must be born into old money or, sometimes, marry into it, but it doesn't come calling to outsiders.
As the reader watches Rick make one poor choice after another, we grimace and want to give him some slap therapy. But would he even listen? He has stars in his eyes and a cinematic vision of a different type of life than the one he is living.
This is not a book about the 'haves' and the 'have nots' though there is a lot of description of this order. It is about a man who, lacking a north star, falls into a maelstrom of deceit and betrayal. For a while, just a little while, he is enjoying playing roles and has lost his true self.
I have already ordered two more books by Ms. Revoyr and can't wait to read them.
March 13, 2019
A thoroughly enjoyable read, and this won't be the last Nina Revoyr book I'll read. Dishy stories about LaLa Land are always fun, but this one doesn't dish as much as it delves. The stories behind the history, the creators of the foundation upon which the city was founded -- She has a knack of bringing to light the underpinnings of society. There is a tad of superficiality, but that can be excused. Also, too much attention to clothing. Since the narrator is a man, this could have been dispensed with. I doubt if a working class student of Japanese/Polish heritage would drool so over fabrics and color combinations. Comparisons have been made to the Great Gatsby, but only because Rick notes that "...[the houses] were closed to me even when I was in them."
February 25, 2019
I received a free advance review copy from the publisher.
Thinking back after I finished the book, I realized how much Revoyr’s ultra wealthy characters shield themselves by walls. Richard’s patron, Mrs. W__, lives high up on a Los Angeles estate so large and secluded that nobody outside her circle would even that know it—and she—were there. When Richard is introduced into that circle of old money elites, he soon learns that all over the city there are private spaces hidden from view of the hoi polloi, so that members of the circle don’t have to interact with regular people.
There are even walls within walls. When Richard attends an outdoor charity function and becomes overwhelmed by the spectacle of excess and waste, he slips through an ornamental hedge. Only on the other side of that hedge is he able to have a conversation with a normal person. And, not surprisingly, there are figurative walls; the barriers of privilege and influence that ensure the members of the circle will not have to suffer the legal and other negative consequences of their actions.
Richard, once allowed behind these barriers learns that they are also a form of quarantine, because there is a sickness of the soul that has infected the members of the circle. In this short, searing novel, we see what happens to Richard when he is exposed to that sickness.
This is not a pleasant story, but it’s keenly observed and memorable. This would make an excellent book club read for both its literary merits and its thought-provoking depiction of our modern era of financial and social inequality.
Thinking back after I finished the book, I realized how much Revoyr’s ultra wealthy characters shield themselves by walls. Richard’s patron, Mrs. W__, lives high up on a Los Angeles estate so large and secluded that nobody outside her circle would even that know it—and she—were there. When Richard is introduced into that circle of old money elites, he soon learns that all over the city there are private spaces hidden from view of the hoi polloi, so that members of the circle don’t have to interact with regular people.
There are even walls within walls. When Richard attends an outdoor charity function and becomes overwhelmed by the spectacle of excess and waste, he slips through an ornamental hedge. Only on the other side of that hedge is he able to have a conversation with a normal person. And, not surprisingly, there are figurative walls; the barriers of privilege and influence that ensure the members of the circle will not have to suffer the legal and other negative consequences of their actions.
Richard, once allowed behind these barriers learns that they are also a form of quarantine, because there is a sickness of the soul that has infected the members of the circle. In this short, searing novel, we see what happens to Richard when he is exposed to that sickness.
This is not a pleasant story, but it’s keenly observed and memorable. This would make an excellent book club read for both its literary merits and its thought-provoking depiction of our modern era of financial and social inequality.
May 28, 2019
You have to understand Los Angeles very well to take on the big task of exploring its class divides, which are not the same—and yet have similarities—as in many other large cities. And Nina Revoyr understands her city. A Student of History is a beautifully written (in a straightforward way) account of one young man's attempt to jump the class divide in L.A., and how he is compromised in the process. It's masterfully done, both a compelling story and intelligent social observation. My only very minor complaint is the use of the dash after Mrs. W—'s name... I never got used to it and found it distracting, and wish it was just Mrs. W. But that's a fussy copyeditor thing. Really a quiet, thoughtful, terrific short novel.
