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Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
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Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934)

by James Hilton

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Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
Lovely! Poignant, beautiful. Great novels to read in autumn. ( )
  shelley436 | Sep 8, 2012 |
I saw the film some time ago, and as it turns out it was an excellent adaptation – very faithful to this sweet, sad, warm little book. I don't want it to sound like a criticism when I say I have little to say about it beyond that (sweet, sad, warm); it isn't. I enjoyed it very much, though about halfway through the nostalgia became melancholy despite Chips's perennial good humor, and I needed a break from even so short a book. If nothing else what I'm going to remember strongly about Goodbye, Mr. Chips is the picture of the old man (not ill, mind, just tired) sitting by his fire with sudden and unexpected tears pouring down his face.

The characters are remarkably alive; the setting is vivid; the period – especially the Great War – is made real. Mr. Chips – rather belatedly – joins the ranks of teachers I wish I'd had, teachers who actually care about what they're doing and about their pupils: teachers completely unlike any I had after third grade (Mrs. Schattan was wonderful). This is a lovely brief story of a life well-lived, of a full and rich life which had an impact – a positive impact – and which left a beautiful legacy. You can't ask for much more than that.
4 vote Stewartry | Jun 25, 2012 |
A simple story about a young English schoolmaster who becomes an established figure at Brookfield school in the late 1800s. Though the character is certainly appealing, little happens in this novel and no themes are particularly explored. How the book became a "classic" remains a mystery. ( )
1 vote bookappeal | Sep 23, 2011 |
This book tells the story of Mr. Chipping, a retired schoolteacher from the English boarding school of Brookfield. The story is told as a series of flashbacks and remembrances from Mr. Chipping's (affectionately referred to as "Chips") point of view, and covers 6 decades, including his early years as a teacher, his brief but life-changing marriage, more than 3 headmasters, many political movements, wars, and much more.

This was a light and charming story, but too short. The time span is so great, and the length of the book so short, that it was hard to get any sense of depth. Additionally, the memoir style of storytelling--dipping into memories and then pulling back--prevented me from truly losing myself in the book.

Still, it is a delightful story, and Mr. Chips is a fun and memorable character. I recommend this book if you're in the mood for some light weekend reading. ( )
  bkwurm | Aug 26, 2011 |
I've yet to see the movie, but I read the campy 1969 paperback edition with color stills of Peter OToole and Petula Clark. This tiny book is a wonderful character study of the long career of a British schoolmaster. It spans from the Victorian era into the 1930s and was first published in the Atlantic Monthly. The novella merely mentions incidents, anecdotes and events, leaving the reader very, very curious. I'm sure these were further fleshed-out by the screenplay folks. I'll look for the movie. ( )
  Sandydog1 | Feb 26, 2011 |
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First words
When you are getting on in years (but not ill, of course), you get very sleepy at times, and the hours seem to pass like lazy cattle moving across a landscape.
Quotations
A great joke, this growing old--but a sad joke, too, in a way. And as Chips sat by his fire with autumn gales rattling the windows, the waves of humor and sadness swept over him very often until tears fell, so that when Mrs. Wickett came in with his cup of tea she did not know whether he had been laughing or crying. And neither did Chips himself.
On the night before the wedding, when Chips left the house to return to his hotel, she said, with mock gravity: "This is an occasion, you know--this last farewell of ours. I feel rather like a new boy beginning his first term with you. Not scared, mind you--but just, for once, in a thoroughly respectful mood. Shall I call you 'sir'--or would 'Mr. Chips' be the right thing? 'Mr. Chips,' I think. Good-bye, then--good-bye, Mr. Chips. . . ."
Where had they all gone to, he often pondered; those threads he had once held together, how far had they scattered, some to break, others to weave into unknown patterns? The strange randomness of the world beguiled him, that randomness which never would, so long as the world lasted, give meaning to those choruses again.
And sometimes, when the bell rang for call-over, he would go to the window and look across the road and over the School fence and see, in the distance, the thin line of boys filing past the bench. New times, new names . . . but the old ones still remained . . . Jefferson, Jennings, Jolyon, Jupp, Kingsley Primus, Kingsley Secundus, Kingsley Tertius, Kingston . . . where are you all, where have you all gone to? . . . Mrs. Wickett, bring me a cup of tea just before prep, will you, please?
"I thought I heard you--one of you--saying it was a pity--umph--a pity I never had--any children . . . eh? . . . But I have, you know . . . I have . . ."

The others smiled without answering, and after a pause Chips began a faint and palpitating chuckle.

"Yes--umph--I have," he added, with quavering merriment. "Thousands of 'em . . . thousands of 'em . . . and all boys."
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0553273213, Paperback)

Full of enthusiasm, young English schoolmaster  Mr. Chipping came to teach at Brookfield in 1870.  It was a time when dignity and a generosity of  spirit still existed, and the dedicated new  schoolmaster expressed these beliefs to his rowdy students.  Nicknamed Mr. Chips, this gentle and caring man  helped shape the lives of generation after  generation of boys. He became a legend at Brookfield, as  enduring as the institution itself. And sad but  grateful faces told the story when the time came for  the students at Brookfield to bid their final  goodbye to Mr. Chips.



There is not  another book, with the possible exception of  Dickens's A Christmas Carol, that has  quite the same hold on readers' affections. James  Hilton wrote Goodbye, Mr. Chips in loving memory  of his schoolmaster father and in tribute to his  profession. Over the years it has won an enduring  place in world literature and made untold millions  of people smile--with a catch in the throat.

(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 07 Jan 2013 02:52:56 -0500)

(see all 3 descriptions)

Gentle, humorous Mr. Chipping had been known familiarly to three generations of English schoolboys at Brookfield, as Mr. Chips. As he sat in his pleasant room across from the entrance to the school, Mr. Chips recalled his life there, the jokes he had made which had become classics, and the thousands he had known and regarded as "his boys." And just as gently as he lived, he faded smilingly out of life.… (more)

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