The Abstinence Teacher

Not nearly as well crafted as The Leftovers. I almost quit reading 40% in, but the pace picked up. I have an observation and a criticism. Observation: Perrotta seems ambivalent about evangelical Christians. I'm guessing he attended their church services and got to know some of them in researching for the book. If so, he must have liked some of them personally--his tone is generally respectful of Christians and their faith, which has helped many people whose lives were on the precipice. On the other hand, the book implicitly faults evangelicals for their aggressive efforts to impose their beliefs on others, the suspension of reason the faith seemingly requires, and, contrary to Jesus's message of love, the hatred of many evangelicals show more toward particular classes of sinners, such as homosexuals. My criticism--the plot inexplicably ended abruptly, leaving the reader thinking Perrotta decided he had better things to do than finish the story. show less

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta is, first, the story of Ruth Ramsey, a sex-ed teacher with a practical view on her subject that leads her to teach in such a way that her students won't be afraid of their sexuality and will make decisions to practice safe sex when they do. A comment that involves the words "some people enjoy it" sets off a chain of events wherein the very pervasive Tabernacle, a local evangelical Christian church, demands that the school curriculum be changed to an abstinence-only perspective. Ruth is forced, much against her belief system and better judgement, to adopt this curriculum and teach it to her students under the school principal and superintendent's watchful eyes.

Tim Mason, Ruth's daughter's soccer show more coach, is a divorced and mostly recovered drug addict who credits Jesus and the Tabernacle with resurrecting his life from ruin. Tim and Ruth cross paths none-too-favorably when after a particularly grueling match and scary moment in which Tim's daughter might have been seriously injured, Tim, without much thought as to the consequences, gathers his young team into a circle to pray. Soon Ruth is pioneering an effort to get Tim kicked out of coaching, and Tim's pastor Dennis, is wielding him like a religious weapon to open the eyes and hearts of the young to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The Abstinence Teacher is not a character-driven novel, nor is it especially a plot-driven novel. It is an issue novel. For much of the book, the characters are not so much living, breathing people as microcosms for the many things that are wrong with both overzealous legalist evangelical Christian types and their polar opposite, the ever-liberal card-carrying ACLU member, "I have the right not to have you pray in front of my kids at a public sporting event" sorts.

Perotta does a good and surprisingly even-handed job of showing the problems with both extremes. First, you have the Christians trying to enforce their way of thinking on everyone without giving them a reason to choose their way. They naively believe that just because they choose only to teach abstinence and only in a climate of fear of the repercussions of unprotected sex, that teenagers will, indeed, abstain. Rather than preparing them for what may be their reality, they choose to frighten them about something that is natural, and in the right context, shouldn't be scary. Then you have Ruth, and her "type" of person who have nothing particularly against God or religion but object to it on priciple and who believe that young teens can be taught to make good decisions about sex but can't be taught or trusted to make their own decisions about religion and the belief systems they choose to follow. Perrotta exposes both sides' ignorance and hypocrisy.

This books is well done, but is one that is a struggle. Most readers, I would guess, have a pretty visceral reaction to this kind of religious versus secular debate which make it difficult to read without being enmeshed in one side or the other of the debate - or at least, believing that both sides are totally foolish in their inability to compromise and see things for what they are. At its heart, The Abstinence Teacher is frustrating to read not because it isn't a well-written book or a fast read, but because the people here act so much like people do, and people are often so frustrating.

As it turns out, though, despite their beliefs and religious affiliations, Perrotta does bring home the fact that his characters are, when separated from their more radical ways, after all, just people. People who are struggling and failing in face of life's challenges, people who are trying to maintain good relationships with their children even as they enter the difficult years of young adulthood, people who despite their going about it in just the wrong way are desperately trying to do what they think is best for their children - people who have more in common than they think. show less

The abstinence movement and the Christian right are two of my favourite topics in relation to American politics, one of my strange hobbies. They both fascinate and horrify me in equal measure and I’m always on the lookout for books, fiction and non-fiction, related to them to fuel my interest. I’ve only read one Tom Perrotta novel before, “Little Children”, which I enjoyed immensely and found to be a well orchestrated satire on suburban life and its less than picture perfect truth, so I entered reading “The Abstinence Teacher” optimistically, only to find myself very disappointed very quickly.