October 21, 2022
I'm torn because this was no masterpiece by any means, but I don't dislike the story. I enjoyed *most* of this book, but I wouldn't recommend it, you know? I didn't feel all that connected to the main character, or really any of the other characters, except for one character towards the end. But there were some good themes, and I was satisfied by the ending. It was a good quick read.
The title is clever and the story starts out mediocre and gets better by the end. So... 3.5 and I'll round up to 4 because I'm not trying to be harsh.
The title is clever and the story starts out mediocre and gets better by the end. So... 3.5 and I'll round up to 4 because I'm not trying to be harsh.
June 12, 2019
I've read a handful of Revoyr's books. She tells an amazing story (see Wingshooters, The Necessary Hunger, Southland). This began promisingly enough. Rick Nagano, a bored history graduate student takes a job at an impossibly luxurious estate in Los Angeles where his employer is an uber wealthy older woman, a scion of a prominent California family. Mrs. W- (as she is referred to in the novel for reasons you discover later) hires Rick to transcribe her journals.
Rick earns the trust and admiration of his new employer, and for much of the novel, we follow around the protagonist as he attends fundraisers and parties on the arm of this woman (at one of these fundraisers he meets Fiona, a wealthy young woman who charms him something fierce). I guess my issue with A Student of History is that Revoyr spends so much of her prose describing the excess of these occasions that things got monotonous to me. We do get intriguing glimpses into Rick's parents' own blue-collar Los Angeles stories, but we never get to dive into these stories in any meaningful way.
I also felt like the characters Rick meets in his new glitzy circle reminded me of other characters I'd already met before in movies and books depicting the very rich. They felt like archetypes and not real people. Oh well. Hopefully I'll like Revoyr's next one better!
Rick earns the trust and admiration of his new employer, and for much of the novel, we follow around the protagonist as he attends fundraisers and parties on the arm of this woman (at one of these fundraisers he meets Fiona, a wealthy young woman who charms him something fierce). I guess my issue with A Student of History is that Revoyr spends so much of her prose describing the excess of these occasions that things got monotonous to me. We do get intriguing glimpses into Rick's parents' own blue-collar Los Angeles stories, but we never get to dive into these stories in any meaningful way.
I also felt like the characters Rick meets in his new glitzy circle reminded me of other characters I'd already met before in movies and books depicting the very rich. They felt like archetypes and not real people. Oh well. Hopefully I'll like Revoyr's next one better!
November 5, 2019
The early pages of this book felt haunted by Sunset Boulevard (1950 film, Billy Wilder) and it was too unsettling for me. Once the book began to diverge enough from this classic story (well over halfway through), I then found the narrator to be a bit too split between narrating from within the drama/plot to move the story forward but also from a position of hindsight after the story is complete. This led to some odd digressions and unsatisfying thoughts about his family that he never does anything about.
The whole [SPOILER, STOP READING] "I wasn't going to write a book about her family because that would be wrong, but I wrote this book about NOT her family -- with a ton of reflections on the family -- as a vehicle to talk about how history is really just the property of the powerful and wealthy" seemed like a cheap ending to me.
In regard to style, I found the constant name omission as Mrs. W- to be extremely distracting since it often reads as punctuation and not omission. Granted, I've read a lot of classic British lit that also does this, and have always found it to be clunky.
The whole [SPOILER, STOP READING] "I wasn't going to write a book about her family because that would be wrong, but I wrote this book about NOT her family -- with a ton of reflections on the family -- as a vehicle to talk about how history is really just the property of the powerful and wealthy" seemed like a cheap ending to me.
In regard to style, I found the constant name omission as Mrs. W- to be extremely distracting since it often reads as punctuation and not omission. Granted, I've read a lot of classic British lit that also does this, and have always found it to be clunky.
February 26, 2020
It took me months to finish this book. The main character is insufferable, and his actions that lead to him being unhappy are entirely his fault. He does not think about the consequences of what could happen after digging into things that are none of his business, and he doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself. The writing is fine, but the story and narrator suck. I should pay more attention to the books that I decide to read on a whim, because this was very hard to read and I should have guessed that would happen.
