Junto Boys

THE RULE OF FOUR (A Book Review)

I used to dream of a life of scholarship, sipping tea and reading the classics in my mountain cabin. My senior year of college, I signed up for Beginning Greek with that in mind. When I traveled across Europe during 1987-88, I'd spend hours in and around the large, ornate libraries and museums, just soaking in the majesty of old books, art, and architecture.

THE RULE OF FOUR, written by two best friends who at the time were recent Ivy League graduates, presents another view of that life, one marked by fanaticism, frustration, social isolation, and the single-minded pursuit of the accolades of a very small group of fellow academics whose interest in your work is motivated mostly by jealousy. The protagonist also finds that he can love his work or his lady with all his heart, but not both. Maybe the contemplative life is not so attractive after all.

The authors convey their love for, and application of, scholarship, but unfortunately I was looking for a good story, not a textbook, and I never found myself caring very much about the plot. Perhaps the youth of the authors limited the richness of the story. They captured quite well, for example, the rush a young man feels when a certain girl casts a certain glance wearing a certain sweater, but not the more mature emotions that sustain an enduring love.

2 stars (of 4)