Student by David Belbin

Student by David Belbin
Buy Student by David Belbin at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Nigethan Sathiyalingam
Summary: 'Student is an intense novel written in compelling fashion, but I struggled to connect with the unsympathetic characters.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 184	Date: September 2012
Publisher: Five Leaves
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1907869532
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When Allison secured her place in Nottingham University, she thought of it as a way to escape a miserable home life, with an absent father, drunk mother and un-committing boyfriend. She thought university would be a place for intellectual debate, and the creation of loyal friendships and love. However, she quickly realises that student life isn't like those rosy pictures you get on prospectuses. In Student, we see a university experience defined by a trinity of drugs, lust and study, one that changes Allison and everyone around her.

As a sixth form student looking forward with both apprehension and eagerness towards university next year, I was intrigued by Student, and having not encountered much young adult fiction about university, decided to give it a go. A hearty recommendation from Melvin Burgess didn't hurt either! Having read the book, I'm not surprised that Melvin Burgess enjoyed it. It's right up his controversial street, packed with all the aspects of student life that parents have nightmares about. Throwing a whole load of issues at the reader, the story is eventful and rarely boring.

Told in first person through Allison's point of view, your experience of the book will depend heavily on whether you enjoy her narrative. She veers wildly between being cool and distant, to being a little pathetic, to being downright odd at times. I found it difficult to get a feel for her, struggling to really empathise with her plights, and it isn't surprising that she struggles to make friends. Her love life, which is a significant component of the story, was pretty uninspiring and lacked chemistry, although the characters of her three main boyfriends throughout the story are distinct and interesting, if not particularly likeable. Allison as a character didn't impress me, but she does provide a very effective narrative voice, one that is sharp, compelling, and at times lyrical.

The story is honest and insightful but I found it just too bleak at times. David Belbin paints an uncompromising and almost exclusively depressing picture of late adolescence, and I would've liked to see at least a few more sparks of the humour or warmth that life as a student must also offer (I hope!). Perhaps he didn't want to detract from the tone or direction of the story, but I think that juxtaposing some of the more positive and light-hearted aspects of student life against the negative and serious parts would've enhanced the novel.

A general sense of depression descends sharply into tragedy in a shocking conclusion. Incredibly intense, it has some of the best writing in the book, and despite not liking the characters very much, I found it to be very powerful.

Thank you to the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail is a highly recommended life-affirming story, that offers a stark contrast in tone and content to Student but shares a similar context, being based around sixth form flat-sharers. If you enjoyed the raw and honest portrayal of late adolescence in Student, then you'll love Black Rabbit Summer by the excellent Kevin Brooks. For more tough and uncompromising young adult fiction, Sara's Face and Nicholas Dane, both by Melvin Burgess are both worth checking out.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Student by David Belbin at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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