(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“You’re too impressed with people whose greatest accomplishment was being born lucky.”
Richard Nagano never forgot what his mother told him after he graduated from Stanford. But these words would later haunt this young man from working-class origins.
Now, a doctoral student at USC, Richard is running out of money as he’s half-halfheartedly writing his thesis on twentieth century California history. After breaking up with his girlfriend, he’s losing interest and motivation. A good friend recommends him for a job with the elderly Marion W., granddaughter of oil and land tycoon Langley W. He is to transcribe her memoir. However, he is not to reveal to the public anything that he finds.
Richard doesn’t only work in an office on her massive estate. He also gets to experience a part of her world, escorting her to charity galas and black-tie events. He relishes in this, but her actual memoir holds little interest to him as a historian. Now if, with a little digging, he was to get information on Langley W., this would be monumental, as little has been recorded on him.
Just as interesting to the reader, Richard falls for a socialite who is interested in a dangerous W. family secret that Marion doesn’t reveal in her memoir. Will he betray her trust to better his future in academia, as well as ingratiate himself to a woman in that “born lucky” social class?
Living in this area my entire life, I never thought of “old money” and “Southern California” as going together. I thought of it as more of an East Coast occurrence. This kept sticking in my mind, but I guess it’s all relative. In any event, A Student of History focuses on many interesting topics perfect for discussion: class differences including self-made wealth versus inherited wealth, entitlement, purpose, compassion, trust, love and revenge. Even though I figured out the major ending way ahead of time—as I’m sure most readers will— it’s the journey that mattered. That is, it’s how the author strategically presents these details and sub-plots that kept me intrigued until the end.
I think A Student of History will be relatable to readers in different ways. I think most will enjoy this well-written, contemporary story no matter where they are from.
