This is a book I equate with the essence of the best parts if high school. It got passed all around (as a great book should be), and it felt like pretty much required reading for the teenage, slightly self-conscious art students we were.

I let a couple of English majors take a crack at it recently, and they brought up some good points about its flaws. Still a classic, and still worthy of reading if only for the gloriousness that is Winter Sorbeck.

(Fair warning: there is one, infamous part that gets downright weird.) ( )

Helpless, sheltered art student runs into reality on his first away from home and gets a real education.

A great cast includes a loony drawing teacher, a fragile southern deb, our main young man,
and his reckless rebellious girlfriend.

Best character is the pitiless, angry design teacher, humiliating his students , teaching them lessons that I will never forget.

Set in 1957-1958, a great story of the politics of art and school, and very funny! ( )

A college freshman moves out of state and takes a year of Art courses in college. He makes friends with two coeds, both of whom take the same Art courses as he does, but one of whom is way more interesting than the other. He is found trying to connect more with one (Himillsy) and avoid the other (Maybelle). During second semester (Graphic Arts), his professor is Winter Sorbeck who becomes more demeaning and outrageous as the semester progresses.

I had such a hard time following the dialogues of this book that I found the story neither interesting nor entertaining. I certainly did not find it amusing. The character of Himillsy Dodd was so annoying in her attempts to one-up everyone else. It’s sad because I love retro stories, college courses, and artistic design. I don’t know where the disconnect occurred, but the book did not give me what I was expecting.

The book is oddly designed in a graphic arts sense. I thought my eyes were going bad until I realized that the second half of the book was set in a different type than the first half. I thought someone had damaged the outside cover until I realized that was part of the book design. It took me quite a while to find the copyright year. ( )

Really quite funny. Almost like an episode of House, except in an art college. ( )

I was excited just to see this book on the library shelf. The fantastic, intricate, unique cover was clearly 100% Kidd, and the story inside matched my excitement. The novel follows an unnamed freshman studying Art in the late '50s, and discovering Design. The characters were wildly, obsessively charming, the humor biting, and the conclusion strangely upsetting. Loved it.

Plus, totally an introduction to graphic design. Hit it up! ( )