I Am... A Very Long Book

After nearly two months of consistent listening in the car, my husband and I finally (enfin!) finished listening to I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. At 25 discs this is the longest one we have ever attempted. I am still undecided as to whether or not I liked it. If I used a star system, it would get a 2 ¾, maybe 3 stars at most out of five. The performance by Dylan Baker was excellent though.

I think the book could have used brutal editing. Many, many parts are drawn out in a painful way, and there are inexcusable repetitions. I also thought the ending was lacking, as many subplots didn’t get resolved. The portrayal of the so-called Ivy-league university life was often unrealistic too, and I actually wanted to physically injure certain characters.

One could and should make up a Charlotte Simmons drinking game. Take a swig every time you encounter the words ‘loins’, ‘solar plexus’, ‘matrix’, ‘skull-f*#k’, or ‘f*#k-patois’. Gulp down another sip every time Adam acts cowardly or whiney, Charlotte behaves selfishly or admires herself, or Hoyt acts cocky. Knock back a shot every time words are repeated several times in a row or some body part is referred to by its anatomical name. You’ll be under the table in no time.

Clearly, this book had some merit or I would have never stuck by it for that long. I think that the actor himself had something to do with that, but I can’t actually be sure. My favourite storyline is the Charlotte-Jojo relationship. Every other hook-up or pseudo boyfriend she has gets on my nerves to varying degrees.

After all this criticism, I should at least tell you what is good about this book: the storyline itself pulls the reader along nicely, the characters are well fleshed out, and the scenes are well-described. I also generally like university locales in fiction, and I take pleasure in reading about other people learning and getting inspired. There you have it.

Is this book recommended? I’d advise you to take out the abridged audio version, as it probably leaves out some of the mundane details that bog the story down in this one.