Perrotta’s ‘Abstinence Teacher’ mounts tension, doesn’t climax
To fully appreciate Tom Perrotta’s ’83 latest novel, “The Abstinence Teacher,” it helps to imagine that it is October 2004 again, in the final weeks of the presidential election. George W. Bush is headed for re-election, thanks in large part to the overwhelming support of the religious right and the machinations of Karl Rove. Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage are on the ballot in several states, and a Republican movie star has even managed to capture the governorship of that greatest of liberal bastions, California.
Against that backdrop, the conflict at the center of...
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