March 18, 2020
AudioBook Review
Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 4
Praised for the character embodying the traits seen in The Great Gatsby and Great Expectations, where an outsider is trying to navigate and function within new parameters in a world that is essentially foreign, I found that the comparison was a bit of a reach: particularly concerning Rick’s essentials: he’s obviously different: poor, Asian and an academic, and ‘hired help”. Rick is struggling to make ends meet and puts his dissertation aside to ‘work’ for Mrs. W_, a woman who wants to create her own version of “rising” in the Los Angeles society of well-to-do’s with her ‘status’ being inexorably tied to her oil fortunes, and the rather ‘underhanded without consequence’ of she and her compatriots at the top of the heap, at least monetarily. Rick’s problems start with the rather complex and often contradictory behaviors of Mrs. W_, her statements that are quite frankly untenable while juxtaposed with the support of many of the ‘people’ or ‘situations’ she claims to abhor. From traveling with her to venues and events populated by the ‘elites’, there is a change in Rick – he starts to see himself changing to fit the surroundings, even finding himself drawn to a woman who, on every level, is not a solid match.
What’s most strange about this book and story is the listener’s (ok – my) desire to see if the years of struggle and reality that Rick experienced to this point would ever take over: that his own relative normalcy would start to show and influence those who were raised in privilege, given little to no consequences for bad (often illegal) behavior, or would their lack of concern for others, rules and simple humanity would start to influence how he perceived (and acted) in the world. It’s a toss up with few characters to even tolerate – liking is a step too far – and wanting to see Rick’s morals and upbringing find him a way to exist as himself, despite the differences from the people he was now surrounded by.
Eminently readable, and the listen was spectacular, even as the twists and turns with Rick’s behavior and attitude were often disappointing. From losing his focus and desire for his thesis, to his striving for and struggling with the new environment he found himself in, the narration by Tim Fannon helped to present the struggles, even when it appears that Rick is doing his level best to ignore them all. Not quite a love story, and not a ‘you get yours’ tale of good overcoming bad, the story is complex with many layers and some nuances that are difficult to grasp, but once held help to place yourself, momentarily, in Rick’s place and understand his quandary. It feels very much a coming of age story with some history (actual and perceived by Mrs. W_, and her peculiar slant on “how” the family came to the apex of society. It never quite hit the high notes of Gatsby and his assimilation for me, but the writing and presentation were solid and engaging, and despite not finding a character I’d wanted to cheer on, the complexities and faults of each that displayed their humanity was clear and present and more intriguing for those traits.
I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Recorded Books for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 4
Praised for the character embodying the traits seen in The Great Gatsby and Great Expectations, where an outsider is trying to navigate and function within new parameters in a world that is essentially foreign, I found that the comparison was a bit of a reach: particularly concerning Rick’s essentials: he’s obviously different: poor, Asian and an academic, and ‘hired help”. Rick is struggling to make ends meet and puts his dissertation aside to ‘work’ for Mrs. W_, a woman who wants to create her own version of “rising” in the Los Angeles society of well-to-do’s with her ‘status’ being inexorably tied to her oil fortunes, and the rather ‘underhanded without consequence’ of she and her compatriots at the top of the heap, at least monetarily. Rick’s problems start with the rather complex and often contradictory behaviors of Mrs. W_, her statements that are quite frankly untenable while juxtaposed with the support of many of the ‘people’ or ‘situations’ she claims to abhor. From traveling with her to venues and events populated by the ‘elites’, there is a change in Rick – he starts to see himself changing to fit the surroundings, even finding himself drawn to a woman who, on every level, is not a solid match.
What’s most strange about this book and story is the listener’s (ok – my) desire to see if the years of struggle and reality that Rick experienced to this point would ever take over: that his own relative normalcy would start to show and influence those who were raised in privilege, given little to no consequences for bad (often illegal) behavior, or would their lack of concern for others, rules and simple humanity would start to influence how he perceived (and acted) in the world. It’s a toss up with few characters to even tolerate – liking is a step too far – and wanting to see Rick’s morals and upbringing find him a way to exist as himself, despite the differences from the people he was now surrounded by.
