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Ms. Hempel Chronicles
A "deeply affecting" (Los Angeles Times) novel of a devoted young teacher finding her way
Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new—new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her idiosyncratic father. Grappling awkwardly with her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. Is it acceptable to introduce swear words into the English curriculum, enlist students to write their own report cards, or bring up personal experiences while teaching a sex-education class?
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum finds characters at their most vulnerable, then explores those precarious moments in sharp, graceful prose. From this most innovative of young writers comes another journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up.
Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new—new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her idiosyncratic father. Grappling awkwardly with her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. Is it acceptable to introduce swear words into the English curriculum, enlist students to write their own report cards, or bring up personal experiences while teaching a sex-education class?
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum finds characters at their most vulnerable, then explores those precarious moments in sharp, graceful prose. From this most innovative of young writers comes another journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up.
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2008
53 people are currently reading
1728 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
14 books129 followersSarah Shun-lien Bynum is an American writer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter and teaches writing and literature at UC San Diego.
Bynum is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Madeleine is Sleeping was published by Harcourt in 2004 and was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Her short stories, including excerpts from her new novel, have appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, Triquarterly, The Georgia Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and in Best American Short Stories. Her novel, Ms. Hempel Chronicles, was published in September 2008 and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2009.
In 2010, Bynum was named one of the New Yorker Magazine's top "20 Under 40" fiction writers.
Bynum is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Madeleine is Sleeping was published by Harcourt in 2004 and was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Her short stories, including excerpts from her new novel, have appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, Triquarterly, The Georgia Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and in Best American Short Stories. Her novel, Ms. Hempel Chronicles, was published in September 2008 and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2009.
In 2010, Bynum was named one of the New Yorker Magazine's top "20 Under 40" fiction writers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
January 9, 2009
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "SHARP GRACEFUL PROSE" + "LUSH POETIC IMAGERY" = "AIMLESS NAVEL-GAZING MESS".
Is it some kind of chick-lit thing? I mean, this book shows up on various "best of" lists for last year, so I figured it must be worthwhile. Right?
Maybe if you teach 7th graders. Actually, it's condescending to 7th grade teachers to imply that they should be satisfied with this book. It's an amorphous mess. I suppose the jacket blurb should have warned me - by now I should have know the code. When reviewers focus almost exclusively on the "sharp, graceful prose" and "lush, poetic imagery", it's a sure sign that other essentials, such as plot and character development, are probably not up to par. You know, the kind of writing that appeals to the writers' workshop crowd and nobody else.
This is that kind of book. Bynum sidesteps that irritating plot requirement by structuring the book as eight linked "chronicles", each centered around the eponymous Ms. Hempel, whom we're obviously supposed to find charming as all get out. Well, call me a curmudgeon, but self-absorbed, aimless, needy characters navigating their twenties and thirties no longer do it for me. The meandering structure didn't help - in the first two chronicles, Beatrice is in her twenties; then we get two chronicles which are primarily flashbacks to her childhood, then back to the 'adult' Beatrice, but there's no particular payoff.
It's not a horrible book. No puppies are killed or maimed. There are no obvious linguistic atrocities. You sense that the author has talent. And maybe that's why I found the book so irritating, because - talent notwithstanding - the whole exercise just seemed completely pointless, and more than a little self-indulgent on the author's part.
I finished it only because of my pathological Catholic guilt.
Is it some kind of chick-lit thing? I mean, this book shows up on various "best of" lists for last year, so I figured it must be worthwhile. Right?
Maybe if you teach 7th graders. Actually, it's condescending to 7th grade teachers to imply that they should be satisfied with this book. It's an amorphous mess. I suppose the jacket blurb should have warned me - by now I should have know the code. When reviewers focus almost exclusively on the "sharp, graceful prose" and "lush, poetic imagery", it's a sure sign that other essentials, such as plot and character development, are probably not up to par. You know, the kind of writing that appeals to the writers' workshop crowd and nobody else.
This is that kind of book. Bynum sidesteps that irritating plot requirement by structuring the book as eight linked "chronicles", each centered around the eponymous Ms. Hempel, whom we're obviously supposed to find charming as all get out. Well, call me a curmudgeon, but self-absorbed, aimless, needy characters navigating their twenties and thirties no longer do it for me. The meandering structure didn't help - in the first two chronicles, Beatrice is in her twenties; then we get two chronicles which are primarily flashbacks to her childhood, then back to the 'adult' Beatrice, but there's no particular payoff.