This book isn’t populated by characters; it’s populated by mouthpieces for opinions. Every character acts like a mouthpiece, show more everything they say seems to be taken from a newspaper article debating the pros and cons of religious and sexual issues, and their functions as mouthpieces don’t give them any room to develop as fully rounded characters independent of the debate Perrotta wants to have. They’re not even well rounded opinions to spout off. There is very little resolution to these points and they don’t seem to develop beyond a few buzzwords or commentary rants better suited to a newspaper opinion page with a limited word count. Things happen and there are some interesting set-ups for what promise to be bigger and more explosive events but they seldom come to fruition. It’s such a disappointment because the potential is definitely there. We only get one or two real scenes of Ruth teaching abstinence and the school politics of it all but Perrotta seems bored, as if he doesn’t want to create any real conflict. I wanted to see more of the newly instigated abstinence classes’ impact on the school and its students. I wanted to see how big an impact the growing churches were having on the community (it’s hinted at and ranted about as yet another mouthpiece opinion but never given much development beyond that.) I wanted to see more of Ruth’s daughters choosing to engage with the church and the tensions it created with Ruth and her anti-church stance. There was plenty of room for these things, why weren’t they there?

There is no real story to speak of, events just ramble along and meander back and forth as the point-of-view switches from divorced mother and health teacher Ruth to born again Christian with a crisis Tim. These two characters are supposed to be engaged in a battle of wits and morals, one being the atheist with a grudge against the radically increasing Christian presence in her school, the other the former drug addicted rock-star who found solace in Christ and wants to be a good person through his teachings. Once or twice, we’re treated to an interesting conversation between the two, and it is interesting to hear their parental stories, but since they spend so little page time together, it makes the weak, abrupt conclusion all the more baffling and lazy. I can’t say I especially disliked Ruth or Tim. As I said before, they were mainly mouthpieces but they did have a lot of things I really liked, such as Tim’s struggle to be what he saw as a good Christian man and Ruth’s relationship with her daughters. Instead of any real development in these traits that actually would have had relevance to the plot, we’re treated to page after page of tell-don’t-show info-dumps of Ruth’s teenage sex escapades, her desperation for a man (because a strong, independent and intelligent 40 something single woman must be in want of a man at every possible moment) and other bites of information that could have been woven much less awkwardly into the story to a much more effective result. There were some moments crying to be re-written, the biggest one that stands out in my mind being a moment where Tim muses about homosexuality and how he doesn’t think it’s a sin (told with the subtlety of a sledgehammer with a talk radio show) when we have an established character who is a gay man working in the high school with Ruth who could have been used much more effectively to portray the topic of homosexuality and its place in the Christian right and schools. Any potential for wit and truly successful satire is gone and the rest just falls flat. (I’m also worried since Perrotta’s prose bugged me quite a bit yet it reminds me so much of my own. I’ve got some rewrites to do.)

Overall, “The Abstinence Teacher” was such a disappointment. It was incredibly mediocre, but not without some merit, and failed to truly get a sense of the contradictions and difficulties of the abstinence movement and the growing presence of the Christian right in public services in America. Perrotta seems more concerned with painting a black and white picture with very broad strokes when what was really needed was a much finer brush and a wider palate of colours. show less

“Until she’d seen those girls, those beautiful young athletes, sitting on the grass in the sunshine, being coerced by adults they trusted into praying to the God of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and the Republican Party – the God of War and Abstinence and Shame and Willful Ignorance, the God Who loved Everyone Except the Homosexuals, Who sent People to Hell If They Didn’t Believe In Him, and Let Murderers and Child Rapists Into Heaven If They Did, the God Who Made Women As An Afterthought, and Then Cursed Them With The Pain Of Childbirth, the God Who Would Never Have Let Girls Play Soccer In The First Place if It Had Been up to Him…”

Had Tom Perotta hooked my brain up to some sort of mental tape recorder – he couldn’t show more have gotten any closer to my exact thoughts regarding the current state of organized religion in our country. So it seems a bit repetitive, then, to say that Ruth, the main character whose thought the above quote is, and I, have a bit in common.

“The Abstinence Teacher” takes a look at a small town version of one of the current cultural battles of our country. The Progressives against the Conservatives plays itself out in every newscast, every talk show, and every newspaper. It’s a battle that seems destined never to be won, yet the battle is heating up and the stakes are getting higher.

As agnostic who was unable to watch more than a half hour of “Jesus Camp” – even under the :Know Thine Enemy” plan – I feel Ruth’s terror when she sees her daughters being preached to by an born-again Christian. I feel the urge that propels her to grab her daughter away from the kneeling group. I feel the fake small that hurts her face when she is forced to smile for the sake of her daughters as she interacts with shiny, happy people from another evangelical church. I feel her liberal pain as she sticks to her ideals and allows her daughters to explore a religion she does not believe in – one that has eroded her job and her life.

