The Graduate by Charles Webb

As far as Benjamin Braddock’s parents are concerned, his future is sewn up. Now he has graduated from college, he will go on to be a success, get a good job and enjoy a life of money, cocktails and pool parties in the suburbs, just like them. For Benjamin, however, this isn’t quite enough. When his parents’ friend, Mrs Robinson, a formidable older woman, strips naked in front of him and they begin an affair, it seems he might have found a way out. That is, until her daughter Elaine comes into the picture, and things get far more complicated.

Told with wry, deadpan humour, this brilliant anti-establishment fable was the basis for Mike Nichols’ acclaimed film starring Dustin Hoffman, and is a classic of 1960s counterculture.

The story of The Graduate is essentially set out in the blurb. It is familiar, predictable and probably would not be a popular or particularly original storyline now.

Having said that, I enjoyed this book. Its satirical style parodies the more mundane aspects of conversations between Ben and the other characters, and contrasts this with the scandalous secret that he and Mrs Robinson are keeping. It was not so much the story I enjoyed as the way in which it is written.

I liked in particular the deadpan humour in The Graduate. The fact that any questions asked by the characters are rarely followed by a question mark caused me to imagine them constantly speaking in bored tones, albeit sometimes with an undertone of defensiveness or apprehension. The subject matter of the characters’ conversations is often unremarkable but it is written exactly how a real person would speak, especially a recent graduate speaking to their parents’ friends – with forced politeness edged with boredom. It highlights Ben’s view that the social life his parents have strived for is – despite being exactly what the American Dream advocates – unimaginative and meaningless.

I also liked the irony in that the book is a symbol of 1960s rebelliousness but the rebellion in question is (from Ben’s parents’ perspective at least) the fact that Ben does nothing all day. It’s rather upside-down logic.

I have a feeling that I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy this book if it were published today. Mrs Robinson, as an older lady, is stereotyped as a ‘cougar’, and Ben is privileged and entitled yet is inexplicably appealing to Mrs Robinson. It is all rather dated. That said, I was amused by the writing style and the slightly absurd plot. It’s a short book and, in my opinion, worth a read.