It's not a horrible book. No puppies are killed or maimed. There are no obvious linguistic atrocities. You sense that the author has talent. And maybe that's why I found the book so irritating, because - talent notwithstanding - the whole exercise just seemed completely pointless, and more than a little self-indulgent on the author's part.
I finished it only because of my pathological Catholic guilt.
May 24, 2010
There's a lot to find charming about Ms Hempel Chronicles, a fictional memoir of a seventh-grade teacher. Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum has a talent for capturing the quirks of humanity, and all of her characters are lovingly drawn. Her descriptions of middle school life feel joyously, heartbreakingly true. And, two or three times, the narrative builds to a moment of lovely poignancy.
As a novel, however, it never quite comes together. It feels like a character study -- and not a particularly satisfying one at that. Shun-Lien Bynum seems more interested in delving at length into protagonist Beatrice's past, rather than taking the character forward. Moments of forward trajectory are unleashed in a flurry, rather than examined for meaning.
I was not surprised to find a note at the end thanking the publications that had accepted excerpts of the novel as short stories. This is, in truth, a book of short stories bundled together hastily under the guise of a novel. Disappointing.
As a novel, however, it never quite comes together. It feels like a character study -- and not a particularly satisfying one at that. Shun-Lien Bynum seems more interested in delving at length into protagonist Beatrice's past, rather than taking the character forward. Moments of forward trajectory are unleashed in a flurry, rather than examined for meaning.
I was not surprised to find a note at the end thanking the publications that had accepted excerpts of the novel as short stories. This is, in truth, a book of short stories bundled together hastily under the guise of a novel. Disappointing.
February 23, 2009
It totally wans't your typical book about teaching...definitely not one of those grand "teacher saves a bunch of hoodlum kids" (Freedom Writers, etc.) story, which is why I loved it so much. Ms Hempel's thoughts and emotions are real and believable. The book is short and a very quick read. It's quirky and beautifully written. I would definitely recommend it.
October 1, 2022
Basics: 8 linked stories following 7th-grade teacher Beatrice Hempel through her twenties and thirties
Setting: Massachusetts
Themes: love, loss, motherhood, adventure vs. overprotectiveness, idealism vs. being jaded
Stand-outs: “Crossing” (Ms. Hempel, previously an English teacher, is asked to cover history, and takes her students to Plimoth Plantation; meanwhile, her department chair wishes she’d hyphenate her name to make it more clear she’s half-Chinese); “Satellite” (after her father’s death, Beatrice’s mother and younger sister decide to turn the family home into a B&B)
A similar read: Olive Kitteridge, though that takes more of an interest in the town and its other residents than this – it’s ironic that this came out in the same year, and even got lots of positive and high-profile reviews based on the quotes in my paperback copy, yet I doubt it’s been remembered as Strout’s book has. Such is the power of the Pulitzer.
Aside: I’d read Bynum’s other story collection, Likes (2020), and didn’t care much for it, but I’m glad I tried her again.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Setting: Massachusetts
Themes: love, loss, motherhood, adventure vs. overprotectiveness, idealism vs. being jaded
Stand-outs: “Crossing” (Ms. Hempel, previously an English teacher, is asked to cover history, and takes her students to Plimoth Plantation; meanwhile, her department chair wishes she’d hyphenate her name to make it more clear she’s half-Chinese); “Satellite” (after her father’s death, Beatrice’s mother and younger sister decide to turn the family home into a B&B)
A similar read: Olive Kitteridge, though that takes more of an interest in the town and its other residents than this – it’s ironic that this came out in the same year, and even got lots of positive and high-profile reviews based on the quotes in my paperback copy, yet I doubt it’s been remembered as Strout’s book has. Such is the power of the Pulitzer.
Aside: I’d read Bynum’s other story collection, Likes (2020), and didn’t care much for it, but I’m glad I tried her again.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
March 10, 2021
This book really impacted me. It was short but packed full of wonder, curiosity, monotony, and familiarity for me. My eyes were pricked with tears frequently. It was such a real experience of the seventh grade, both as a student and teacher (I am not a teacher myself but my friend teaches 7th grade, and I felt such a real relationship with my 7th grade teacher). I was starting to become a talented and passionate writer, and she saw me, empowered me, encouraged me. She was also gorgeous and I think I had a bit of a crush on her, though I wouldn't have been able to name it until now. Boys sitting behind me playing pranks because they had crushes on me... the feeling of a whole class united against authority, and yet loving a teacher and feeling a type of parental relationship with them... Calling the radio station for your favorite songs. Faking your age and having a relationship with a stranger over the airwaves (for me it was chat rooms). The disappointment that we do grow up and change, when in some ways it seems like we should have a decade to sit in that most formative year of 7th grade, because it's so pivotal. It's a disappointment not just to a child (and not even recognized until in hindsight), but to a teacher who stays in one place while such influential little beings come and go and can't be held on to--ephemeral.