Eminently readable, and the listen was spectacular, even as the twists and turns with Rick’s behavior and attitude were often disappointing. From losing his focus and desire for his thesis, to his striving for and struggling with the new environment he found himself in, the narration by Tim Fannon helped to present the struggles, even when it appears that Rick is doing his level best to ignore them all. Not quite a love story, and not a ‘you get yours’ tale of good overcoming bad, the story is complex with many layers and some nuances that are difficult to grasp, but once held help to place yourself, momentarily, in Rick’s place and understand his quandary. It feels very much a coming of age story with some history (actual and perceived by Mrs. W_, and her peculiar slant on “how” the family came to the apex of society. It never quite hit the high notes of Gatsby and his assimilation for me, but the writing and presentation were solid and engaging, and despite not finding a character I’d wanted to cheer on, the complexities and faults of each that displayed their humanity was clear and present and more intriguing for those traits.
I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Recorded Books for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
April 30, 2019
This book had tremendous potential - a story about one of the original founding families of Los Angeles and some big secrets. Although the author did a great deal of research the novel itself is predictable and falls short. The main character, Robert, is a Grad student who is wallowing in his romantic break-up and failing to work on his thesis. He has few friends and has shut out his family. He gets a great job just when he need it and becomes the typist and then companion to a very wealthy and influential woman who practically adopts him - so of course he has to muck it up!
my problem with this novel is that Robert is not likable. The voice of Robert also reads very feminine - for a male to notice the cut of a woman's jaw rather than her chest size is not realistic - at least not for this male. The voice is that of either an artist, a designer or a very observant woman. All of Robert's mistaken choices (and there are many) are well-telegraphed and so are the big "secrets" everyone is hiding. I was hoping I hadn't really figured it all out so far in advance - but I had. This book still works as an easy read, and I did become interested in the founding of L.A, so that's fun!
Thanks to LibraryThing and Akashic Books for the advance copy.
my problem with this novel is that Robert is not likable. The voice of Robert also reads very feminine - for a male to notice the cut of a woman's jaw rather than her chest size is not realistic - at least not for this male. The voice is that of either an artist, a designer or a very observant woman. All of Robert's mistaken choices (and there are many) are well-telegraphed and so are the big "secrets" everyone is hiding. I was hoping I hadn't really figured it all out so far in advance - but I had. This book still works as an easy read, and I did become interested in the founding of L.A, so that's fun!
Thanks to LibraryThing and Akashic Books for the advance copy.
February 29, 2020
DNF at 21%. This book wasn’t for me. It included a struggling history grad student and supposedly was going to talk about the history of LA. Great. But the student goes to SUC and starts running with rich people, and I’m not able to get into the story at all.
June 17, 2019
Arresting prose with succinct analogies. Looking forward to another book by Revoyr
December 28, 2020
I just loved this. I didn’t want it to end.
January 18, 2020
A novel about Rick Nagano, a half Japanese, half white doctoral student in history at USC in Los Angeles. He's barely scraping by financially so jumps at the chance to type up the personal and family history of an extremely wealthy woman, Mrs. W-- (and that long dash was endlessly confusing, continually making me think there was going to be an aside coming; I don't know why "Mrs. W" wouldn't have been adequate as an abbreviation), and soon he's accompanying his employer to high-level fundraising events dressed in clothes she's bought him and noticing he's the only non-white other than the servers at these events. The novel is told in the first person by Rick in retrospect, which is perhaps what gives it such a flat quality, almost journalistic. The plot is simple, and fairly common in fiction, the writing serviceable, the few main characters not quite relatable, a bit wooden. All in all, it didn't live up to its hype as a "searing novel of thought-provoking complexity," nor was it "mythical" or "spellbinding." Perhaps if you live in southern California this novel will resonate more for you than it did for me.
February 23, 2019
Interesting for its outsider take on wealth and privilege in Los Angeles-not the wealthy and privilege we think of but the "old money" (old for Los Angeles.). Rick Nagano is a grad student who can't quite pull it together to finish his degree. He gets a job transcribing the journals of Mrs. W, an oil heiress, and then finds himself pulled into her orbit. This isn't Gatsby as some have suggested but it's not meant to be. The issues of race are less important, I think, than the issues of "class" as defined by Mrs. W and her coterie. It's nicely written and educational in its way. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. A good read.
