<p>That just sounds like a load of manure to me. It’s news that 20-year-olds are confused and ambivalent about sexuality? That they perceive a difference between their personal ideals and the behavior of others? (Behavior that, of course, they consistently misprise.)</p>
<p>My parents described the same feelings to me, and everyone I knew – everyone – had them. It didn’t take “superhuman” 18 year-olds to negotiate the pitfalls of sexuality. Almost everyone did it just fine by trial and error. I see nothing in my kids’ lives to suggest that anything is radically different now, whether it’s at Duke or anywhere else.</p>
<p>The trick to a romantic relationship is finding someone you want to have one with who wants to have one with you. Period. Difficult wherever you are. Ad I don’t recoil in horror if kids want to “hook up” while they’re waiting. Some will, some won’t. Some are in the middle. As it was ever thus.</p>
<p>Speaking of AH. Superbad is now making Dartmouth the place to go. One of my CC students was wearing a t-shirt that said, “I am McLovin.” I said, “ooh, isn’t he the creepy one?” I like the Michael Serra character, of course, as a mom and Juno lover. He said, “No he’s cool, and I want to go to Dartmouth.” Me: “You need a 4.0.” Him, “Yup.”</p>
<p>Back to the book, I liked the character that delivered pizza and tutored the basketball player. And Charlotte’s father and her high school teacher and the professor climbing up in the bleachers.</p>
<p>I remember feeling very frustrated with the title character for being so naive and just clueless about popular culture. Here was a young woman who was knowledgeable enough to apply to and get herself into a top school, who was well-read and academically able…but it seemed like she knew nothing whatsoever about college life.</p>
<p>Overall I enjoyed reading the book. I thought a lot of it (the fraternity formal) was scarily accurate. Reading about these experiences through Charlotte’s voice began to get annoying though; like a few other people have said, she was overly naive.</p>
Have you ever been to northern NH? I am guessing not. There isn’t much to do besides have parties, especially in the winter when it is -20 and dark at 4pm.</p>
<p>S at Duke, and we’ve discussed it. The book is widely considered by Duke students to greatly exaggerate certain aspects of Duke life. It’s like a political cartoon…nobody looks at a political cartoon and says: “Wow, does Bush (or Clinton or Obama or McCain) really have ears and a nose that big?!” Of course not; certain prominent features are exaggerated to make a point. Same thing with the book. Is there drinking, partying, drug use, promiscuity at Duke? Sure, but not as much as portrayed in the book. Why overstate these things? Hey, it sells books and it gets people talking (thus this thread). The book was written to make money, and without exaggeration of these moral flashpoints, it would be a much more boring, blase book.</p>
<p>I thought it was one of Tom Wolfe’s most poorly written books, sorry..as did my entire reading group of 12…we all have college kids and we live very close to Washington and Lee..and I have a couple of friends who are friends of Mr. Wolfe and contemporaries of his. Our college days were pretty wild so I am not sure we were shocked by the book. Just not impressed by it. Many of my reading group ladies have daughters so it is interesting to discuss the book from angles of sons vs daughters. And can I add that the Duke I visited in the 70s was much more drug infested and full of open kegs than the Duke of today and that I personally think non drinkers at Duke today exist in considerable numbers and have their own place where in the 70s you were truly taunted if you were drug free. The themes of Charlotte Simmons are worthwhile indeed to chat about in any home! If I was Tom’s daughter…who went to Duke by the way…I’d have been less than pleased with Dad. And I absolutely love Tom Wolfe for who he is and think he has written a couple real fantastic send offs that contributed a lot to the Big Chat in the USA. Tom is a rascal and I am not saying that there wasn’t plenty of fun in the book and plenty of truth…I just thought the book was a flop…the heroine was too ridiculous and the boys were too stereotyped..ho hum. It is very salacious but not in a fun way…it felt like a 60 year old’s version of sexual escapades of the young and beautiful ..very dated..I remember there was a lot of criticism of his clumsy reference to Britney Spears in it…I mean honestly…As If anyone at Duke cares about her. As a sendup of college sexuality and loss of innocence..it just didn’t have much reality to it. Unlike Bonfire which was simply brilliant about the 80s and made everyone squirm. I have never felt the same about brown lipstick I know that…</p>
<p>“A Man in Full” had flashes of genius but was mostly trash. “Charlotte Simmons” was the biggest waste of paper I have ever read–and I only finished it because it was a present and I felt obligated. His days of writing like he did in “The Right Stuff” are long over. He should retire his pen–he’s an embarrassment.</p>