Is amazing. What a good book. Tom Wolfe, while not my favorite author of all time, is very good at cultural satire and tends to be very frank when addressing the issues at hand. In this particular novel, Mr. Wolfe is up front and very "in your face" about the U.S. College scene. He makes no bones about the joke our "places of higher learning" are, nor does he let the more recent generations of Americans off the hook for their behavior.
Though humanistic in his approach, and ultimately setting up Ms. Simmons up for failure due to the premise of the book...as in "I AM Charlotte Simmons...no more and no less...Mr. Wolfe does give us a strong character who stands for what she knows is right. It is only too unfortunate that her ultra conservative parents did not give her more weapons in her cultural arsenal except that drugs, alchohol, sex, and parties are bad and are never to be discussed. That belief does nothing for Charlotte except make her a somewhat disgusted, semi-interested recluse in the goings on around her.
What happens to Charlotte? Well, you will have to read for yourself. But, I would suggest this book to everyone...especially 18 year old girls and their parents...as a guide to America's modern college scene.
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