Ms Hempel Chronicles

"A wonderfull, practically magical writer." —Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife

"Bynum enchants." —Vanity Fair  "[N]imble and entertaining." —New York Times Book Review Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new—new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her devoted father. Overwhelmed by her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. Is it acceptable to introduce swear words into the English curriculum, enlist students to write their own report cards, or bring up personal experiences while teaching a sex-education class? Sarah Shun-lien Bynum finds characters at their most vulnerable, then explores those precarious moments in sharp, graceful prose. From this most innovative and critically acclaimed of young writers comes a journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up.  "Such a beautiful book is Ms. Hempel Chronicles, the kind that gives its reader profound insights into ordinary, everyday life. . . . [D]eeply affecting." —Los Angeles Times  "Pure pleasure." —Jonathan Franzen

SARAH SHUN-LIEN BYNUM's first novel, Madeleine Is Sleeping, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2004. Her fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Tin House, the Georgia Review, and the Best American Short Stories. She teaches writing at the University of California, San Diego.

www.mshempelchronicles.com

"For the reader it's like going off to the South of France and seeing that van Gogh didn't make that stuff up; it really does look like that. It just took an artist to be able to see it." Washington Post

"[Bynum's] prose remains nimble and entertaining.... Ms. Hempel Chronicles works as an account of how nostalgia — both for what was and might have been — can generate a thousand mercies." New York Times

"Such a beautiful book is Ms. Hempel Chronicles, the kind that gives its reader profound insights into ordinary, everyday life... [D]eeply affecting." Los Angeles Times

"Bynum writes with concise, careful phrasing and a clarity that illuminates the depths to be found even in the most quotidian existence." Library Journal

"A subtle, dazzling novel." Kirkus Reviews

Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new — new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her idiosyncratic father. Grappling awkwardly with her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. Is it acceptable to introduce swear words into the English curriculum, enlist students to write their own report cards, or bring up personal experiences while teaching a sex-education class?  Sarah Shun-lien Bynum finds characters at their most vulnerable, then explores those precarious moments in sharp, graceful prose. From this most innovative of young writers comes another journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up.

Originally published: Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2008.

A funny, sharply observed look into the life of a teacher and another journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up.

Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum's first novel, Madeleine Is Sleeping, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2004. She was recently appointed head of the creative writing department at the University of California, San Diego. She lives in Los Angeles.

Contents

Talent 1

Accomplice 23

Sandman 49

Creep 75

Crossing 101

Yurt 123

Satellite 149

Bump 175

Acknowledgments 195