School of Marble and Mud
By Chad Dean
Copyright 2004 iUniverse.com


Do you want sympathetic characters those who are willing to fight for what they believe in?
If so, you this book is not for you. “School of Marble and Mudd” tells the story of Jack Manchester a college graduate loser who can’t seem to cut it in the real world. This is conveyed early on in the story when we see Jack struggle as a shoe salesman and later as a poor excuse for a substitute teacher. Still, there is something endearing about this mean-spirited alcoholic loser.

There are flashes of sympathy when Jack’s character mulls over his less than stellar childhood and even when he dodges bullets from his senile Grandmother’s handgun and deflects the ego-shattering barbs from his trashy fiancée. He is also on the run from a crazed feminist student loan enforcer.
The reader is sucked into Jack’s sad and pathetic world and for a few chapters at least there is a glimmer of hope that Jack’s life while miraculously work out for the best.

Make no mistake this is not a change your life book nor is it just a dark moody piece. The author does a great job of weaving both humor and pathetic sadness throughout the story. I found myself putting the book down every few chapters and shaking my head sorrowfully at Jack’s totally self-created trauma.

Overall, it’s a great read, but not for the faint at heart.