A student of history : a novel / Nina Revoyr.
Rick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on his South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived. When he lands a job as a research assistant for the elderly Mrs. W--, the heir to an oil fortune, he sees it first simply as a source of extra cash. But as he grows closer to the iconoclastic, charming, and feisty Mrs. W--, he gets drawn into a world of privilege and wealth far different from his racially mixed, blue-collar beginnings. Putting aside his half-finished dissertation, Rick sets up office in Mrs. W--'s grand Bel Air mansion and begins to transcribe her journals - which document an old Los Angeles not described in his history books. He also accompanies Mrs. W-- to venues frequented by the descendants of the land and oil barons who built the city. One evening, at an event, he meets Fiona Morgan - the elegant scion of an old steel family - who takes an interest in his studies. Irresistibly drawn to Fiona, he agrees to help her with a project of questionable merit in the hopes he'll win her favor. A Student of History explores both the beginnings of Los Angeles and the present-day dynamics of race and class. It offers a window into the usually hidden world of high society, and the influence of historic families on current events. Like Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby, it features, in Rick Nagano, a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn't belong.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781617756634
- ISBN: 1617756636
- ISBN: 9781617756641
- ISBN: 1617756644
- Physical Description: 238 pages ; 21 cm
- Publisher: Brooklyn, New York : Akashic Books, [2019]
- Copyright: ©2019
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Subject: | Graduate students > Fiction. Aristocracy (Social class) > California > Fiction. Social classes > California > Fiction. Los Angeles (Calif.) > Fiction. |
Genre: | Domestic fiction. FICTION / Literary. |
Available copies
- 4 of 4 copies available at SPARK Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 4 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Altoona Area Public Library | F REV (Text) | 33240004870179 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Carroll Valley Library | FIC REVOYR NINA (Text) | 35740635450570 | Fiction | Available | - |
Pottsville Free Public Library | Fic (Text) | 30003008931683 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Dimmick Main Library | F NIN (Text) | 304441003415809 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |