Homework: A Memoir

In Homework, Geoff Dyer takes readers on a quietly brilliant coming-of-age journey through post-war Cheltenham. With his trademark wit and razor-sharp observational flair, Dyer retraces his path from an only child in a modest two-up, two-down house, surrounded by conker fights, prog rock, rugby misadventures, and sugar-fueled innocence, to the transformative moment of passing the 11-plus exam that opened the door to grammar school and, ultimately, Oxford.

This memoir crackles with affectionate detail and lighthearted nostalgia, from coal fires and outdoor toilets to school dinners and bubblegum cards. Yet beneath the humor lies a deeper reflection on class, opportunity, and the bittersweet drift between childhood and ambition. Dyer’s prose sparkles with the same curious energy found in his fiction and essays, transforming the mundane, like school food or weekend jobs, into vivid portals of memory and meaning.

At its heart, Homework is a warm, self-deprecating ode to family, English life, and the small moments that shape who we become. Equal parts comic and moving, it reminds us that sometimes, what we learn at home becomes the foundation for everything that follows.