Although the lazy curriculum-makers of intermediate studies in Pakistan have killed this book for generations of Pakistanis by keeping it in the curriculum for the past five decades, to those who truly love literature and don't confuse spouting the names of obscure books with 'reading', this one is a great delight. In the very datedness of the character and the environs it describes lies its principal charm. Each time I have read this book, I have shed copious tears, and to me, personally, that is the greatest tribute a reader can pay to a deeply moving piece of writing.

A lovely and very touching story written by James Hilton. Alas, I haven't watched the corresponding movie.

4* Lost Horizon (1933)
3* So Well Remembered (1945)
5* The Passionate Year (1924)
4* Terry (1927)
4* Catherine Herself (1920)
4* Good-Bye, Mr. Chips (1934)
TR Random Harvest (1941)
TR We Are Not Alone (1937)
TR Time and Time Again (1953)
TR Nothing So Strange (1947)

Such a heart warming novella of an old school teacher reminiscing his life, how he saw Brookfield evolving, and himself playing a pivotal role in it.
As the events unfold in his mind in the form of warm and pleasant (and many a times not so pleasant) flashbacks, you are bound to participate.
Didn't understand many of the Chips jokes :(
Its neither preachy, nor tragic sentimental. The best part is, its not pretentious at all on any front.
A very enjoyable read you'd love to slurp in a single sitting.
Thanks for the reco Arpit.

Kính gửi thầy Chips!

Có lẽ những dòng này sẽ làm phiền tới thầy, khi những mai trời rạng, ánh ban mai lấp ló, Brookfield vẫn sẽ không thể lãng quên bóng hình thầy.
Dù rằng con chỉ biết tới sự nghiêm khắc truyền thống khi giảng dạy bộ môn tiếng La Tinh, những lúc hài hước, bâng khuâng, cô đơn, buồn bã của người thầy đáng kính qua 140 trang sách, nhưng khi tới những trang cuối cùng, dù biết thầy sẽ từ giã cõi đời và ngon giấc sau khi đã cống hiến cả một đời chèo lái con đò học thức, hàng mi con vẫn không thể ngừng nhoà lệ.

Con không thể biết Brookfield sẽ như thế nào nếu không có sự tận tâm của thầy, nhưng mong ngôi trường sẽ được chăm lo bởi bàn tay của một người hiệu trưởng tốt, đáng kính, không để đi theo một lối mòn, phô trương hay thấp thoáng sự thối nát của thời đại. Mọi thứ sẽ không rệu rã, những đứa con của thầy sẽ luôn cần thiết và tưởng nhớ tới bóng hình thầy. Và mong khi ở đó, thầy sẽ được nghỉ ngơi thật ổn thoả, vì thầy đã cống hiến cả đời vì nghề giáo. Và nếu thầy gặp lại được cô Katherine Bridges, điều đó thật tốt. Sẽ không có một mai ai đó rời bỏ thầy nữa, tin rằng thầy sẽ không cô đơn và sẽ có thể hạnh phúc.

Thầy đã hạnh phúc chứ? Con tin là thầy đã có một cuộc đời không hối tiếc, mong thầy sẽ có thể mãi hạnh phúc..

Và sẽ có một ngày nào đó, khi con có thể hội ngộ với thầy, một cách bình yên nhất.

Tạm biệt thầy Chips..

25.08.2022 → 1934

3/3

A beautifully crafted audiobook with my favourite narrator,Martin Jarvis bringing old "Chips" to life with humour and a touch of melancholy,related to the sad times he lived through.A tear jerker but a
wonderfully inspiring story.Highly Recommended.

I saw the film some time ago, and as it turns out it was an excellent adaptation – very faithful to this sweet, sad, warm little book. I don't want it to sound like a criticism when I say I have little to say about it beyond that (sweet, sad, warm); it isn't. I enjoyed it very much, though about halfway through the nostalgia became melancholy despite Chips's perennial good humor, and I needed a break from even so short a book. If nothing else what I'm going to remember strongly about Goodbye, Mr. Chips is the picture of the old man (not ill, mind, just tired) sitting by his fire with sudden and unexpected tears pouring down his face.

The characters are remarkably alive; the setting is vivid; the period – especially the Great War – is made real. Mr. Chips – rather belatedly – joins the ranks of teachers I wish I'd had, teachers who actually care about what they're doing and about their pupils: teachers completely unlike any I had after third grade (Mrs. Schattan was wonderful; I have no use for anyone who came after). This is a lovely, bittersweet, poignant brief story of a life well-lived, of a full and rich life which had an impact – a positive impact – and which left a beautiful legacy. You can't ask for much more than that.