November 23, 2021
Favorite book I’ve read in school! Nuanced, bold, and entertaining!
April 20, 2019
Enjoyed reading this work Nina Revoyr - 5/5 stars for me!
May 1, 2019
Review TK.
February 22, 2019
Nina Revoyr's earlier novel Wingshooters was a favorite.
A Student of History is due out in March.
This is a Gatsby like novel of a young Japanese American man whom becomes immersed in a world of wealth and privilege in current day Los Angeles. It's a story of class and belonging and a look at the very wealthy.
This is a great study of an elite group of people and what they will do to protect their own.
Loved it and will definitely recommend for book clubs.
A Student of History is due out in March.
This is a Gatsby like novel of a young Japanese American man whom becomes immersed in a world of wealth and privilege in current day Los Angeles. It's a story of class and belonging and a look at the very wealthy.
This is a great study of an elite group of people and what they will do to protect their own.
Loved it and will definitely recommend for book clubs.
February 4, 2019
A STUDENT OF HISTORY: A NOVEL by Nina Revoyr.
This title is published by Akashic Books and was offered to me for an unbiased and honest review. Thank you.
Ms. Revoyr draws many parallels from other literary works, primarily GREAT EXPECTATIONS and THE GREAT GATSBY. I especially like thinking of our main character, Rick Nagano, as a very star-struck Nick Carraway, exposed to the glitterati of LA’s oldest, richest and most ‘entitled’ citizens. “He is a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn’t belong.” (book jacket)
Rick Nagano, a USC graduate student, has hit a ‘brick wall’ in his thesis writing. He is in a stupor, a lethargic state, with no future plans or aspirations. His funding is about to be terminated. His girlfriend has left him. He has few friends and his once energetic and interesting thesis ideas have stagnated. p.11 “It started for the same reason that so many other things did then, because of my need for money.”
His oldest USC friend is leaving her job and recommends Rick as her replacement. He is to transcribe diaries and journals of a Mrs. W—. Mrs. W— is literally a multi millionaire from a legendary and historical LA/Southern California family. Rick finds the work easy, interesting and lucrative. He begins to attend parties and charity luncheons with Mrs. — . She ‘dresses’ him and presents him as a companion/assistant of sorts and he steps into a glittering, previously unknown and unimagined world of riches. Our Rick begins to develop aspirations far ‘above his station’.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY is a treatise on LA neighborhoods, class (especially class), race, identity, family and secrets. Yes, there is a very big secret.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY focuses on just that, history - Rick’s family history, race and class; Mrs.—’s family history; the history of wealth in LA. What is the value of history?
p.126 “Being around them was like rubbing shoulders with history.”
I am very impressed with the author’s writing; with the book’s readability. It was seamless, detailed, interesting, flowing.
A highly recommended read.
This title is published by Akashic Books and was offered to me for an unbiased and honest review. Thank you.
Ms. Revoyr draws many parallels from other literary works, primarily GREAT EXPECTATIONS and THE GREAT GATSBY. I especially like thinking of our main character, Rick Nagano, as a very star-struck Nick Carraway, exposed to the glitterati of LA’s oldest, richest and most ‘entitled’ citizens. “He is a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn’t belong.” (book jacket)
Rick Nagano, a USC graduate student, has hit a ‘brick wall’ in his thesis writing. He is in a stupor, a lethargic state, with no future plans or aspirations. His funding is about to be terminated. His girlfriend has left him. He has few friends and his once energetic and interesting thesis ideas have stagnated. p.11 “It started for the same reason that so many other things did then, because of my need for money.”
