Never Fade Away by William Hart is a novel of hope and reconciliation, told through the journal entries of a college-level English teacher and one of his students.
John Goddard is a Vietnam Veteran who finds himself fighting his fellow teachers against an English Department policy that seeks to fail out as many of its minority students as possible.
Tina Le is a Vietnamese college student with a gift for storytelling, but who fails a final exam meant specifically to confuse the Basic English class of non-native English speakers.
The two main characters battle their own internal demons as they simultaneously struggle against external foes. Hart's framing of the novel as alternating journal entries moves the story along swiftly with out melodrama. He has succeeded in presenting two very distinctive and very convincing voices that draw us almost voyeuristically into their lives.
Hart doesn't spoil his reader with a cut-and-dry "happy ending," tied up in a nice little bow. However, we are left with a sense of satisfaction that the characters will be all right.
This is Hart's first novel.
