The Expectations, Alexander Tilney
The Expectations, Alexander Tilney
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The Expectations

Author: Alexander Tilney

Narrator: Michael Crouch

Unabridged: 8 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/16/2019

Synopsis

From "a dazzling new voice in American fiction" (Jennifer Egan), a finely drawn portrait of American privilege and a subtle exploration of class, race, and tradition.

St. James is an exclusive New England boarding school known for grooming generations of leaders. Ben Weeks is a true insider -- his ancestors helped found St. James, his older brother taught him all the slang, and he's just won a national championship in squash.
But after fourteen long years of waiting, Ben arrives at school only to find that the reality of St. James doesn't quite match up with his imaginings. At the same time, his new roommate, Ahmed Al-Khaled, the son of a fabulously wealthy Emirati sheik, can't navigate the unspoken rules of New England blue bloods. Even as Ben and Ahmed struggle to prove themselves in the place they have revered for so long, each of them must face losing it forever.
Tender, sharp, and evocative, The Expectations is a compelling novel about the pain and treachery of adolescence, and the difficulty -- wherever one finds oneself -- of truly belonging.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Genevieve on May 27, 2019

The Expectations, the debut novel by Alexander Tilney brings you into to the elite world of a New England prep school. Tilney builds characters that are layered and presents the fascinating challenges of a group of teenage boys who are all wanting to fit in and have individual challenges they are fa......more

Goodreads review by Jess on December 05, 2019

(Full disclosure: I attended the school on which this novel is based, and I was there at the same time as the author, although I don't believe I've ever interacted with him and I'm sure he has no idea who I am.) First of all: is this a well-written novel? Sure. The plot moves forward with grace, the......more

Goodreads review by Skye on May 05, 2019

As someone who went to a New England boarding school in the mid-nineties, this novel absolutely brought me right back to that experience (NEVER knock!). However, it is not just for those who want to relive their glory days (ha!). Readers will connect deeply with the way the main character navigates......more

Goodreads review by Tedi on July 07, 2019

There is something about the tone of the narrative that feels like we are being told this story many years in the future, after it has had time to age. It is beautiful and compelling. This story feels a little bit like an indie film in that the ending is real. We have more questions than answers, an......more

Goodreads review by Sandhya on July 29, 2019

Well written but not very exciting in terms of a story. Sort of fell flat. The characters were well developed and the writing very descriptive, but the story was boring.......more

Quotes

"Alexander Tilney applies supple, panoramic prose to the deep interior of an exclusive Northeastern prep school, with arresting results: at once anthropological and visceral, The Expectations provides an authoritative glimpse into a rarefied world of privilege--and announces a dazzling new voice in American fiction."—Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach

"This humorous, powerful, and thoughtful debut novel examines what it means to come of age amidst great privilege-and serves as a gimlet-eyed reminder of all the things money can never buy."
—Town and Country

"An elegiac début...Tilney's book eschews the trope of the alienated narrator...The tension of the book flows from the fact that Ben's status and advantages have prepared him for a version of adolescence that no reality can live up to."
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker

"This beautifully written coming-of-age novel is a subtle exploration of WASP culture and elite institutions: what it means to hail from them, the lengths we'll go to protect them, and what it means when they can't keep up with the evolution of society."—Goop

"Riveting. A deeply resonant, brilliantly nuanced meditation on privilege, social ambition, and the folly (and cruelty) of youth. It is also a terrific read-funny, heartbreaking, and completely transporting from start to finish. A provocative and powerful debut."—Kate Walbert, author of His Favorites

"The Expectations is story of how fraught and chaotic and exhilarating it is on the cusp of adulthood while living among the wealthy, and the cruel. Tender but not sentimental, this novel marks the debut of a genuine talent, one I hope to keep reading for a very long time."—Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

"Smart, shrewdly observed, and highly readable...The novel paints a compassionate portrait of a confused young man groping for maturity...Tilney deftly limns the unchanging eponymous expectations: that students will graduate to the Ivy League and real-world leadership...But Tilney also nails the changing social climate of the mid-1990s."
—Kirkus Reviews

"A sensitive and perceptive debut...Writing primarily from Ben's point of view, Tilney also alights for a sentence or two at a time in the minds of those who surround him, which adds depth to the narrative."
—Margaret Quamme, Booklist

"Tilney's memorable boarding school novel hits the mark...A rewarding debut... The author effectively touches on matters of class, societal pressures, and what it really means to be cool."
—Publishers Weekly

"The Expectations portrays all the intrigue of adolescence--sexual longing, competitive aspiration, and betrayal--while illuminating the most poignant of growing-up realities: It's scary to figure out who you are, and even scarier when you have no idea. Tilney expertly evokes the human yearning to be recognized as Somebody, even when you fear you are nobody."—Katharine Dion, author of The Dependents

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