This book was the ABSOLUTE WORST. The only reason I even got through it was because my cousin gave it to me for Christmas(WHY? WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME SO!!?) and I felt obigated to finish it.
First of all, the main character is this insufferable caricature of a goody-good southern girl who is so freaking naive about all life subjects that you want to punch her in the face(People drink beer and have sex in college? Who would have thought?!) For real? No one is that stupid. Also, she is a HUGE hypocrite. She's all like " I want people to be jealous and think I'm with this hot frat guy but when I see people dirty dancing I nearly throw up"! She's really just a stuck up mean girl who doesn't want to be seen with the nerdy guy and safety pins her dresses up so people will admire her legs. Her character just doesn't make sense. She wants to attract boys but then is scandalized when boys are attracted to her.
Also, okay, I'm from Arkansas, so I've seen hick and the way Mr. Wolfe portrays Charlotte and her family is so ridiculously stereotypical that it gets annoying fast. Has he ever even been to "the country"? I suspect not.
Secondly, the language in this book is weird, and very foul. It's like a pervy old man is trying way too hard to try to talk like "young folks today". Example: he talks about a character having "loamy loins"(Wtf?) and how the line of sweat in some girls butt crack is so sexy. Gross. I'm in college, and I've never heard anybody talk like the people in this book.
Finally, the ending sucks. After reading all that, I hoped the ending woud be somewhat redeeming, but no. The character of Charlotte goes from bad to worse. There is no growth, no lessons learned. She just turns into even more of a retarded uptight hypocrite.
I come to the conclusion that Tom Wolfe has no idea what college-aged kids are like but for some reason has a very bad opinion of them.

In classic Tom Wolfe style, this book provides some fascinating insights about humanity. Sure, the characters are types, but I actually found them all relatable to the common man in some way (fears, desires, plans for future, etc.). Writing style had all the wit and sass of an older Tom Wolfe but with all the light-hearted, mocking amusement of an observer who really isn't worked up about what's wrong with the world - I'm sure Wolfe disapproved of the college culture he wrote about, but you wouldn't necessarily guess that aside from the fact that characters get logical consequences for their actions.

Actually found reading the negative reviews about this book amusing... I think some readers either a) have never read a Wolfe book/essay before and therefore don't get HIM, or b) were offended by some of his veiled criticisms of modern university life and therefore it hit too close to THEM.

All the stars and more! *NO SPOILERS*

I just graduated college a little over a year ago, and this book is so accurate. I have met the people in this book, albeit they had different names. I have had the conversations that Charlotte had with those people. I became noticeably upset when Charlotte made mistakes and other characters proved to be exactly who they originally appeared to be. I wanted to stop them from making bad decisions and have them hear the voice of reason.

The book really struck a chord with me when I saw events that I had only experienced the beginnings of play out in full, and then I laughed, gasped, or cringed (sometimes out loud). The book shows the consequences of wanting to fit in, wanting to please people, and of not staying true to yourself in a college culture that can be self-destructive. The book shows a fundamental character change that is so disturbing, I couldn't stop reading. I kept wishing for certain events to occur that would provide closure, but it never happened because characters were too far gone.

Tom Wolfe wrote a fantastic book. The writing is accessible and articulate. He did a great job of making multi-dimensional characters by providing backstories and developing their arc every so often (Jojo, Hoyt, Adam, Charlotte, etc.). Also, the writing is articulate and detailed enough that impactful scenes drive the point home and you can picture the happiness, distress, sincerity, or duplicitousness of the characters as Wolfe details their mannerisms, thoughts, and body language.

In summary, "But everybody else is doing it, so why can't I do it too!"

I came to I Am Charlotte Simmons with trepidation. I had read the reviews that likened Wolfe to a voyeur and questioned his motivation in spending years "observing" typical college students fifty years his junior. It seemed creepy. But when I saw it in the bargain bin, I couldn't resist, and as it turned out, I couldn't put the thing down. Wolfe is a great writer and storyteller, and although there are some weird things about the book, like his linguistic obsessions over current uses of profanity, he presents a compelling story and a fascinating character in Charlotte. Charlotte, a brilliant student from the impoverished, rural North Carolina, earns a scholarship to the prestigious Dupont University, and dreams of intellectual stimulation unlike she has ever known. Instead, she finds a world of wealth, privilege, and debauchery. Although she wants to play the games of sexual intrigue of her classmates, she has none of the requisite accompanying hardness and cynicism, so her efforts are personally devastating. Wolfe deftly tackles big themes--purity, vanity, greed, social class. He may have gotten some of the details wrong, and if you are currently a college student I'm sure you will find much with which to quarrel, but the bigger story is superb.

