courtesy of alexandermaksik.com
I will let you know, before you read any further, that You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik is the best new book I have read in quite a while. I would suggest—if my recommendation be reason enough—that you should immediately pick up this book. For those who would like some more information before making a purchase, feel free to read on.
You Deserve Nothing takes place at an international high school in Paris in the year 2002. It is told through the eyes of a young teacher, William Silver, and two students Marie de Cléry and Gilad from five years after the events of the novel. Will is at the center of the novel—Gilad and Marie have minimal direct interaction. He is a young teacher that pushes his students to interact with the texts on a personal level; he inspires them and is the most popular teacher at the school. If you are picturing Dead Poets Society, you are on the right track. He spends much of his time with another young English teacher, Mia Keller, whom many speculate he is dating (he is not). The action of the story starts with an end of the year party at a student’s house. Mia and Will attend, and even go to a bar with the students later. A few too many drinks in, and shying away from an intimate moment with Mia, Will winds up on the dance floor with some of the students, specifically with one he has not met before. This is the first time we meet Marie. He gives her his phone number and they meet later. They kiss and that is how it is left for the rest of the summer.
The new school year brings Will a new class to teach. In addition to his sophomore English classes, he gets a Senior Seminar, where he has more flexibility with the readings and discussions, this is where we meet Gilad. A quiet student, Gilad has moved around a lot in his life and keeps mostly to himself as he starts again in Paris. He is immediately drawn to Will, he wants to do well in his class. Will is put on a pedestal by Gilad, standing in for his largely absent father. In fact the whole class, including troublemaker Colin White but not Marie’s friend Ariel or Abdul, becomes enamored with the class and come ready to contribute every day. At one point, Will is even challenged for his methods, for exploring the idea that there is no god, which seems to go with the Dead Poet’s Society idea, but again, that’s ancillary to the real action of the novel.
Waiting for the metro, Will exchanges some pleasantries with the man beside him before that man is abruptly shoved in front of the train by a deranged homeless man. This is the prompt that changes everything in the story. Gilad, who witnesses the whole scene, is recognized by Will who calls them both out of school and takes him to a café. Though he intends to comfort his student, Will has little to contribute and much of the time is passed in silence. Gilad is thankful for the accident, so desperate is he for Will’s attention, but this encounter leaves him the first taste of disappointment in his venerated teacher. When he gets a message from Marie that night Will responds and invites her to his apartment and they begin their affair.
Maksik’s makes his characters feel real, complete with all the complications and muddled morals of the world we know. None of the major characters can really be described as good or bad, right or wrong (exceptions being only Gilad’s father and what Colin had done to Marie before the action of the novel). Though Ariel poses a threat to the main characters and is insufferable in Will’s class, Maksik shows her to be as yet immature, scared and threatened by her own feelings and her friendships. The multiple perspectives are played out brilliantly, showing the subjectivity of our daily lives. As Marie and Will dance he gets an erection, Will recalls Marie’s response, “she pushed with more force, bent her knees and slowly, expertly glided her ass against me” but Marie, we find out, remembers, “I was terrified. I was excited but I was terrified”. Marie, the modern, sexualized teen, experienced and seductive, or Marie, the immature teen, frightened but enthralled? And then there is Will, who is he? An authority taking advantage of a young student? A man who has found love but is handcuffed by social conventions? Or perhaps a haunted man, one who falters to the opportunity presented by a young woman’s advances?
Maksik is a pleasure to read. The imagery complements the text without overwhelming it. Scenes from around Paris, the poplars outside the school, and the three-legged dog running across a snow covered field appear and reappear in the text adding to and reflecting the thoughts of the characters. My only real critique was balancing the characters. Being that both Marie and Gilad had no connected encounters of any length the novel has some long periods of exclusively Will-Marie or exclusively Will-Gilad story, but this is a small flaw in the scheme of the book and the intensity of these scenes is enough to keep you going without much notice.
Like most good literature, describing You Deserve Nothing in terms of its basic plot seems insufficient. It is a story full of intelligence and nuance, one that unravels slowly with each intricate layer revealing more about the characters, the story, and the world the Maksik has captured here. It is one I recommend you read paying close attention too. I highly recommend this book, and will more than likely do so again in a few months when it comes time to recall the best of this past year.
You Deserve Nothing is in stores now, from Europa Editions/ Tonga Books, paperback $15.
9.5 Golden Eggs.