I think Perotta does a very fair job making Ruth realize that she must practice what she preaches (!) and let her daughters experiment with organized religion. As much as she disagrees with the close minded and determinedly ignorant members of the born again churches in her small town – she knows that she has to rise above them and allow her children to make their own mistakes. Not that the other side would do the same, of course.

Perotta also does an excellent job not making me hate Tim, the born-again soccer coach whose actions lead to Ruth’s conflict with her daughters. He is a former drug and alcohol addict turned Jesus addict. Every day is a struggle for him as he tries to find something real in his life, something that fits. He nearly destroyed his life and his family with drugs and booze…yet is increasingly unsure that the religion he is ingesting is any better for him.

Both Ruth and Tim are deeply flawed characters. They are each searching, even in their forties to find who they really are. Is she a Sex Education teacher that doesn’t have sex but doesn’t believe that abstinence works? Is he a born again Christian who can’t stop thinking about sex – unless it’s sex with his perfect Christian wife?

The two main characters of this book first seem to represent the extreme sides of the religious debate in our country…yet it soon becomes obvious that few people fit into those extremes. Even at his most religious point, Tim can’t bring himself to hate homosexuals the way his church demands that he does. Even at her most rebellious point after dealing with the anti-information group called “Wise Choices” – Ruth can’t let go of her inhibitions or her sense of decency.

The other quote from this book that seared itself into my mind was this: “…it was so galling to be “teaching” today’s prepackaged lesson, whose misleading and dangerous title she’d scribbled on the blackboard at the beginning with a shaky, self-loathing hand: “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SAFE SEX.” Well, of course there wasn’t, not if you defined safety as the impossibility of anything bad ever happening to anyone. There was no such thing as risk-free automobile travel, either, but we didn’t teach our kids to stay out of cars. We taught them defensive driving skills and told them a million times to wear their seat belts, because driving was an important part of life, and everyone needed to learn how to do it as safely as possible.”

“Knowledge is power.” I will always firmly believe that and hope that the sense of that phrase will eventually overtake the wave of anti-learning, anti-fact, and blind acceptance that seems to be overtaking our country. Maybe it will take more Ruths and Tims to ratchet down the hatred and allow us to see those whose opinions are the opposite of ours as more than just the enemy. Obviously, that’s something I need to learn as well. This book may be a good first step. show less

Tom Perrotta has been described as a skilfull commentator on suburbia. I find that demeaning, I don’t know why. Let’s say instead that Tom Perrotta understands the rough terrain of family relationships.
The Abstinence Teacher features Ruth, an intelligent and liberal high school sex-ed teacher forced to teach a new, abstinence-based, curriculum and Tim Mason, former rock band member and drug addict, who now rehabilitated, seeks support from the pastor of an evangelical Christian church. Tim is the soccer coach for his daughter’s team. Ruth’s daughter plays for the same team. Ruth’s and Tim’s world collide when he spontaneously asks the team to say a prayer after a stunning victory.

There are some quite funny bits (like when show more Tim alludes to Spinal Tap and turning the dial up to 11 and the chapter called Hot Christian Sex) but it’s not the type of book that lends itself to posting quotes. These are everyday scenarios that most of us have experienced either as child or parent and spouse. It’s the way Mr. Perrotta reveals the characters’ thoughts and queues the scenes that produces a wonderfully understated and entertaining story.

I have seen references to a proposed film of The Abstinence Teacher with Sandra Bullock and Steve Carrell. Sure to be a funny movie. However, the book explores different kinds of relationships among blended families, colleagues and friends. I doubt the movie will do more than caricaturize these elements.

I was impressed by Mr. Perrotta’s restraint: far from ridiculing evangelical Christians (that approach would be too crude), through Tim he helps us understand what this church could offer (promise?).

8 out of 10 and recommended to readers who enjoy subtle satire. show less

Throughout the reading of this book, I kept returning to the cover so I could make sure I hadn't gotten the author confused with someone else. In this book, Perrotta seems to have lost the sense of humor that I enjoyed in Election and Joe College. Instead, this book felt preachy and condescending. As a Christian, I thought Perrotta's depiction of church life and pastors was very one dimensional. While hypocrisy most definitely is present in the church (as it is everywhere else), all the Christian characters in this novel were either weak or exceedingly over the top and unlikable. I realize the book was intended as a work of fiction and that exaggerations are at times necessary, but what I can only describe as the hammering of the show more liberal message came off as almost desperate. Perrotta clearly has had exposure to the church or did significant research for this book. Either way, I find it regrettable that the impression he gives the reader of the experience reflects a small part of the culture and completely leaves out the must fundamental element, grace. show less

I flew through the sexual nuances of religion and suburbia’s affect on society in The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. At times funny and at others, very controversial and direct, this one was a winner for me, all around.