Book Review: The Faculty Lounge | Jennifer Mathieu

This is a spoiler-free mini-review of The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu. I thought there were so many lovely stories included in this book that I wanted to break down my thought on those as well. You can find the plot summary and ending explained over in my spoiler review.

What is The Faculty Lounge about?

By the acclaimed author of Moxie, a funny, bighearted adult debut that is at once an ode to educators, a timely glimpse at today’s pressing school issues, and a tender character study, following a sprawling cast of teachers, administrators, and staff at a Texas high school

With its ensemble of warm and unforgettable characters, The Faculty Lounge shows readers a different side of school life. It all starts when an elderly substitute teacher at Baldwin High School is found dead in the faculty lounge. After a bit of a stir, life quickly returns to normal—it’s not like it’s the worst (or even most interesting) thing that has happened within the building’s walls. But when, a week later, the spontaneous scattering of his ashes on the school grounds catches the attention of some busybody parents, it sets in motion a year that can only be described as wild, bizarre, tragic, mundane, beautiful, and humorous all at once.

In the midst of the ensuing hysteria and threats of disciplinary action, the novel peeks into the lives of the implicated adults who, it turns out, actually have first names and continue to exist when the school day is done. We a former punk band front man, now a middle-aged principal who must battle it out with the schoolboard to keep his job; a no-nonsense school nurse willing to break the rules, despite the close watch on their campus, when a student arrives at her office with a dilemma; and a disgruntled English instructor who finds himself embroiled in even more controversy when he misfires a snarky email. Oh, and there’s also a teacher make-out session in a supply closet during a lockdown.

As these people continue to manage the messiness of this school year, there is the looming threat of what will become of their beloved Baldwin High. Ultimately, at the heart of this unconventional workplace novel is a story of the power of human connection and of the joy of finding purpose in what it is we do every day.

What did I think?

This is an easy read if you want to lose yourself in a collection of stories that weave together around a school community and the people who work there. Jennifer Mathieu’s The Faculty Lounge is poignant and heartfelt with a nice dash of humor throughout. I found myself caring about the characters even though each only had one chapter to tell their story.

The book centers around Baldwin High School in Texas and the faculty and staff who work there. The catalyst that brings this particular collection of stories together comes when a beloved, retired teacher comes back to substitute teach and passes away taking a nap on the ratty couch in the faculty lounge (the author comically notes that the timing during the beginning of the free period was quite kind, giving the office an entire hour to find a substitute for his next class).

In a humorous but macabre twist, Mr. Lehrer’s body can’t be picked up for some time, and so it remains in the faculty lounge for hours covered with a sheet. The teachers discuss the wording of the email from the principal and how it could have been worded to be more accurate (these small moments made me laugh because it is such a teacher thing). The rest of the book weaves through stories of different members of the Baldwin High School faculty.

Mr. Lehrer has a part in each story from each teacher, though some are smaller than others. Ms. Sanderson, for instance, is a new teacher and so her story kicks off because she is the person who enters the faculty lounge and discovers the body. Other stories feature Mr. Lehrer more prominently, such as Ms. Fletcher’s story about how he helped her as a new teacher and how their story as colleagues unfolded from there. One of my favorite characters is Nurse Honeycutt–her chapter is both touching and empowering. I also loved the school principal, Mr. Kendricks.

The book touches on important themes–race, women’s rights, immigration, infidelity, sobriety, and power dynamics. Each of these is handled subtly but with powerful messages. Nothing is in your face or overt (in fact, Mathieu rarely addresses the topic directly in her words)–but the message is there through the person’s story and how they felt.

I loved this book–it’s a wonderful story about the importance of kindness, and how even small acts of kindness can have profound impact.

Thank you to Dutton Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.