My Education

By: Susan Choi

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Regina Gottlieb had been warned about Professor Nicholas Brodeur long before arriving as a graduate student at his prestigious university high on a pastoral hill. He’s said to lie in the dark in his office while undergraduate women read couplets to him. He’s condemned on the walls of the women’s restroom and enjoys films by Roman Polanski. But no one warned Regina about his exceptional physical beauty - or his charismatic, volatile wife.

My Education is the story of Regina’s mistakes, which begin in the bedroom and end - if they do - 15 years in the future and thousands of miles away. By turns erotic and completely catastrophic, Regina’s misadventures demonstrate what can happen when the chasm between desire and duty is too wide to bridge.

©2013 Susan Choi (P)2013 Blackstone Audio

Still listing but the narrator...

I may change my overall review of the story after I finish the piece, but right now the reader is driving me crazy. I'm still debating if the overwrought pompous tone was really what the author intended our just a reader run amok.
The story its self is both touching and has great potential for comic relief, but mostly the reading is cringe worthy.

Terrific story

Great writing. I’ve read another book by Choi. Both are excellent. Looking forward to more.

A Good Student is Always a Teacher

And a good teacher is always a student. However when boundaries are lacking between student and teacher there is certain and immediate upheaval, chaos, risk and enormous pain. It's a dangerous pastime and there are laws prohibiting it. Affairs between students and teachers is real enough in our world and has been for ages.

Growing up, coming of age is necessary, painful, sometimes without grace. Coming of age is a mixed up mess. Add the student/teacher affair and this mess multiplies tenfold. If there is anything good that comes of it, it's the learning and growth, the should haves and shouldn'ts. But so much risk, betrayal, damage, loss of innocence.

This book has it all. It felt long however it kept my interest. I found each character real and lovable, with so many flaws yet so convincingly lovable. It all seemed plausible in a fantastic sort of way. I also thought the narrator expressed each character well.

Good Story, a tad bit dramatic

Would you try another book from Susan Choi and/or Tavia Gilbert?

Yes, I really like her language and use of words.

What did you like best about this story?

There were constant surprises. It was hard to guess where the characters where going to end up. Not the story I expteced but I enjoyed it.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Martha's character sounded too dramatic, I wanted to tell her to shut up constantly.

Was My Education worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Martha and Reginas releationship was constantly driving me nuts. I wonder if there releationship would read the same way on the page.

A bit navel-gazey, but overall enjoyable

I thought this book offered a really honest view of what it feels like to be 23-ish and in love, albeit not with the right person. My life at university was not filled with nearly as much adultery (that I knew of, maybe), but I think Susan Choi got so much absolutely spot-on. Everything burns brighter when you are that age, and then you lose that intensity as you get older, which is a little bit sad but mostly comfortable and ultimately good. The characters are all annoyingly selfish, I don't think I'd want to be friends with any of them, but I did enjoy this listen very much.

tiring and pretentious

I did not finish this book. Phrases like "connubial bliss" made me roll my eyes. Give me a break. And who says, "masterbated himself"? The writing, story and narration are snobbish and self-important.

Not what you think

Rarely do I hate a book, but I hated this book.
I got nothing out of it except that I wish I never came across it.
First, it was not what I expected from the description.
I decided upon the book thinking it would be about a girl/boy affair.
However, it is mostly about a girl/girl affair not a girl/boy which is fine if that interests you,
but it's not what interests me.
BIG part of why I hated it also (SPOILER) was there were no grounds for why Regina
all the sudden was struck by Martha. And also never went into why she was so taken with her
other than their times in bed.
The ending just sealed it as an awful book.
Hated the part where they meet 14 years later, but I guess being the kind of people they are
it wasn't surprising.
Furthermore, it didn't make sense. I find it very hard to believe in such relationships.
For example, how Dutra could find no one else in his life after so many years. Just a little ridiculous.
Lastly, it was disjointed in the way that the bits of philosophical musings did not pair up well with the story.
That is to say that they stood better alone because they were not illuminated by the story.

The reader's voice of Regina is a bit annoying, took me a while to get used to.
However, the reader did a great performance in finding a distinguishing voice for all the characters.