I just thought this novel articulated so much of that simple nuance that is pure truth but rarely discussed.
Short, powerful, moving. It felt like it was about me. About us.
I just thought this novel articulated so much of that simple nuance that is pure truth but rarely discussed.
Short, powerful, moving. It felt like it was about me. About us.
July 18, 2015
Probably an adorable light-hearted satirical read for most people, it made me weep sweet embarrassing reassuring tears more than once. I had to put it down for a few months after reading this, for example:
Idealism, laziness, how hard we're trying even when we're lazy, how self-esteem is built, compliments we give each other, LOVE that teachers have for students (and students have for teachers), how confusing our roles can be when we grow up out of the old ones (and the tender little losses we experience as a result), ordinariness, the dailiness of teaching (without beating the reader down with it), ... the ways we're so inappropriately human.
A beautiful, gently-touching, humorous book that rang ridiculously true in my heart. And I so appreciated the inclusion of that gorgeous ass at the end reminding me how disappointed a former student was when she discovered me working at a "record" store.
While I'm fumbling around as a middle-aged pornographer trying to figure out what my best, most-appropriate role should be relative to people 10-20+ years my junior, all of this reminds me why it's an important struggle for me to try to do it right (or not do it at all).
“Well done!” Another father, sitting in the back row, began to clap. He smiled at Ms. Hempel. Three more giddy parents joined in the applause. Ms. Hempel, standing at the front of the classroom, wanted to bow. She wanted to throw a kiss. She wanted to say thank you. Thank you. And then it occurred to her: perhaps what had so humiliated her about her father had made someone else—a square dancer, a waiter, the director of the seventh-grade production of Cats—feel wonderful.
Idealism, laziness, how hard we're trying even when we're lazy, how self-esteem is built, compliments we give each other, LOVE that teachers have for students (and students have for teachers), how confusing our roles can be when we grow up out of the old ones (and the tender little losses we experience as a result), ordinariness, the dailiness of teaching (without beating the reader down with it), ... the ways we're so inappropriately human.
A beautiful, gently-touching, humorous book that rang ridiculously true in my heart. And I so appreciated the inclusion of that gorgeous ass at the end reminding me how disappointed a former student was when she discovered me working at a "record" store.
While I'm fumbling around as a middle-aged pornographer trying to figure out what my best, most-appropriate role should be relative to people 10-20+ years my junior, all of this reminds me why it's an important struggle for me to try to do it right (or not do it at all).
December 15, 2017
Tiene su gracia sb todo al principio, pero en general lo he encontrado, soso, aburrido y muy corriente. La historia de una profesora con pocas aventuras destacables en su día a día.
December 24, 2008
I finished this book yesterday and I'm starting to believe that I may need to read it again. Not because I enjoyed it, but actually quite the opposite. I found this book difficult to get into and the main character, Ms. Hempel, self-congratulatory and irritating. The problem is that this book keeps appearing on "Best of 2008" lists and otherwise receiving wonderful write-ups. It makes me think I really must have missed something. Similar to The Wonder Spot, this book focuses on the same character, but each chapter is basically a stand-alone short story. In many ways, Ms. Hempel is a very real charaters - she is a new teacher struggling with teaching in an "appropriate" manner, but also in innovative ways that will engage her students. It is difficult, however, not to read her as simply trying to win some sort of popularity contest. She is also recently engaged, though the details of the relationship are sketchy (as is her fiance, it seems), and I didn't feel as if the author went much beyond the surface. While the reader can tell that Hempel is conflicted, and stuck in that age between childhood and adulthood, I just couldn't see her as anything more than a constant complainer. Perhaps, like The Catcher in the Rye, this is a book best read at a certain stage in life when you can best appreciate the charater's angst. Yet, as I read more and more reviews, I appear to be in the minority, so this may be one I take another stab at down the road. But probably not anytime soon.
