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by: Charles Webb
List Price: $13.00Amazon.com's Price: $11.05 You Save: $1.95 (15%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743456456
ISBN: 0743456459
Label: Washington Square Press
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: April 02, 2002
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Sales Rank: 332451
Studio: Washington Square Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The basis for Mike Nichols' acclaimed 1967 film starring Dustin Hoffman -- and for successful stage productions in London and on Broadway -- this classic novel about a naive college graduate adrift in the shifting social and sexual mores of the 1960s captures with hilarity and insight the alienation of youth and the disillusionment of an era.
The Graduate
When Benjamin Braddock graduates from a small Eastern college and moves home to his parents' house, everyone wants to know what he's going to do with his life. Embittered by the emptiness of his college education and indifferent to his grim prospects -- grad school? a career in plastics? -- Benjamin falls haplessly into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, the relentlessly seductive wife of his father's business partner. It's only when beautiful coed Elaine Robinson comes home to visit her parents that Benjamin, now smitten, thinks he might have found some kind of direction in his life. Unfortuately for Benjamin, Mrs. Robinson plays the role of protective mother as well as she does the one of mistress. A wondrously fierce and absurd battle of wills ensues, with love and idealism triumphing over the forces of corruption and conformity.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The book without the soundtrack?
In most cases, the book shines, the movie is ok, and the soundtrack is forgettable. This title seems to defy gravity. The Simon & Garfunkle music is so powerful and haunting, it is seered into the collective memory of two generations. imagine the movie without the soundtrack, it's ok, but hardly iconic. Perhaps that the problem with the book.
Rating:  - Good but not great
The book started out strong but kind of fell by the waist side at the end. I think it is because they dropped the character of Mrs. Robinson when Ben fell in love with her daughter. i don't agree with. I think Mrs. Robinson should have been a strong presentce from the begining until the end.
Rating:  - This book is awful
I can finish just about any book, but from the minute I picked up this book to read it, I wanted to put it down. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't convince myself to get past page 80, and finally decided to give up when I realized I was dreading picking up the book. The main character is neither likable nor dislikable enough to to be compelling - he's just whiny and obnoxious. However you describe this book (existential, 20-something slump, etc), you can find a *much* better book. Don't waste ... Read More
Rating:  - Mediocre novel about a disillusioned young man
Benjamin Braddock comes home after his college graduation with offers for other schools and even a major scholarship to finish his studies. Disillusioned with what the world may have in store for him, he spends most of his time lougning around his parent's pool not thinking about what to do with his future. Then, in walks Mrs. Robinson at a party his parents are throwing in his honor, and by the end of the evening, he's begun an affair with her. However, his disillusionment grows even more, and Ben ... Read More
Rating: - It's what you make of it...
People don't like this book because they don't like to think. It's mostly dialogue - like a drama, or a screenplay. The reader has to fill in the details. It's called active reading. Not that you can't read the book as a light read but if you're reading passively and expecting revelations, well, it's not going to happen. However, if you use the book as a basis for extrapolation of social comment, you may get what you are looking for.
For those of you with no imagination, don't read the book; ... Read More
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