Some of the most explosive parts of the book involve sexual tension and expression, especially in relation to Charlotte. All but Hoyt’s character become enmeshed in the problems of big money athletics, right down to the improbable ending involving Charlotte.īut I think Wolfe is most successful in exploring the problems of gender on campus: from hyper-femininity to hyper-masculinity, and everything in-between.

Wolfe successfully narrates the corrupting influence of money in relation to both the sport itself and its relationship to university life. The coach of the basketball team, Buster Roth, is a memorable character. Wolfe has some successes in each area, particularly in relation to big money, high-profile athletics. Through these characters-as-types, Wolfe, I think, attempts to analyze the following issues in higher education: first-generation students, gender, Greek life, athletics, student journalism, and campus politics. But perhaps I should’ve judge the potential for highs based on my own slow unfolding as a thinker at college.

That tediousness is underscored by the seeming improbability of the occasional high intellectual engagements of its precocious actors, especially Charlotte (as a freshman) and Adam (who I think is a junior). Perhaps this too is a feature that speaks to Wolfe’s genius-his ability to inhabit a mindset. The incessant adolescence on display, from all four characters, made the story tedious for this reader. Wolfe’s ear for dialogue helps one persevere when the story is just average. At 738 pages, it was inevitable that the story would plod along at points. This is most likely a feature and not a bug for Wolfe fans. His insecurities, anger, and ambition are always on the verge of undercutting his larger more admirable traits. The average-looking Adam is a desperate wannabe intellectual and student journalist. JoJo is a frustrated but generally well-meaning athlete-a star basketball player at Dupont U.

Hoyt is the hot, preening frat boy, always read to sell-out a situation to get laid.

She is a first generation, wide-eyed college girl-poor by way of means, but exceptional for her self-awareness, good looks, and raw intelligence. None of the four characters are particularly likeable, but one might find one or more interesting by way of a student type, circa the 2000-2004 period, each represents. The story lines occur in the form of four characters: Charlotte, Hoyt, JoJo, and Adam. The book conveys four story lines of interest at the fictional Dupont University in Pennsylvania. A few months ago, however, it came up in conversation with a workmate. I had wanted to read it upon publication, but it appeared in the midst of dissertation research and writing. Yesterday I finished Tom Wolfe’s *I Am Charlotte Simmons* (2004).

I am charlotte simmons writer