January 27, 2009
Firstly, I want to start by saying that this was not what I thought it would be. I was expecting the memoir of an English teacher. The book has great reviews and therefore I thought "why not?" Sadly, it wasn’t something that caught my attention. I did read the whole book because it really pains me to actually stop reading something I’ve started - but there was just no point to this. Ms. Hempel is a seventh grade middle school teacher and with a refreshingly real voice gives several insightful thoughts about how teenagers and teachers think mixed in with some tangents about her personal life. She is at that verge where she is questioning everything she's doing with her life and how it is affecting her personal life and those children she teaches. This was her quest to find herself through these short, loosely-linked stories.
On a high note, the writing is beautiful and I can see where this would be a good read for a teacher.
But it just never hit a crescendo for me. I thought the plot meandered and was just too drawn out for me.
On a high note, the writing is beautiful and I can see where this would be a good read for a teacher.
But it just never hit a crescendo for me. I thought the plot meandered and was just too drawn out for me.
September 12, 2013
Even though there were points that it seemed Ms. Hempel was gonna go full Tampa on us, I found her to be that most rare specimen: a well-rounded literary character with all the hopes, dreams, fears, strengths and weaknesses that you don't often find (or hope to find, or look for) even in the people that you meet walking down the street.
With her ability to keep you reading about the love life of a middle school teacher, and an almost effortless mastery over the storytelling gimmickry of time and memory, Bynum is, certainly, an author to watch for in the coming years.
With her ability to keep you reading about the love life of a middle school teacher, and an almost effortless mastery over the storytelling gimmickry of time and memory, Bynum is, certainly, an author to watch for in the coming years.
January 30, 2009
when i first started this collection of stories a few weeks ago, i definitely thought it was destined to be a 4 or 5 star-er. i tore through the first half of it, so so proud that i had just happened upon such a gem on the "new fiction" shelf of the library, and excited to tell everyone to read! read! read it! i mean, a young schoolteacher protagonist, her quirky middle school students, the friday after-school drinking adventures of her and her hip colleagues - what's not to be excited about here?
but then. it kind of lost its momentum, especially because the individual stories seemed to have less and less connection to one another as things went along. i kept hoping for some kind of narrative arch, something to make me continue to care about this schoolteacher, her students, her day to day. but it just wasn't there. i felt like i ended up really dragging my feet through the last few, kind of disinterested. oh, and also - what an odd moment when i realized almost three quarters of the way through the book that ms. hempel is chinese american. not that it matters that much, but when it all of a sudden became a really relevant part of the story more than halfway through the collection, i was left feeling like i was out of the loop in a major way.
but then. it kind of lost its momentum, especially because the individual stories seemed to have less and less connection to one another as things went along. i kept hoping for some kind of narrative arch, something to make me continue to care about this schoolteacher, her students, her day to day. but it just wasn't there. i felt like i ended up really dragging my feet through the last few, kind of disinterested. oh, and also - what an odd moment when i realized almost three quarters of the way through the book that ms. hempel is chinese american. not that it matters that much, but when it all of a sudden became a really relevant part of the story more than halfway through the collection, i was left feeling like i was out of the loop in a major way.
November 2, 2010
I read this because it was on a list of four overlooked books recommended by Jonathan Franzen, and I still read it despite not really liking Freedom.
It was great, a quick read. I loved Ms. Hempel and her contradictory nature. I think it really captures how students view teachers in general, as lacking their own lives and opinions and imperfections. The contrast was fun to read, and I like how it is broken up into linked stories about her life without it necessarily giving you all the consecutive details.
It was great, a quick read. I loved Ms. Hempel and her contradictory nature. I think it really captures how students view teachers in general, as lacking their own lives and opinions and imperfections. The contrast was fun to read, and I like how it is broken up into linked stories about her life without it necessarily giving you all the consecutive details.
July 23, 2009
I went into this with high hopes, based on several reviews I'd read and was majorly disappointed.
That may be due to the fact that I read 3/4 of the book without realizing these were individual short stories and not chapters. In fact, I only discovered my error when I went back online to read some additional reviews.
An innocent mistake, I suppose, but nowhere in this book does it specify that these are short stories. Not in the front flap, back flap, back cover. The only place it is mentioned is in the author's acknowledgments at the end when she mentions that one of these stories was previously printed elsewhere. Was I meant to assume that these were stories due to the use of the word "Chronicles" in the title?
