Good, But Not Hilton's Best
This short little novel, which spawned two films, one with Robert Donat and the other with Peter O'Toole, was originally a story Hilton wrote in November of 1933 for the Christmas issue of the British Weekly. It found its way across the pond to the U.S. and the Atlantic Monthly and became a smash hit. It was repackaged as a novel and went on to great reviews and big sales. The story revolves around an 80-ish man, Charles Edward Chipping or Mr. Chips, nearing the end of his life and his recollections of his times, tribulations and triumphs at the Brookfield all boys prep school in England, from before the turn of the century to the 1930s. It has a folksy, quaint, lacksadaisical feel to it, and the tone stays consistent throughout the moments of political strife within the institution, as well as the bombing of the school during WWI. Sweet, charming, inoffensive and ultimately slight and forgettable. If you want something meatier and more substantive from Hilton, try "Lost Horizon," a terrific tale of Shangri-La. This one is fine if you have an hour and a half to kill.
Excellent stuff.
I watched, "Goodbye, Mr Chips" (teh Robert Donat version) when I was just a teenager, and loved it. Now 33, I've wacthed the film again several times, and had to retrieve the box of tissues every time! :-) My husband recently bought me the hardback book (been looking for it for YEARS!!), which I'm thrilled with. The story is such a wonderful one (Old school teacher reminiscing about loves ones and events that influenced and changed his life), and I really do wish that more younger people (usually those under 20) could stop for a moment and enjoy the history of an ordinary life, without rejecting the whole concept as 'boring'. Disturbingly enough, I've heard the same word (boring) used to describe, "The Diary of Anne Frank" (the actual diaries of a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis). Makes one wonder about people, really, when such beautifully-written diares and novels are rejected as 'boring'. Perhaps those readers just don't fully understand the subject matter or the language used in either book. That's a shame, because this (and The Anne Frank diaries) is a wonderful book. Read it, enjoy it, and read it again later.
One of my all-time favorites...
This is one of those books (a novelette, really--it's only a little over 100 pages) that has become a classic, and rightfully so. It's about a somewhat shy man, Mr. Chipping, who comes to teach at Brookfield School in 1870. He begins to warm up to his students, after falling in love and marrying Katherine, who brings him out of his shell. He becomes a beloved institution at the school, and is there until the end of his life. It's a wonderful story, told by one of the best of the modern story-tellers, James Hilton.Hilton is a wonderful author, and I never tire of reading his books. He's very good at characterization, and that talent really shines in "Chips." "Chips," "Lost Horison," and "Random Harvest" are among his best, but I've never read a bad book by Hilton. By all means, check out his books--you'll be glad you did!
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