Summary:
Charlotte Simmons, beautiful, "book smart" and naive product of the rural South, comes of age as a college Freshman at Dupont University. Other characters face their own issues, like the big basketball star being challenged by his spot on the team, the intellectual newspaper reporter nosing after the "big story," and even the frat boys, oblivious to their drinking problems but starting to think about how they'll get jobs with such low GPAs. Will Charlotte remain "pure," intellectually and physically, in this maelstrom?

I might recommend this book.

Why?
Stereotypes abound. I find it hard to believe anyone could be as clueless as Charlotte. But the story keeps moving along . . . Wolfe has written a page-turner, no doubt about it.

What didn't I like? Pompous language -- I don't mind learning new words, to a point. Too many and it's just annoying. (He actually used "Schadenfreude" at least four times! OK, we get it!)

And while I think it's probably an accurate portrayal of some college students, I hope it's not all! They were so uniformly unlikable, it was hard to know who deserved his/her punishment.

The plot and characters were multifaceted and complex, enough to have a little sympathy for even the worst scoundrels, and be disgusted with the "good girl."

One thing to note: if you are offended by what Wolfe calls the "f*** patois" (and I call really offensive language,) skip this one.

For some reason sexual situations in this book don't even shock; they are so clinical and devoid of feeling that they might as well be a lecture in Anatomy 101.

One reviewer said that "a 74-year old man might be able to get into the head of an 18-year old girl, but it isn't Wolfe, and it isn't this book." I agree.

Employee Initials: SB Review Date: January 2005

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