As a result, I spent most of the time I was reading trying to figure out why things seemed disjointed and why there was a complete lack of story arc. Once I realized my error, I re-read some of the earlier chapters and I still wasn't bowled-over.
I enjoyed some of the insights into childhood nostalgia in one of the later "stories" where Ms. Hempel--facing the prospect of her mother turning her childhood bedroom into a room in her new B&B--ruminates that yes, indeed she would like the room preserved as a shrine to her youth. I remember feeling a similar sentiment as my own parents turned my room into an office as I was still pulling out of the driveway after moving out.
Other than that, I was largely disappointed by this book.
That may be due to the fact that I read 3/4 of the book without realizing these were individual short stories and not chapters. In fact, I only discovered my error when I went back online to read some additional reviews.
An innocent mistake, I suppose, but nowhere in this book does it specify that these are short stories. Not in the front flap, back flap, back cover. The only place it is mentioned is in the author's acknowledgments at the end when she mentions that one of these stories was previously printed elsewhere. Was I meant to assume that these were stories due to the use of the word "Chronicles" in the title?
As a result, I spent most of the time I was reading trying to figure out why things seemed disjointed and why there was a complete lack of story arc. Once I realized my error, I re-read some of the earlier chapters and I still wasn't bowled-over.
I enjoyed some of the insights into childhood nostalgia in one of the later "stories" where Ms. Hempel--facing the prospect of her mother turning her childhood bedroom into a room in her new B&B--ruminates that yes, indeed she would like the room preserved as a shrine to her youth. I remember feeling a similar sentiment as my own parents turned my room into an office as I was still pulling out of the driveway after moving out.
Other than that, I was largely disappointed by this book.
September 11, 2010
This collection of linked stories has an appealing effervescence to it; young teacher Ms. Hempel's ready identification with her seventh grade students is especially sweet, as is her relationship with her overly supportive father (I about died during the signing-of-the-essay scene). As a teacher Hempel is full of ideals but hilariously lazy in their execution; the entire middle school staff in general is lovingly mocked. I loved the sense of humor and frequently chuckled aloud.
Hempel's character does feel a bit diffuse and out-of-focus--but perhaps that's not the worst choice for a victim of water-treading, meaning-short, late-20s angst...? The classroom and school scenes are the strongest; I would have tried to discourage the lengthier explorations of Hempel's past, as they don't really add much in my view. It feels as though the author held back with the ending, and certainly something failed to come perfectly together, but it is still a surprisingly charming read, and the fractured presentation showcases individual scenes well. 3.5 stars
Hempel's character does feel a bit diffuse and out-of-focus--but perhaps that's not the worst choice for a victim of water-treading, meaning-short, late-20s angst...? The classroom and school scenes are the strongest; I would have tried to discourage the lengthier explorations of Hempel's past, as they don't really add much in my view. It feels as though the author held back with the ending, and certainly something failed to come perfectly together, but it is still a surprisingly charming read, and the fractured presentation showcases individual scenes well. 3.5 stars
September 17, 2018
No entiendo como los lectores angloparlantes de 'Las crónicas de la señorita Hempel' pueden ser tan paletos.
Menudas reseñas que me han hecho en Goodreads del libro.
El libro no tiene ningún mensaje oculto. Son una recopilación de historias, un anecdotario de lo que la señorita Hempel ha aprendido como maestra.
Y lo esencial del libro es eso: la señorita Hempel. Una maestra cínica, que no tiene del todo claro si sirve para algo lo que hace. No es ni el arquetipo de maestra dócil que te cambia la vida, ni la del profesor tiránico que te la destroza. No es una poeta o filósofa que hará que sus alumnos vean la realidad de otra forma, ni generará una revolución de pensamiento en ellos. Es otra cosa, en el medio. Más patética y errática, pero para mí es más q suficiente. I LOVE U MISS HEMPEL.
Menudas reseñas que me han hecho en Goodreads del libro.
El libro no tiene ningún mensaje oculto. Son una recopilación de historias, un anecdotario de lo que la señorita Hempel ha aprendido como maestra.
Y lo esencial del libro es eso: la señorita Hempel. Una maestra cínica, que no tiene del todo claro si sirve para algo lo que hace. No es ni el arquetipo de maestra dócil que te cambia la vida, ni la del profesor tiránico que te la destroza. No es una poeta o filósofa que hará que sus alumnos vean la realidad de otra forma, ni generará una revolución de pensamiento en ellos. Es otra cosa, en el medio. Más patética y errática, pero para mí es más q suficiente. I LOVE U MISS HEMPEL.