Novela corta entrañable y melancólica.

Loved this charming story.

I found myself envying Mr. Chips his life. Though he lived in very tumultuous times, almost everything back then was simpler; there were less demands in one’s day-to-day affairs. And one can actually enjoy and savor the rest of one’s afternoon sipping tea while looking out over the window to the idyllic scene of kids bicycling along the street. The pace is not like today’s hectic one, wherein just thinking of what one still has to do for the rest of the day is exhausting in itself.

The persona of Chips is also very likeable. More than a mentor, he exuded that aura of an ‘endearing’ grandpa that has a bottomless reserve of anecdotes and jokes, which he never tires of churning out for anyone who cares to hear. Someone whom a student can pay a visit at home for the undemanding pleasure of a relaxing afternoon.

From personal experience, I haven’t encountered any professor who invested that much effort in getting to know his/her students beyond the walls of the classroom, who delighted in being able to remember the student’s names beyond the school grounds. Of course, it may simply be due the nature of the teacher-student dynamics back then.

And for that, I grew more envious. (Though, of course, females were regarded back then in a more unfavorable light…so…)

In any case, this short story of a life lived comfortably in the simplest of terms, with all its highs and lows, is truly touching. My favorite bit was his stoicism in proceeding with his Latin class while an air-raid was occurring above-ground, succeeding in subduing the fears of his students, and even making them laugh, by shifting their attention to the reference of Germanic campaigns in the chronicles of Caesar in Gaul.

And then there's the curious fact that I was surprised at how the ending nearly pushed me to tears.

An easy ‘reading’ story by Hilton, and the message is just as modest. But the lesson is undoubtedly a timeless one: if you’ll only get to live one life, live it by being humble, with a brimming font for laughter and contentment for the simplest of things. In the end, you will be the richer for it.

Seems to be many parallels to the date of publishing to the present. One would be how different generations evolve with those young and old, with each holding to their own beliefs and ideas. I thought it a poignant moment when Mr. Chips, in his later years, became filled with emotion to the point of tears. And that the then and the now are no different in this regard; a man's tears are still construed as weakness. I believe Mr. Hilton's prose delivered a contradiction to this perspective on the subject of weakness by demonstrating the value and strength Mr. Chips' character displayed. He showed strength to stand boldly on his beliefs knowing it went against the grain of society, he held the discipline to be true to self, and through wisdom and perspective became moved to share empathy with mankind. True cowardice is the fear to act, the fear to opinionate, to simply follow with no regard to morals/ethics and have others do your thinking for you. Mr. Chips' character, I found to be endearing.

I'm not crying, you're crying!
Little more than a novella this book packs an emotional punch that some big novels can only dream of.
Like all the best stories it's simple, Mr Chipping becomes Latin Master at Brookfields, a respectable school for the sons of middling gentlemen in Victorian England. Down through the years and decades he becomes part of the school and it becomes his life. Through personal tragedy, war, the various ups and downs of life, his devotion to Brookfields and his students fulfils him, gives his life meaning and purpose.
That's really the theme of this book, filling your life with something to give it meaning, and without anything even resembling preachiness the author manages to touch the reader's heart and make a lasting impression.
I found this book profoundly beautiful and deeply meaningful and considering how short it is that becomes an even more impressive achievement.
I will re-read this in five or ten years and enjoy it even more. It's that good.

Goodbye, Mr.Chips has been on my shelf for as long as I remember; what I don’t remember is how it came to be there but it is easily one of my earliest reads, one that I am grateful for to whoever put it there and surely, one that has stayed with me most indelibly. If I look back on my journey, this was probably my first ‘quiet’ and ‘everyday’ novel(la), the kind that I now have come to love so much.

For such a short book, a little over a short story and a bit below novella in size, it expertly manages to tell the (very-long) life story of Mr. Chips, an honest, humble teacher with a life lived in some quiet town of England, well quiet except when once bombarded during WWII. That is a scene that has stayed with me - the school being bombarded from outside and Mr.Chips going on teaching his pupils, only assuming a louder voice to drown out the outside noise. Oh, this wasn’t a spoiler; nothing happens to anyone.

The other thing that has stayed with me was his life, and how even though it was so small, so ordinary, it was made large by his personality and his passions. He taught Latin, a language quickly going out of syllabus back then, yet his lessons were one for the ages. I feel schooled by him in life’s most essential lessons - seeing joy in the little things, letting laughter in more often, and being unfazed by life, come whatever may. 4.5 stars!