Danny Rossi
I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven,
Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home, in his nest, at even;
He sings the song, but it cheers not now,
For I did not bring home the river and sky;--
Jason Gilbert
joy was his song and joy so pure
a heart of star by him could steer
and pure so now and now so yes
the wrists of twilight would rejoice
.....
his flesh was flesh his blood was blood:
no hungry man but wished him food;
no cripple wouldn’t creep one mile
uphill to only see him smile.
Ted Lambors
Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf
Than that I may not disappoint myself,
That in my action I may soar as high
As I can now discern with this clear eye.
George Keller
Something sinister in the tone
Told me my secret must be known:
Word I was in the house alone
Somehow must have gotten abroad,
Word I was in my life alone,
Word I had no one left but God.
Andrew Eliot
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous,
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse
..They are 'The Class'. A generation that made the rules, broke them, whose glittering successes, heartfelt tragedies and unbridled ambitions would stun the world.
The Class is the story of five extraordinary men of the fictional Harvard class of 1958. The story starts at an age of innocence and spans across 25 years taking the reader through the life and loves of the protagonists. The story culminates in the 25th reunion of the class where they have to confront their classmates and a balance sheet of their own lives. The book is divided neatly into three parts 'The College Years', 'Real life' and 'Reunion'. It can be rated as one of the most powerful book in the category of Fiction. Erich Segal is in top form in this treatise as usual never failing to pull the strings of the heart.
"They looked at one another like tigers taking measure of a menacing new rival."
Danni Rossi: A musical prodigy. Against his father’s wishes, which are more academically inclined, he goes to Harvard to learn music and becomes the music sensation of his generation. He experiences success too soon and the transformation from the shy, unassuming guy to a Don Juan of sorts becomes inevitable.
Jason Gilbert: The golden boy of the class. Handsome, charismatic and brilliant, a personality straight out of legends. But even at Harvard he cannot forget his Jewish roots. His character starts as a child, succumbing to parental pressure and then finally the time comes when he stands up for what he believes in. Only in tragedy will he realize his true identity. Andrew Eliot describes him in his dairies in a fine manner: "...and the bravest of them all laid down his life for something he believed in. His courage humbles me".
Ted Lambors: He goes to Harvard but never feels like a part of the Harvard family, the Reason being that he is a day-scholar. A very ambitions fellow, being entirely academic oriented, he has the firm resolve to climb the academic ladder and reach the pinnacle of Harvard only to realize in the end that it costs him too much. You end up pitying this character because in the pursuit of his dream he looses his companion. Success comes to him at a very heavy price.
George Keller: While explaining about the character, I shall try to put him as much as possible in the writer’s words, because I love those lines.
The character is something in these lines:
"A refugee from Hungary, he comes to Harvard with the barest knowledge of English. With ruthless determination he not only masters the language but also the power structure of the country."
Oh God!! These are very inspiring lines. There are a lot of lines in the book that have remained etched in my head, for the book is really so wonderfully written that it is a pleasure to remember the lines. The trouble is when I start to write about this book; I end up succumbing to the ultimate temptation of using the writer’s lines to describe the characters.
Anyway, coming back to Keller, in spite of all the success he finds, he fails to find peace and happiness. A very sad tale his is. He is the lone hand in the whole party.
Andrew Eliot: The last of the Eliot’s, his confidence takes a severe beating right from his childhood because of the shadows of generations of successful ancestors looming large. We read most of his story in an autobiographical fashion through his dairies. He has nothing extraordinary about him on the surface. Scratch the surface and what you see is an amazingly wonderful human being.
We may think of a miracle as something out of the ordinary, yet that which is ordinary is itself a most wonderful miracle. From ordinary days come exceptional joys. From ordinary lives come outstanding accomplishments. The character of Andrew Eliot is something that can be described thus.
His brand of self deprecatory humor stays unforgettable in the memory of the reader. He comes across as one who takes life as it comes but never stops from being the good guy. He does his good deeds in an unassuming manner. We can safely say that he is the Hanuman of the book. Like the mythical being who did not know his own strength, Andrew Eliot stands tall as one full of virtues but himself not knowing them.
Also deserving mention is Sarah Lambors and so I mention her.
The Class is a really wonderful book about which I can go on and on and on like the Duracell battery. It has remained my favorite book for so many years.If you have not read the book, it is time to tie the laces of your running shoes and rush to the nearest wherever you buy books from.