July 7, 2014
A very sweet collection of stories about Ms. Hempel, seventh grade English teacher. Being a seventh grade English teacher myself, it was lovely to find a piece of fiction that in many ways accurately and endearingly illuminates the joys, anxieties and other subtleties of this work. Ms. Hempel is charming….she is relatively young and early on in her career, learning as she goes, finding shortcuts to help her with grading overload, dealing with unexpected situations with students, loving and caring about them, and finding her way in her personal life as well. There were a few things she said and did when dealing with students that I don't think I would ever do, but on the whole, she was very real and her stories beautifully told. I highly recommend to teachers everywhere.
March 6, 2023
This book was not what I expected, yet it surpassed my expectations in terms of the beautiful writing. Snapshots of the life of 7th grade teacher Ms. Hempel are raw, insightful, and witty.
The storyline weaves around somewhat, and I feel like my perception of Ms. Hempel was always going to be the illustration of her on the front cover (different than how I think the book actually describes her).
However, this is the type of storytelling that draws me in, and inspires me to become a better writer.
The storyline weaves around somewhat, and I feel like my perception of Ms. Hempel was always going to be the illustration of her on the front cover (different than how I think the book actually describes her).
However, this is the type of storytelling that draws me in, and inspires me to become a better writer.
January 17, 2009
I love this collection of short stories. This author has a great, natural, funny and sensitive voice. All of the stories are connected, but the spaces between them made this captivating, and I found myself wondering what happened while I was gone. . . .
May 18, 2022
4.5 stars.
This is a really beautiful book. A gem. I hadn't heard of the author before, but I'm glad I gave it a try. It's a short-story collection, or novel, featuring a 7th grade teacher, Ms. Hempel. Of course, novels about seventh grade teachers aren't anything new, but I was surprised, and impressed, with how much emotion and longing the author put into her character. The sentences are singular, and dazzling. It felt like this book had charges, and depths - for such an everyday vocation, I was impressed with how, at each point, it felt like there were entire worlds to be gained, to be lost. And Ms. Hempel, hovering somewhere in between....
If I had a critique, it might be that I wasn't entirely sure of the form. This feels very Olive Kitteridge, in that we get a lot of somewhat self-contained seemingly short stories that cover a long period of Ms. Hempel's life. But, towards the end, having read it more as a novel, I was hoping for more of a -trajectory. The ending hits that note perfectly, but I did wish there was a somewhat better build-up. I had a hard time with the second to last story, though maybe that's just because I was impatient to move on to other things (not because the book wasn't great, but because of how many books are currently sitting on my shelf :) )
This is a really beautiful book. A gem. I hadn't heard of the author before, but I'm glad I gave it a try. It's a short-story collection, or novel, featuring a 7th grade teacher, Ms. Hempel. Of course, novels about seventh grade teachers aren't anything new, but I was surprised, and impressed, with how much emotion and longing the author put into her character. The sentences are singular, and dazzling. It felt like this book had charges, and depths - for such an everyday vocation, I was impressed with how, at each point, it felt like there were entire worlds to be gained, to be lost. And Ms. Hempel, hovering somewhere in between....
If I had a critique, it might be that I wasn't entirely sure of the form. This feels very Olive Kitteridge, in that we get a lot of somewhat self-contained seemingly short stories that cover a long period of Ms. Hempel's life. But, towards the end, having read it more as a novel, I was hoping for more of a -trajectory. The ending hits that note perfectly, but I did wish there was a somewhat better build-up. I had a hard time with the second to last story, though maybe that's just because I was impatient to move on to other things (not because the book wasn't great, but because of how many books are currently sitting on my shelf :) )
February 25, 2025
This collection of linked short stories about a young middle school teacher is quirky, humorous and moving. As Ms. Hempel attempts to find her footing as a teacher while grieving her late father and navigating personal relationships, we see her insecurities and her stumbles but also the care she invests in her students.
One of the best stories recounts the repercussions when Ms. Hempel has students write their own evaluations -- supplying school letterhead and her signature -- but fails to inform their parents of the change.
This book looks at what it is to find your way to adulthood, whether as a tween or twenty-something. I read it in a day and would like to read more by this author.
