If you’re one of those who love to read about the good old days (it doesn’t matter the decade – as long as it’s not in this millennium), especially if they’re recounted with great wit and humor, then you’ll find The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts to be an utter delight.
The book claims to be a comedy, and it delivers on this promise really, really well. Richard Peck is a master at taking the ridiculous from real life and then detailing it with excellent drollery that you can’t help but appreciate the ludicrousness of it all. At the same time, you have to acknowledge that he probably drew inspiration from actual events and people because it niggles at your recognition.
The story is paced fast enough. I didn’t feel that it dragged anywhere while reading it. The author is very good at writing in the setting’s vernacular in such a way that the reader who probably doesn’t use it has no trouble understanding it.
I also always look forward to Richard Peck’s menagerie of characters. He always writes such fascinating ones, and every one is necessary to the world he is presenting. Even the jerks are necessary to generating the overall charm of the setting. And you can rest assured that anybody problematic isn’t allowed to get away with whatever bad behavior they may exhibit.
Synopsis
As situations go, the one 15yo Russell Culver finds himself in is not something I can even remotely relate to. He’s growing up in the rural midwest at the turn of the last century. He expectedly toils in the family farm when he’s not attending a one-room schoolhouse. He’s eager to leave all that behind though for the adventure of working in one of the big farms up in the Dakotas.
I don’t know why he’s bored with life at home. It’s pretty much a long chain of mischief and mishap that keeps things always hopping. In any case, his chances of being freed from the scholarly life start looking up after the schoolteacher up and dies. She isn’t in the ground yet before forces conspire to remedy the situation by appointing Russell’s very own older sister Tansy as the replacement.
The tale and its many quirky anecdotes are very much exotic to me. At the same time, they’re also somehow very relatable and even relevant at this time of common core curriculum and online living. Reading about teenagers learning basic arithmetic had me inwardly wailing at the advanced algebra and geometry that I’d promptly tried to forget as soon as I’d made my decision to major in languages. They’re the very same ones I’m now valiantly trying to recall to help my formerly unschooled teen daughter in her battle of wits against them. As much as I’d hate to admit it, yes, you do need them in real life.
Don’t think either that there isn’t a love story stitched into this superbly amusing “yarn work.” Those teenagers might not be able to spell “hormones,” but they grew up in a farm and are very much cognizant about the birds and the bees. You may not want to be, but you will find yourself invested in the romance aspect of the book. And, no, my dog in that particular race didn’t win, but it’s all good.
I feel like I’m in danger of spoiling things here, so I’ll just share the review I posted on Goodreads.
The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Richard Peck numbers among my many favorite YA authors. His books make me pine for the good old days, which ironically enough means the Depression for some of his stories. He paints a very vivid picture of what people were like and what the dynamics were, and he does this with incredibly clever humor. He certainly doesn’t disappoint with The Teacher’s Funeral. The story involves a world, a time, and a situation that were in no way familiar to me, but this didn’t stop me from being able to relate to the characters or to find them delightful, flaws and all. Richard Peck also creates such fascinating minor characters, and it’s always fun to see how the protagonist, who’s usually doing a first-person narration of the book, describes them and interacts with them. I love Mr. Peck’s turn-of-phrase choices and the wry way he talks about the ridiculous. The Teacher’s Funeral has all the ingredients that make a story appealing to me. Since I very rarely read anything heavy these days – a very deliberate choice – this book is nothing short of perfect. It is engaging, entertaining, educational, and endearing. This review is apparently brought to you by the letter E. 😀
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Richard Peck’s Books
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love Richard Peck. Ever since I chanced upon a copy of A Long Way from Chicago decades ago, he has become one of my must-buy authors. That’s why when I went on an online Books for Less shopping spree earlier this year (I think their books were at 50% off at that time) and saw that there was something by him, I immediately added it to my cart.
I plan to collect all his novels. Wikipedia lists 39 of them; so far, I only have six, including this one. The rest are:
- Those Summer Girls I Never Met (1988)
- A Long Way from Chicago (1998)
- A Year Down Yonder (2000)
- Fair Weather (2001)
- On the Wings of Heroes (2007)
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I only have 33 more to go! 😀 I don’t really see his titles in the regular bookstores, so I expect to score most of them from secondhand bookshops. In fact, I got my copies of A Year Down Yonder and On the Wings of Heroes (hardbacks too!) from a more recent haul from a different used bookstore. As far as I know I already have a paperback version of A Year Down Yonder, but I can’t find it, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get a second copy, hardbound one at that.
Here’s the book haul post I made on Instagram when I got The Teacher’s Funeral.
Have you read Richard Peck? Which book is your favorite? Which authors with a similar vibe can you recommend? That’s it for now. Again, let me know in the comments if you followed me on Instagram and want a follow-back.
If you want your own copy of “The Teacher’s Funeral,” you can get it in paperback, in hardcover, or in audiobook form on Amazon. (Please note that these are affiliate links, and if you choose to buy through them, I get a very small commission at no extra cost to you.)<3
This Small Life 