Speech Team by Tim Murphy
In Speech Team, Tip Murray, a nonprofit writer in his early forties, receives shocking news of a former teammate's suicide. This revelation leads him and his high school best friend, Natalie, on a nostalgic journey to reconnect with two other members of their speech team. As they delve into their past, they uncover a common wound inflicted by their speech coach, Gary Gold. Determined to confront Gold, they travel to Florida, calling the trip a reunion of sorts, allowing themselves to build up the wherewithal to visit their old teacher.
Maya Angelou is famous for having said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." It is that aspect that holds so much truth to the theme in Speech Team. And yet it is the combination of these sharp, hurtful remarks and the strong feelings they elicited that makes the exact phrasings stick in the minds of Tip and his three surviving teammates: Natalie, Anthony, and Jennifer. It is that combination that made Pete include the exact phrasing in his last words. The bigoted, racist, and inappropriate comments have echoed in the minds of these five for decades.
It is also part of the battle of reconciling the person who hurt them with the person who helped them. The remaining quartet emphatically praise Gold's teachings and coaching skills. But the fact remains that looking at these wildly painful comments through their adult lenses, freshly fitted with the updated clarity of the progressing world, confronting Gold feels like the necessary next step in an attempt to help heal these old wounds.
One can't help but wonder at the similarity to the name of the main character and the author. Tip's real name is Thomas. And perhaps whether that indicates a deeper layer to this novel is irrelevant, because almost everyone has had to experience a reckoning of some sort. The truth lies in the commonality of this experience...not in whether this is a thinly veiled roman à clef or not.
Another top Gen-X novel (still about ten years before my own time as a Gen-Xer — still waiting on this), Speech Team is peppered with nostalgic references to that time period, but largely the flashbacks to high school are recollections that are being excavated by Tip to flesh out Gary Gold in his own memory. Like many, these four have attempted to paint over the pain of comments from an otherwise beloved teacher, only to discover the original marks are easily visible just below the surface.
Murphy's writing is fantastic and I loved the voice of the novel and the brilliantly crafted character of Tip. The complex group dynamics are at the forefront with the mini-reunion in Florida. As the guards drop, the group feels tighter and closer than they ever could've been in high school. I'm definitely going to go back and read Christodora and keep a keen eye out for other offerings from Murphy.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