One of the best stories recounts the repercussions when Ms. Hempel has students write their own evaluations -- supplying school letterhead and her signature -- but fails to inform their parents of the change.
This book looks at what it is to find your way to adulthood, whether as a tween or twenty-something. I read it in a day and would like to read more by this author.
November 28, 2018
There were sections of this book I would love to give four stars, and on the flip side there were passages where I wanted to shout "Oh really, Ms. Hempel". I am not a prude, but I found the sexual references and innuendos unnecessary and at times extremely detrimental to the actual story. My youngest son is graduating with a degree in teaching secondary ed. There are passages that I would love for him to read, but I would never recommend this book. The only reason I gave this three stars is based on certain passages that expressed teaching/life in such a profoundly truthful manner.
December 10, 2018
I very much enjoyed this novel. Each chapter was essentially its own short story about Beatrice Hempel, the seventh grade English teacher. And with each glimpse into a different facet of her life, we learned more about the wonderful person that her students were lucky to call theirs.
The writing was lovely and emotional in a subdued way. The insights felt relatable to me but Bynum wasn't flashy in her presentation.
Highly recommend.
The writing was lovely and emotional in a subdued way. The insights felt relatable to me but Bynum wasn't flashy in her presentation.
Highly recommend.
May 17, 2021
Well, I smuggled in a bit of light reading and Ms Hempel Chronicles was just that. And very brutally put, a poor man's substitute for Olive Kitteridge.
We have Ms Hempel who has many inner resources, who's passionate, who has self doubt, who insists she leads a very fulfilling one being a teacher. Yes, so what? This was what I felt when I read the book. Mediocre and lackluster.
We have Ms Hempel who has many inner resources, who's passionate, who has self doubt, who insists she leads a very fulfilling one being a teacher. Yes, so what? This was what I felt when I read the book. Mediocre and lackluster.
November 14, 2022
És el tipus de llibre que volia llegir: senzill i tendre. En ser un recull de relats, he pogut llegir-lo sense les ànsies d'avançar en la trama, cosa que m'ha permès gaudir tranquil·lament de la narració. Ara no sabré què llegir.
March 20, 2018
An absolute delight to read. I want to spend all my time with Ms. Hempel. She is sensitive, insightful, and so so intelligent. I was sorry to leave her at the end of the collection.
June 4, 2018
No está mal el libro, aunque se me ha hecho repetitivo en algunos momentos. Aún así, ha sido muy agradable de leer y he querido tener una profesora así para mis hijos.
March 13, 2024
Beautifully written, but the plot left a lot to be desired and I didn’t like the ending. The prose was the best part.
September 4, 2022
I pulled this off my shelf because I wanted a short book to start the new month.
Ms. Beatrice Hempel was the Grammar Queen of her junior high. Ha!
I am not surprised that I agreed with Beatrice on many things.
Ms. Beatrice Hempel was the Grammar Queen of her junior high. Ha!
I am not surprised that I agreed with Beatrice on many things.
June 4, 2017
Un libro muy encantador sobre una joven profesora. https://beatlezubooks.wordpress.com/2...
February 21, 2016
This book is a mess disguised as meaningful literature. It has no story arc and I suspect the 'short story' structure was imposed to make up for a book that starts, wanders around the pages going nowhere and then just stops.
Random doesn't equal good. I don't care what happens to Beatrice Hempel and by mid-book my hopes that she would be run over by a school bus, hit by a meteorite, or tragically fall through an Antarctic ice crevasse thus ending this mess of a book never came to fruition. Oh, spoiler there.
As much as it has any plot, Chronicles is about a young woman who teaches middle school. Beatrice is a new-ish, 28-9 year old English teacher who is immature and utterly passive, except in flashback. Her History teaching peer co-opts her lesson plan simply by mentioning an idea to get her to teach her English/Writing class by using history assignments. Does she blithely abandon her own lesson plans or buy into his vision? Is she so passive that she can't organize her own classroom? Does she care? Do we? Well no, no we don't.
Beatrice relates to her students (12-14 year olds) more as one of them than as an adult, she's the kid who wants everyone to like her with an occasional sentence implying the wisdom of 'age.' She's in her late 20's but hasn't really developed past her mid-teens. I don't think this was intentional: this is a young writer who can put some words together but doesn't really have anything to say.
