When I went to purchase Godwin's latest book, "Flora: A Novel," one reviewer noted that the latest novel built on the treatment Godwin had given the girl/woman friendship in "The Finishing School." I hadn't even known about "The Finishing School" even though I've read many of Godwin's books. I felt compelled to read this before the latest book. (Meanwhile, I also discovered another of her works, "Queen of the Underworld: A Novel" and had to buy that too!)Life intervened on several occasions for me as I read this novel, so I wasn't able to devour it in a matter of days, as I've done with other of her works previously. That may have led to some of the sense of disjointedness I experienced. I enjoyed the growing suspense over what exactly happened between Justine and Ursula. While I sensed it must have something to do with Ursula's brother, I imagined a far different outcome than the novel's truth."The Finishing School" doesn't have the polish of some of her later works, understandably, but it goes a long way in capturing the angst of a 14-year-old girl as reflected back by her adult self.
Godwin's 1984 novel is about a 14-year-old girl who is infatuated with her 40-something neighbor, the sophisticated Ursula DeVane. Justine Stokes is bored and lonely, having moved to rural New York State with her recently widowed mother. She is instantly smitten with the eccentric Ursula, who encourages the attachment. We know from the beginning of the novel that things do not end well.I loved this book for the same reason I loved Unfinished Desires (2010). Godwin writes about intelligent women, seeking self-knowledge and wisdom in relation with each other. Even self-consciously feminist novels - and this is not - too often depict women in relation to men or to their children, despite the fact our relationships with other women are a key part - maybe the most important part? of our inner lives. Godwin respects the complexities of women's relationships and does not romanticize them. I also admire how Godwin doesn't do our thinking for us and does not cast judgment on the characters she has created.
What do You think about The Finishing School (1999)?
After the death of her father 14 year old Justin Stokes, her mother, and six year old brother Jem move from Justin's beloved grandparents' home in Virginia to her Aunt Mona's home in upstate New York. It's here that Justin meets Ursula DeVane a neighbor from a very old Huguenot family. Ursula, a 40 year old woman who has travelled abroad and studied acting becomes a mentor of sorts. She provides color and sophistication to Justin's dull life and lifts her out of her loneliness and longing for her former home and family members. Throughout the story there are hints of an unhappy ending to this relationship which takes place over Justin's first summer in Aunt Mona's home. A beautiful coming of age story.
—Diana
Even the most precocious adolescent is still essentially a child. It's a gross unfairness and poor judgment on the part of any adult to forget this. This story, in a nutshell, is about the consequences of burdening a youngster with adult confidences, and very nearly expecting grown-up friendship from a fourteen-year-old girl. If you like to plumb the depths of the psyches of adolescent females, take a gander at Gail Godwin. It takes some patience to read her work, but when she's good, she's good. Avoid her more recent novels and stick with her older stuff. Father Melancholy's Daughter is especially good if you have the patience. The Finishing School is a close second.
—Jeanette "Astute Crabbist"
I found the story perhaps too meticulously plotted, everything tucked a little too tidily into a template of the classic Greek tragedy. But Godwin has such a clever turn of phrase and she's develops the characters so thoroughly that the spell doesn’t break throughout the book. How she moves between the memory of a fourteen year old’s events into the sensibility of an older woman’s analysis of these events: that was masterful. I couldn’t put it down. In-fact I've mentally tagged it as a book I might actually read again just to study how she’s done it (and that is a very sincere compliment).
—Hareem
