''The Abstinence Teacher'' is a 2007 novel by American author

Tom Perrotta Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. It tells the story of Ruth Ramsey, a divorced

sexual education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

teacher who lives in suburban

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and comes into conflict with the town's conservative population. According to Perrotta, it is "all about sex education and the

culture war A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...

s."Bancroft, Colette
"From page to screen"
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', 2007-01-14. He was inspired to write the novel after reading of the influence of

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

voters on the 2004 presidential election, stating, "I did feel somewhat inadequate as a novelist, just like I'd missed something huge happening in this country. I really did set out to kind of investigate that world." The novel also touches on other issues such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

in the suburban setting. Rich, Motoko
"A Writer's Search for the Sex in Abstinence"

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, 2007-10-14. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.

Critical reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called the book "ruefully humorous and tenderly understanding of human folly." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' wrote that ''The Abstinence Teacher'' "is rife with Perrotta’s subtle and satiric humor."

Film adaptation

Warner Independent Pictures Warner Independent Pictures was an independent film division of the American film studio Warner Bros., itself a division of Warner Bros. Discovery, which then was known as TimeWarner. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's ''B ...

purchased the film rights to the novel in September 2006,LaPorte, Nicole, and Pamela McClintock
"'Sunshine' duo in talks for next feature: Dayton, Faris may adapt 'Abstinence Teacher'"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 2006-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. more than a year before it was published. As of October 2007, Perrotta was working on the screenplay,Schwartz, Missy
"The Q&A: Tom Perrotta: His Novel Take on Suburban Life"

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

, 2007-10-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-20. which, according to Perrotta's official site, was completed in 2008. The planned movie was originally supposed to be co-directed by ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...

'' directors

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a team of American film and music video directors who received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). Later the ...

. The project was taken over by '' The Kids Are All Right'' director

Lisa Cholodenko Lisa Cholodenko (born June 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the films ''High Art'' (1998), ''Laurel Canyon (film), Laurel Canyon'' (2002), and ''The Kids Are All Right (film), The Kids Are All Right ...

References

External links

Book summary
on Perrotta's official web site.
Early book review
on Readjunk.com 2007 American novels Italian-American novels Novels by Tom Perrotta Novels set in New Jersey Opposition to sex education Books critical of conservatism in the United States {{US-novel-stub