---
product_id: 117062907
title: "The Topeka School: A Novel"
price: "AR$62740"
currency: ARS
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reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/117062907-the-topeka-school-a-novel
store_origin: AR
region: Argentina
---

# The Topeka School: A Novel

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The Topeka School: A Novel [Lerner, Ben] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Topeka School: A Novel

Review: From a Topekan who knows the Author and his family - The author is the thinly disguised central character as are his parents. The richness of the Book I found were the voices of the characters as they narrate the various chapters . I read the First chapter and found it to be very funny and then I heard Ben read it at a forum and then recognized the poetry , he is a famous poet and was before he became a famous author. Adam is the "cool kid" and National champion in extemporaneous speaking and a champion debater . His criticism of the absurdity of a winning strategy in HS debate called" The spread" will be familiar to any lay judge who has listened to a HS debate and wondered what the hell was happening and why would anyone try to persuade another with an overwhelming volume of points delivered at the speed of the a drug commercial list of side effects . His interaction with his parents, both transplanted New Yorker's, and psychologists at the world famous Menninger Foundation . The descriptioons of characters from that psychiatric community is both entertaining and enlightening. His mother who had through her feminist psychology had aggravated some disturbed men who would call her and express their outrage and the way she managed their anger has an element of both pathos and humor . I found the most interesting part of the book to be a description of the character Darren who is at a minimum slow and the focus of adolescent humiliation while the peers appear to include him . His character morphs into a social outcast and he joins a local church devoted to the hatred of homosexuals . Adams great aunt who was a doctor before the Holocaust and now resides in a nursing home in a state of dementia is another interesting character as the staff permits her to live out her harmless fantasy. Adam as a father joining with his activist wife and the children in a protest and his interaction with authority is a also a good story . There are many entertaining stories many with much deeper meanings and Ben writes beautifully and so the words alone and the way they are put together is worth the read.
Review: An Intriguing Read - This book was certainly a challenging read. If you are looking for a quick, easy read, this is not that book (buy it anyway for when you are wanting something with more depth). This book seemed like it was one long run-on sentence and had a non-linear time line and switches between four interrelated characters; despite this or maybe in spite of this, this novel was a must-read in my opinion and tries to help make sense of the country we now find ourselves in. As I read this book, I have to admit that I wondered how much of it would make sense unless you grew up in Northeast Kansas during the 90s. Likewise, unless you were a Debater or Forensics "nerd" in high school, I wondered how much someone would understand the references to these activities that were discussed throughout the book. Like the author, I grew up in NE Kansas during the 90s (I am ever-so slightly older) and was a frequent visitor to Topeka, so a lot of references were familiar to me. (As a HS Forensics participant, and having had one child (so far) be a Debater, I was very familiar with the numerous Debate and Forensics references). Invariably, we saw protests from Fred Phelps' "church." Most of us, even my ultra-conservative mother, were appalled by the protests, but much like the book states, the objections to Fred Phelps had little to do with the demeaning of the LGBTQ community. While this book touched on a lot of issues, one of the most profound moments of this book for me revolved around the issue of Fred Phelps: Why were the citizens of Topeka (or anywhere) so offended by him when they agreed with him? (Please note: I do not agree with Fred Phelps or his ideologies.) I never imagined that I would receive parenting insight with this book, but as a mom to two boys, the issue of toxic masculinity is a recurrent concern and is something that weighs on my heart. I do not want my boys to think it is acceptable to treat girls/women as only sex objects (as was my experience growing up in the 90s and even still now, ugh!) nor in any way inferior, yet I do not want them to feel that they are somehow inferior or invalidated because they are male. And now, I feel compelled to address the, ahem, elephant in the room. This novel tried to provide a backstory for how Donald Trump happened. Yes, I still live in Kansas, but I can assure you there are cities/areas in this "red" state that are liberal (or purple), much like the family portrayed in this novel. (I would argue that we do not have "red" or "blue" states, we have concentrated areas in each state that lean politically one way and they are better defined by rural, urban, suburban.) The subject of Donald Trump and how anyone can support him is certainly a compelling psychological examination, no matter which side you are on. I think this book makes some interesting conclusions that show how some of this absurd current circumstance even became possible. Which brings it back to the conclusion about Fred Phelps: Why are they offended when they agree? Yikes. So, go find a quiet, comfy space, grab a cup of tea (or coffee), and allot yourself chunk of time to try to read this gem of a book in a single setting (or 2). It's well worth your time.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #808,884 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #825 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books) #3,567 in Literary Fiction (Books) #5,596 in American Literature (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars (2,944) |
| Dimensions  | 6.23 x 1.05 x 9.23 inches |
| Edition  | First Edition |
| ISBN-10  | 0374277788 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0374277789 |
| Item Weight  | 1.1 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 304 pages |
| Publication date  | October 1, 2019 |
| Publisher  | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |

## Images

![The Topeka School: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91VMTth2wxL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ From a Topekan who knows the Author and his family
*by J***R on January 3, 2020*

The author is the thinly disguised central character as are his parents. The richness of the Book I found were the voices of the characters as they narrate the various chapters . I read the First chapter and found it to be very funny and then I heard Ben read it at a forum and then recognized the poetry , he is a famous poet and was before he became a famous author. Adam is the "cool kid" and National champion in extemporaneous speaking and a champion debater . His criticism of the absurdity of a winning strategy in HS debate called" The spread" will be familiar to any lay judge who has listened to a HS debate and wondered what the hell was happening and why would anyone try to persuade another with an overwhelming volume of points delivered at the speed of the a drug commercial list of side effects . His interaction with his parents, both transplanted New Yorker's, and psychologists at the world famous Menninger Foundation . The descriptioons of characters from that psychiatric community is both entertaining and enlightening. His mother who had through her feminist psychology had aggravated some disturbed men who would call her and express their outrage and the way she managed their anger has an element of both pathos and humor . I found the most interesting part of the book to be a description of the character Darren who is at a minimum slow and the focus of adolescent humiliation while the peers appear to include him . His character morphs into a social outcast and he joins a local church devoted to the hatred of homosexuals . Adams great aunt who was a doctor before the Holocaust and now resides in a nursing home in a state of dementia is another interesting character as the staff permits her to live out her harmless fantasy. Adam as a father joining with his activist wife and the children in a protest and his interaction with authority is a also a good story . There are many entertaining stories many with much deeper meanings and Ben writes beautifully and so the words alone and the way they are put together is worth the read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Intriguing Read
*by T***K on November 23, 2019*

This book was certainly a challenging read. If you are looking for a quick, easy read, this is not that book (buy it anyway for when you are wanting something with more depth). This book seemed like it was one long run-on sentence and had a non-linear time line and switches between four interrelated characters; despite this or maybe in spite of this, this novel was a must-read in my opinion and tries to help make sense of the country we now find ourselves in. As I read this book, I have to admit that I wondered how much of it would make sense unless you grew up in Northeast Kansas during the 90s. Likewise, unless you were a Debater or Forensics "nerd" in high school, I wondered how much someone would understand the references to these activities that were discussed throughout the book. Like the author, I grew up in NE Kansas during the 90s (I am ever-so slightly older) and was a frequent visitor to Topeka, so a lot of references were familiar to me. (As a HS Forensics participant, and having had one child (so far) be a Debater, I was very familiar with the numerous Debate and Forensics references). Invariably, we saw protests from Fred Phelps' "church." Most of us, even my ultra-conservative mother, were appalled by the protests, but much like the book states, the objections to Fred Phelps had little to do with the demeaning of the LGBTQ community. While this book touched on a lot of issues, one of the most profound moments of this book for me revolved around the issue of Fred Phelps: Why were the citizens of Topeka (or anywhere) so offended by him when they agreed with him? (Please note: I do not agree with Fred Phelps or his ideologies.) I never imagined that I would receive parenting insight with this book, but as a mom to two boys, the issue of toxic masculinity is a recurrent concern and is something that weighs on my heart. I do not want my boys to think it is acceptable to treat girls/women as only sex objects (as was my experience growing up in the 90s and even still now, ugh!) nor in any way inferior, yet I do not want them to feel that they are somehow inferior or invalidated because they are male. And now, I feel compelled to address the, ahem, elephant in the room. This novel tried to provide a backstory for how Donald Trump happened. Yes, I still live in Kansas, but I can assure you there are cities/areas in this "red" state that are liberal (or purple), much like the family portrayed in this novel. (I would argue that we do not have "red" or "blue" states, we have concentrated areas in each state that lean politically one way and they are better defined by rural, urban, suburban.) The subject of Donald Trump and how anyone can support him is certainly a compelling psychological examination, no matter which side you are on. I think this book makes some interesting conclusions that show how some of this absurd current circumstance even became possible. Which brings it back to the conclusion about Fred Phelps: Why are they offended when they agree? Yikes. So, go find a quiet, comfy space, grab a cup of tea (or coffee), and allot yourself chunk of time to try to read this gem of a book in a single setting (or 2). It's well worth your time.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by P***I on April 3, 2022*

Lerner can move from a perfect four-sentence essaylet on the anomalous kid to an intricately choreographed kegger in a garage where that kid is struggling, as he is both let in and excluded. the Darren situation is SO complex and Lerner somehow conveys it. i doubt there are many writers who can do what Lerner does here!

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*Product available on Desertcart Argentina*
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*Last updated: 2026-02-19*