School's Out | Fiction - www.zzdbook.com

School's Out

Sep 20, 2024 1:37 AM

Author:Christophe Dufosse

School's Out

When a teacher is found dead, having apparently committed suicide, his friend Pierre Hoffman takes over class 4F and finds himself responsible for a group of strangely subdued, well-behaved and yet menacing pupils.

Assuming their behaviour to be a response to the trauma of their teacher's death, Pierre Hoffman at first takes it easy with the precocious class, refusing to embrace the hostility felt by other staff members towards the children. Over the weeks that follow, however, he receives a series of signals and warnings that cause him to question the motivations of his pupils and the circumstances of his colleague's suicide.

Refusing to believe that the situation can be any more sinister than his suspicious imagination, Hoffman applauds and supports class 4F's decision to organise a school trip to the Normandy coast. Only once the trip has begun, however, does Hoffman begin to understand the extent of their bizarre solidarity and their ultimate goal...

Reviews

Dufosse's debut has garnered high praise in his native France and it is easy to see why. The narrative is fast-paced and compelling, the writing assured and witty

—— Michael Arditti , Daily Mail

The story hurtles towards a creepy climax with jet-black humour and style

—— Kate Saunders , The Times

The debut everyone is talking about... A brilliant first novel, that forcibly reminds one of Donna Tartt's A Secret History

—— Elle

There is a vague air of menace throughout...Dufosse [is] a shrewd observer of eccentric behaviour

—— Paul Bailey , Guardian

Dufosse is roughly what you'd get if you crossed Houellebecq with Alan Warner. His writing is cool, sexy and sinister

—— Esquire

Constantly terrifying, accomplished fiction

—— Le Monde des Livres

Christophe Dufossé fuses the suspense of Stephen King with the irony and ambition of Houellebecq. A truly successful debut

—— Les Inrockuptibles

Dufosse's first novel is a well-paced, gripping thriller...not for the faint-hearted

—— Big Issue

A writer of wit and style

—— Scotland on Sunday

A powerful debut

—— Arena

Bruen's tightly coiled prose strikes like a piss-soaked rattler.

—— Capital

Sharp, punch and unsettling, Priest is a masterpiece.

—— Peterborough Evening Telegraph

... An intensely dark maelstrom ... excellent.

—— www.marymartin.com.au

Bruen should be valued as one of the most challenging and memorable writers in the genre at the moment.

—— www.reviewingtheevidence.com

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