List Based On Books Good Times/Bad Times

Title:Good Times/Bad Times
Author:James Kirkwood Jr.
Book Format:Mass Market Paperback
Book Edition:Special Edition
Pages:Pages: 288 pages
Published:May 12th 1983 by Fawcett (first published 1968)
Categories:Fiction. Young Adult. Coming Of Age. Novels. LGBT. Gay. Gay Fiction
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Good Times/Bad Times Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 288 pages
Rating: 4.18 | 468 Users | 52 Reviews

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I remember being tremendously moved by this novel, so much that I looked for more works by James Kirkwood and acquired and read them. The story is told in the form of a letter from Peter Kilburn who is in jail for a crime involving his school headmaster. This, however, is not a typical tale of crime and recrimination. I found it unique in its deep melancholy and sadness of the memory shared in its pages, unlike Kirkwood's lighter, more humorous work. Good Times / Bad Times presents two young men at a New England prep school who are threatened when the disturbed headmaster develops a homoerotic fixation on Peter. His friend Jordan is the novel's voice of wisdom; he tells Peter that what makes the headmaster's attraction so dangerous is the fact that he cannot acknowledge it.

The story is one of friendship that only can be experienced by youth of a certain age, but even that aspect is unique in this telling and that with all the unsureness of young men coming of age, still acting and thinking like boys, makes it more compelling. The novel is suffused with homoeroticism, but homosexuality is nervously (and unconvincingly) disavowed by the narrator, who says at one point, "We threw our arms around one another and we kissed. It was a real kiss, and no matter what anybody might think, a perfectly right and fitting expression of our friendship for that time and place and for us."
The questions of perception and distance between the boys and the headmaster also weigh heavily in the story which is not without lighter moments. However, the tension that pervades the work and the seriousness of the feelings that are not always capable of being expressed overcome these lighter moments. Ultimately it is the adept handling of themes of friendship in a school setting and coming-of-age that stay with your memory and made this book special for me.

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Original Title: Good Times/ Bad Times
ISBN: 0449204693 (ISBN13: 9780449204696)
Edition Language: English
Setting: United States of America


Rating Based On Books Good Times/Bad Times
Ratings: 4.18 From 468 Users | 52 Reviews

Rate Based On Books Good Times/Bad Times
My review in 1988 when I read it: Reminiscent of Salinger. An emotional roller coaster, read it in one sitting. "Does for schools roughly what Rosemary's Baby did for the Dakota." (Not sure where that one line review originated.)

Kirkwood's novel is a suspenseful tale of boarding school male friendship and its disapproval by authority. This is much in the vein of John Knowles' A Separate Peace and Roger Peyrefitte's Special Friendships, both of which are better, deeper books. Still, if you like rooting for adolescent friendship when threatened by adult jealousy, this book is a quick satisfying read.

Peter Kilburn, sitting in jail awaiting trial for the murder of his headmaster, writes a 309 page (in my paperback edition, written in small font) letter to his attorney explaining what happened.Peter, son of a Hollywood actor, explains how he showed up as a senior at a small, isolated, New Hampshire prep school with a declining reputation -- "tacky," as he describes it -- and met the surprising disapproval of his headmaster, Mr. Hoyt. Over the first third of the book, he overcomes this initial

Still one of my favorite books ever. Have read it at least 20 times. Super well-written, somewhat autobiographical, timeless and unforgettable main character and best friend. But it is my favorite book because there is so much humour in it.

I found this book in an English classroom and chucked it in my bag, carried it around for a much longer time than I ever thought I should and began reading it on a plane from Boston to LA. I could not believe how good it was and how it pulled me into the story. A truly unexpected find! Memorable characters and situations.

One of my favorite novels. Read it in highschool and re-read it every so often. James Kirkwood brings the story alive, takes you back to that New England prep school and keeps just the right amount of tension throughout. Quite an achievement. I found it both heart wrenching and funny--love that in a book.

This story of a homoerotic love triangle is set at a New England boarding school in the 1960s. Peter, the narrator, the son of a failed, alcoholic actor, is not yet fully aware that he is gay. While spending his senior year at the Gilford school, he falls in love with Jordan, another student. They develop a close relationship, but the headmaster of the school tries to interfere with it because he is sexually fixated on Peter. Eventually the headmaster's obsession and need to possess Peter leads