"I am Charlotte Simmons"

[sigmagrrl]

I bought it before Thanksgiving and I still haven't finished it.

Note to self: Do NOT try to read this while drinking a Merlot. You lose track of where you were!!

I hope I'm done soon!

[XOMichelle]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
I had a hard time remembering that DuPont was supposed to be in the "upper, upper" echelon of colleges; up there with Harvard. I wonder if athletes are worshipped so avidly at schools like that? Or if there is really such shame in being a "brain"? Or if there is really so much friction between greeks and non-greeks. I always figured the attitude at such places is, "you were able to get in, so you're one of us."

All I can tell you is about my experience at school. I went to Stanford, and I loved it. Like anywhere, there were social groupings—circles of friends and people who knew each other. People with similar interests generally hung out together, and there was some form of a social hierarchy (not unlike society at large). Not everyone cared- in fact I'd have to say most people didn't- they had their friends and that was that. But the social, attractive movers and shakers were still social, attractive movers and shakers. Being an athlete was a big deal- not only were you able to handle a huge time commitment and still be a student (an accomplishment that was quite admirable), but you worked out all the time and were probably good looking. Greek life was very small.

Another factor that might have contributed something was that literally everyone you met had done something notable, or had a hidden (or not so hidden) talent. But that was just it-- everyone was smart, everyone had done something cool, everyone valued their education and was willing to work for it. As a freshman, you suddenly realized that you were exactly the same as everyone else around you—there was definitely an impetus to distinguish yourself in some way academically or otherwise.

I've heard "I am Charlotte Simmons" is an exaggeration, and from the names of the characters and the plot description, I think that’s right on. But it’s fiction. Hard chemistry midterms and thesis writing don’t make exciting novels.

ETA: Ok Ok, this is pure gossip and speculation, but I've heard that Harvard is a lot like my alma matter in terms of social scene (laid back, individual, with an emphasis on modesty). I've also heard that Princeton and Penn have more social ladders to climb. But this is coming from someone who didn't go looking for any ladders -- I'm sure if you want to do some climbing you can find circles anywhere!

[AchtungBaby80]

I had never heard of this book until I saw it at Barnes & Noble and bought it because I had a gift card and the book itself was really thick, so I was thinking a lot of bang for the buck. I couldn't put it down the first 3/4 of the way through it, but I thought the ending sort of...fell apart. I don't know how to describe what I mean--I just think it was too quick and sort of fell flat after all this building up.

At first, I was disgusted that someone could paint as stereotypical a picture of a "mountain family" as the author did, but after I thought about it some more, I realize he's right, to an extent. My grandparents were like that...talked like that, acted like that...so I guess it's realistic. But I did get a little bit of an anti-feminist vibe. The only "strong" woman in the book, that annoying Camille girl, was described as a "bitch" and always behaved in an over-the-top way...all the other girls were either naive (like Charlotte) or just eye candy, it seemed. That's scary if that's how the world really is...

[Munchkin03]

I read it on a flight from JFK to Seoul. It was pretty good, and reminded me a lot of my college years. Of course, I wasn't as naive as Charlotte, but I knew a lot of girls like her!

Some more of my thoughts:

1. I went to school with a lot of kids who WERE Millenial Mutants. Of course, they didn't call themselves that. When Wolfe was describing Adam, he might as well have been describing half of the guys who worked on the independent newspaper on my campus--right down to being "bad-ass Rhodies."

2. I, too, thought it was sad that Charlotte didn't have any friends at the end of the book. Also...it seemed as if she stopped caring about school. Did being JoJo's girlfriend make up for all of that?

3. Regarding the Greek system on campus--it reminded me a lot of my own experience. Hoyt reminds me of several kids I knew who just assumed that they'd end up in i-banking just because of where they went to college.

4. The Sizzling Skillet part made me laugh the hardest! It made me think that maybe TW hung out in places like this to figure out what they were like.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

CRAP! I shouldn't have checked this thread before I finished the book.

Too many spoilers.

[Nikki_DZ]

The book was okay. Not what I expected from the wonderful Tom Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is one of my favorite books. Ever.). My hubby, after seeing the picture on the back, and not knowing anything about literature that wasn't written by Issac Assimov, stated, "Who's that pompous a**?". As much as I love Tom, sometimes it seemed like he was just writing to hear the click of his keyboard.