His oldest USC friend is leaving her job and recommends Rick as her replacement. He is to transcribe diaries and journals of a Mrs. W—. Mrs. W— is literally a multi millionaire from a legendary and historical LA/Southern California family. Rick finds the work easy, interesting and lucrative. He begins to attend parties and charity luncheons with Mrs. — . She ‘dresses’ him and presents him as a companion/assistant of sorts and he steps into a glittering, previously unknown and unimagined world of riches. Our Rick begins to develop aspirations far ‘above his station’.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY is a treatise on LA neighborhoods, class (especially class), race, identity, family and secrets. Yes, there is a very big secret.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY focuses on just that, history - Rick’s family history, race and class; Mrs.—’s family history; the history of wealth in LA. What is the value of history?
p.126 “Being around them was like rubbing shoulders with history.”
I am very impressed with the author’s writing; with the book’s readability. It was seamless, detailed, interesting, flowing.
A highly recommended read.
January 18, 2021
Entertaining. A quick read. Not particularly profound.
March 4, 2019
Grad student Rick Nagano’s life isn’t going well. He’s been stuck on his thesis for months and sees no future for it, his grant is about to run out and not be renewed, and his girlfriend has dumped him. Then things turn better: his friend is leaving the country, and leaving her job as a research assistant to a rich woman. She’s recommended Rick for the job. When he auditions for the role, Mrs. W_ takes him on. His money woes, at least, are cured for the moment.
His job for Mrs. W_ is to read through her old journals and make a computer document out of them. This, he realizes, may also solve his thesis problem: to a historian specializing in Los Angeles history, the journals are a heretofore unseen look at the lives of the upper crust in the early and mid-20th century. Of course, Mrs. W_ has sworn him to never reveal anything in the journals... but he’ll worry about that later. Meanwhile, Mrs. W_ is also using him as a ‘walker’- a man who a rich woman/celebrity uses as an escort to social functions. She sends him to the finest stores and dresses him up. Behind the walls and hedges of Bel Air and Beverly Hills, the rich and beautiful people- people known as ‘street people’ because the streets of Los Angeles are named for them- mingle and exchange gossip. These are not media celebrities; these are the descendants of the oil barons and land developers of yore. Rick is surprised when one young married beauty, Fiona Morgan, takes an interest in him. Could things get any better for him?
This is a mystery on the surface, but it’s also statement (a damning one) on class and money. Rick brings up his mixed race heritage frequently, but nothing is ever done with that thread. There is frequent reference to the fact that everyone is very, very white. Rick is almost unbelievably naïve. While I didn’t dislike Rick, I couldn’t manage to like him, either. He’s a narrator that things happen to, without him making much effort. He’s a tool, in a couple of meanings of the word. The other characters… not much to them, and I think that might be intentional. These people have nothing real to them! It is a good depiction of the over the top excesses of the very rich, and what LA history might have been like for those very rich. But I can only give it three stars, because I never found myself really invested in the story.
His job for Mrs. W_ is to read through her old journals and make a computer document out of them. This, he realizes, may also solve his thesis problem: to a historian specializing in Los Angeles history, the journals are a heretofore unseen look at the lives of the upper crust in the early and mid-20th century. Of course, Mrs. W_ has sworn him to never reveal anything in the journals... but he’ll worry about that later. Meanwhile, Mrs. W_ is also using him as a ‘walker’- a man who a rich woman/celebrity uses as an escort to social functions. She sends him to the finest stores and dresses him up. Behind the walls and hedges of Bel Air and Beverly Hills, the rich and beautiful people- people known as ‘street people’ because the streets of Los Angeles are named for them- mingle and exchange gossip. These are not media celebrities; these are the descendants of the oil barons and land developers of yore. Rick is surprised when one young married beauty, Fiona Morgan, takes an interest in him. Could things get any better for him?
This is a mystery on the surface, but it’s also statement (a damning one) on class and money. Rick brings up his mixed race heritage frequently, but nothing is ever done with that thread. There is frequent reference to the fact that everyone is very, very white. Rick is almost unbelievably naïve. While I didn’t dislike Rick, I couldn’t manage to like him, either. He’s a narrator that things happen to, without him making much effort. He’s a tool, in a couple of meanings of the word. The other characters… not much to them, and I think that might be intentional. These people have nothing real to them! It is a good depiction of the over the top excesses of the very rich, and what LA history might have been like for those very rich. But I can only give it three stars, because I never found myself really invested in the story.