Although the book is primarily about Beatrice-as-teacher we experience little actual teaching (to be fair, we experience very little in this book, period). There are a few long misty passages praising the beauties of the children in her class but not as human beings, more as beautiful objects with mannerisms. There's an early passage where all the parents praise her choice of a book for their children and one where a parent expresses betrayal at what is, in fact, an active teacher-student collusion to trick parents on student progress reports, all because Beatrice can't get motivated enough to pay enough attention to her students as persons to be able to write a paragraph about each. Yet the book is rooted in Beatrice-teacher.
By mid-book I was wondering what sack of idiots would hire her to teach in the first place as she is, at best, only marginally competent in dealing with anyone, young or old.
There is absolutely no sense in this book, ever, that children are intellectually competent human beings, neither from Beatrice nor any of her peers, although a few sentences are super-glued in toward the end about student papers she read that reduced her to tears. I've known many teachers socially aside from those who taught my kids: hard workers who care deeply about their students and their jobs, individuals with a mission to make a difference in people's lives (that goes for 95% of my kids' overworked teachers too). This 'teacher' Bynum created is as alien as a Klingon bacterium to me, although I don't doubt there are some dreadful teachers scattered out there who somewhat resemble Beatrice, but she seems to be a Worst Case Scenario.
The writing structure throughout is vague, foggy, and disconnected. The author bounces around so much within her stories, inserting flashback moments and then lurching back to the present, dropping into a dream sequence and then waking up, that it was at first bewildering and rapidly progressed to merely tedious. The stories themselves are shallow and meaningless. Is that the point? What exactly is everyone so excited about? Whatever wonders seen by others missed me completely.
I've read much better 'bad' books. There is nothing winsome or warm-hearted in this book: it's a pointless, confused collection of words disguised as 'short stories.'
Random doesn't equal good. I don't care what happens to Beatrice Hempel and by mid-book my hopes that she would be run over by a school bus, hit by a meteorite, or tragically fall through an Antarctic ice crevasse thus ending this mess of a book never came to fruition. Oh, spoiler there.
As much as it has any plot, Chronicles is about a young woman who teaches middle school. Beatrice is a new-ish, 28-9 year old English teacher who is immature and utterly passive, except in flashback. Her History teaching peer co-opts her lesson plan simply by mentioning an idea to get her to teach her English/Writing class by using history assignments. Does she blithely abandon her own lesson plans or buy into his vision? Is she so passive that she can't organize her own classroom? Does she care? Do we? Well no, no we don't.
Beatrice relates to her students (12-14 year olds) more as one of them than as an adult, she's the kid who wants everyone to like her with an occasional sentence implying the wisdom of 'age.' She's in her late 20's but hasn't really developed past her mid-teens. I don't think this was intentional: this is a young writer who can put some words together but doesn't really have anything to say.
Although the book is primarily about Beatrice-as-teacher we experience little actual teaching (to be fair, we experience very little in this book, period). There are a few long misty passages praising the beauties of the children in her class but not as human beings, more as beautiful objects with mannerisms. There's an early passage where all the parents praise her choice of a book for their children and one where a parent expresses betrayal at what is, in fact, an active teacher-student collusion to trick parents on student progress reports, all because Beatrice can't get motivated enough to pay enough attention to her students as persons to be able to write a paragraph about each. Yet the book is rooted in Beatrice-teacher.
By mid-book I was wondering what sack of idiots would hire her to teach in the first place as she is, at best, only marginally competent in dealing with anyone, young or old.
There is absolutely no sense in this book, ever, that children are intellectually competent human beings, neither from Beatrice nor any of her peers, although a few sentences are super-glued in toward the end about student papers she read that reduced her to tears. I've known many teachers socially aside from those who taught my kids: hard workers who care deeply about their students and their jobs, individuals with a mission to make a difference in people's lives (that goes for 95% of my kids' overworked teachers too). This 'teacher' Bynum created is as alien as a Klingon bacterium to me, although I don't doubt there are some dreadful teachers scattered out there who somewhat resemble Beatrice, but she seems to be a Worst Case Scenario.
The writing structure throughout is vague, foggy, and disconnected. The author bounces around so much within her stories, inserting flashback moments and then lurching back to the present, dropping into a dream sequence and then waking up, that it was at first bewildering and rapidly progressed to merely tedious. The stories themselves are shallow and meaningless. Is that the point? What exactly is everyone so excited about? Whatever wonders seen by others missed me completely.
I've read much better 'bad' books. There is nothing winsome or warm-hearted in this book: it's a pointless, confused collection of words disguised as 'short stories.'
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