And the end? Anyone else think he was like, "Aw, crap, I've written 600 some odd pages already. Better tie this thing up." The last chapter was so random.

I would have loved to have seen Jojo more developed. It was just like dumb jock, oh no, I love him. And calling a sorority the Douches?!

[WCUgirl]

I agree - the ending was rather abrupt.

I too would liked to have seen JoJo's character developed a bit more. Also, I would like to have seen the romance blossom b/w Charlotte & JoJo - was she dating him b/c she truly liked him (every time she talked to him she was so annoyed by him - why did this change?), or was it b/c she saw an opportunity to climb the social ladder? Also, had she learned from her mistakes and was she putting more of an emphasis on her studies?

[Blue Violets]

"I am Charlotte Simmons" = a generally fair portrayal of life at Duke

Wolfe's daughter Alexandra graduated from Duke 3 years ago. He's visited a lot and talked a lot to her about what life here is like.

(oh and those of you who don't consider Duke "very academically strong" or whatever it is you said up there, we are ranked #4 in the country above many Ivy-League schools too even)

[KillarneyRose]

Originally posted by Blue Violets
"I am Charlotte Simmons" = a generally fair portrayal of life at Duke

Wolfe's daughter Alexandra graduated from Duke 3 years ago. He's visited a lot and talked a lot to her about what life here is like.

(oh and those of you who don't consider Duke "very academically strong" or whatever it is you said up there, we are ranked #4 in the country above many Ivy-League schools too even)

Ok, that definitely makes sense. Duke is definitely a big basketball school as well as academically strong.

Did you enjoy the book?

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by Blue Violets
"I am Charlotte Simmons" = a generally fair portrayal of life at Duke

Wolfe's daughter Alexandra graduated from Duke 3 years ago. He's visited a lot and talked a lot to her about what life here is like.

(oh and those of you who don't consider Duke "very academically strong" or whatever it is you said up there, we are ranked #4 in the country above many Ivy-League schools too even)

Ranked #4 where?

Anyone can make a list of "rankings"...only a few are actually credible.

[Glitter650]

Originally posted by XOMichelle


Ok Ok, this is pure gossip and speculation, but I've heard that Harvard is a lot like my alma matter in terms of social scene (laid back, individual, with an emphasis on modesty). I've also heard that Princeton and Penn have more social ladders to climb. But this is coming from someone who didn't go looking for any ladders -- I'm sure if you want to do some climbing you can find circles anywhere!

== HI jACK ==

Well I don't know about socially really, but actually Cambridge really reminds me A LOT of Berkeley.


ETA: Stanford is def. laid back and has an emphasis on individuality, have you seen your band ??

That being said I know quite a few grads and students of Stanford, and some of them weren't so modest, but hey I guess you can find that anywhere...

[USFSDTAlum]

I liked the book, I thought it was good, it definitely reminded me of good times in college.
That said I HATED Charlotte. What a biotch. She gets upset about being judged, yet is constantly judging people the whole book. Makes fun of other girls for dressing slutty, and is constantly pinning up her clothes because her body is worth showing off in her mind. Puts Adam what I took as a month of BS, and is pissed at him after 14 HOURS of the same BS. She took this moral high ground and believed herself to be better then everyone, but why? Her morals were grounded in anything. Her virginity wasn't important to her because she was religious or something similar. Her virginity was important to her, because it was something she could hold over other peoples heads, and use to believe she was better then them. Unbelieveable. I was so glad I finished the book, because the girl was irritating me, and I couldn't take much more of her shit.

[Glitter650]

Just finished reading...

Some thoughts....

1) Def. a good portrayal of modern college life... couple things though, No University mails out grades... she coudl've hidden them until she lost her scholarship. That being said... IDK... I went to a mere state school, and people were totally respected for their brains, I mean of course people still would pressure you to go out with them even if you had a test... or said you wanted to study, but it wasn't like because you were considred a "nerd" for studying.. it was just because they wanted your company. I know he was emphasizing this for the athletes, but he seemed to make that point of the whole school as well, and that just really wasn't my experience... people were awed if you got good grades, going to the library wasn't something to "hide"

2) I agree with whoever said the ending was rather abrupt. Didn't really explain EXACTLY what become of Hoyt or Adam, or how Charlotte had come to be with Jojo.

Seriously the Douche ??!! I wouldn't join even if it was the "hottest" sorority hehe