May 5, 2019
This book moved at a good pace and provided an interesting modern LA noir-ish story. I did not like the main character much, and thought he was not particularly sharp nor kind, more selfish and doltish than anything.
My only real complaints are with some odd choices by the author. First, the use of a long dash to obscure the family name of his employer. It was awkward to be used so often because it made me think it was an em dash that caused me to pause while reading thinking it was a form of punctuation rather than an attempt to provide anonymity. I wish the author/publisher had just a opted for a stand alone initial so that the act of reading it didn’t lead to sooo many unintended pauses/interruptions to the reading.
The second complaint is why the author chose to use many real names of families and institutions from LA history (e.g. Doheny, Mulholland, Marlborough, USC) but chose to make up so many places, notably many of the hotels and private clubs. I can understand her desire to add fictional families into the story of LA, but why make up the Pinnacle Hotel and Colonial Club? Maybe it was just me, but I found it distracting trying to think of what real place served as the inspiration for these places. Why use some real and some loosely fictional places? It’s not like their reputations would be sullied by inclusion in a work of fiction — they were neutral settings.
My only real complaints are with some odd choices by the author. First, the use of a long dash to obscure the family name of his employer. It was awkward to be used so often because it made me think it was an em dash that caused me to pause while reading thinking it was a form of punctuation rather than an attempt to provide anonymity. I wish the author/publisher had just a opted for a stand alone initial so that the act of reading it didn’t lead to sooo many unintended pauses/interruptions to the reading.
The second complaint is why the author chose to use many real names of families and institutions from LA history (e.g. Doheny, Mulholland, Marlborough, USC) but chose to make up so many places, notably many of the hotels and private clubs. I can understand her desire to add fictional families into the story of LA, but why make up the Pinnacle Hotel and Colonial Club? Maybe it was just me, but I found it distracting trying to think of what real place served as the inspiration for these places. Why use some real and some loosely fictional places? It’s not like their reputations would be sullied by inclusion in a work of fiction — they were neutral settings.
February 19, 2019
A disappointment, I’m afraid, that has a central, ethical crisis at its core that’s rarely considered and certainly never resolved. The novel is compared to Gatsby, and its subject is the obscenely rich. I was reminded more of Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard, but despite the L.A. setting, these aren’t the movie industry rich. They are old money from oil and are called “street people “, because streets in the wealthy enclaves are named after them. There’s little tension built, and, quite frankly, these people aren’t very interesting. I was able to read this book to completion, but there were missed opportunities where interest could have been generated by resolution of the ethical issues or the drama of human interactions. All the elements are here despite a rather cliche plot, but Revoyr failed to weave them into a compelling plot. The history student at the center isn’t very complex or interesting, and Mrs. M—, the focus of the novel, doesn’t seem fully developed.
Akashi Books simultaneously reissued Revoyr’s first novel, The Necessary Hunger.
Akashi Books simultaneously reissued Revoyr’s first novel, The Necessary Hunger.
March 17, 2019
A Student of History by Nina Revoyr (my favorite author) is unputdownable. A USC grad student, Rick Nagano, is broke and in danger of losing his fellowship. He accepts an assignment to work for Mrs. W—, an elderly American heiress in Bel-Air. Rick is hired to transcribe Mrs. W—’s journals. He gets thrown into a present-day Los Angeles version of Downton Abbey. It’s another world of families with old money—the kind with streets and buildings named after them. Mrs. W— is brilliant, beautiful, elegant, and sharp. Her cutting remarks remind me of the Dowager Countess. Rick befriends a young heiress, Fiona, and tries to keep up. Rick will never belong, but gets to witness and learn about high society feuds and scandals.
Most of Ms. Revoyr’s books show the real Los Angeles through time. Race and class are part of her stories. I grew up watching Beverly Hills, 90210 in the 1990s. That was my impression of California. I highly recommend Ms. Revoyr’s books to get a better picture of Los Angeles.
I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/catoverlord...
Most of Ms. Revoyr’s books show the real Los Angeles through time. Race and class are part of her stories. I grew up watching Beverly Hills, 90210 in the 1990s. That was my impression of California. I highly recommend Ms. Revoyr’s books to get a better picture of Los Angeles.
I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/catoverlord...
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