Ms. Hempel Chronicles Book

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.