738 σελίδες απόλυτης, συνεχόμενης και ασταμάτητης παπαρολογίας που το ξεκίνησα ντάλα καλοκαίρι και με βρήκαν τα Χριστούγεννα μέχρι να το τελειώσω διότι όπως πολύ καλά καταλάβατε αυτή η γκουμούτσα δεν διαβάζεται με τίποτα. Ένα κακογραμμένο και δήθεν "διδακτικό" τεράστιο κείμενο για το "κακό" κολλέγιο και τους κινδύνους που ενέχει η απόφαση να πας να σπουδάσεις. Γεμάτο με τετριμμένους χαρακτήρες κολλεγιόπαιδων και μία σχεδόν τρομοκρατική προκατάληψη για το τα δεινά που μπορούν να σε βρουν περνώντας την πόρτα της σχολής. Λες και του ανέθεσαν από την εκκλησία να γραψει το εγχειρίδιο του καλού φοιτητή και της αμαρτωλής τεστοστερόνης, του φρικτού αλκοόλ, και της συμφοράς του να απομακρύνεσαι από την οικογενειακή εστία, τύφλα να έχει ο Περίανδρος Πώποτας και να το πλασάρει στη νεολαία υπό τον μανδύα ενός μυθιστορήματος. Που μάλλον αυτό έγινε διότι δεν μπορώ να εξηγήσω αλλιώς τον τρόπο με τον οποίο ο συγγραφέας εξηγεί στις προτάσεις του κάποια πολύ απλά ζητήματα λες και απευθύνεται σε δωδεκάχρονα (γκουχ, γκουχ) πχ αυτή είναι μία εφημερίδα, στην εφημερίδα διαβάζουμε τα νέα της ημέρας, η εφήμερίδα έχει αυτό το κόστος. Αστεράκια 2 και δεν θέλω να ξαναπιάσω Τομ Γουλφ στα χέρια μου ούτε αν τα βιβλία του είναι τα μόνα που θα διασωθούν μετά από μία τραγική καταστροφή του πολιτισμού.

a 70-something year old man with an amazingly well-researched version of college life. SPOILER ALERT: the ending was stupid.

Yawn or cringe? Eye roll? So imagine your grandpa takes you out to the Dog 'n Suds for a root beer float. He goes on to tell you about what life was like at college - not for him but for you. He sprinkles in terms like "phat" and "shorty" and "rad" and "rutting" throughout his tale. Grandpa has been dipping into the Dictionary of American Youth Slang written by the Youth Minister at his church, who has covered the volume in a plain black cover lest it fall into the hands of the few blessed innocents out there, people like Charlotte Simmons, who would only become distraught at how _dirty_ and crude people are.

The point of all of this? Grandpa wants to make sure you know that college is a place of wildly raging hormones, cliques one hoped would have magically disappeared once the threshhold of the high school's doors have been crossed one last time, and LOTS of liquor. You know, in case you missed it on your trip through. He also wants to be sure you know what kind of bullet you dodged at your alma mater and how relieved you should be about it. *ahem*

Don't forget to let Grandpa know that he has dribbled ketchup all down his white suit while talking. You don't want him to be embarrassed by himself, now do you?
________

Disclaimer: The grandpa (Tom Wolfe-like)in this account is fictitious (sorta) and bears no resemblance whatsoever to the author's own grandpa, with the exception of the love of a good A&W root beer float.

My favorite book all time. I read it about a year after graduating college, and while I was working in a job where I interacted primarily with college freshmen. The themes in this book are SO relevant to today's college campus atmosphere. I wanted to make all of my students read it and learn from it. A very powerful book from the voice of a timid female college freshman.

Read over 200 pages & didn't like it

I remember a bunch of higher ed folks in my orbit reading this (and discussing it, and writing about it, and discussing it more) when it was released. I think the general consensus was "nope." I've had it on my shelf for what seems like an eon, and I finally decided to dive in.

I've not read Wolfe before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Is it ridiculous? Yup. Gratuitous? Oh yeah. Way too long? You know it. But I kind of loved it. Dylan Baker's reading on the audiobook is a performance for the ages, which might'e helped me like it more.

Anyway, I'll say this—after working in higher education on and off for 14 years, this book gets a LOT right, even if it exaggerates pretty much everything.

Due stelle e mezzo.
Assolutamente non all'altezza de "Il falò delle vanità", e acquistato solo perché quest'ultimo mi era piaciuto moltissimo.
Qualche buono spunto, ma nel complesso una lettura non troppo utile, che ci si può tranquillamente risparmiare se non si è particolarmente interessati alla vita nei College statunitensi.

I got so much enjoyment out of this book. If you attempt to read it as an actual piece of literature (or, God forbid, actually purchase it) you will be incredibly insulted and possibly enraged. I wouldn't even deign to call these characters stereotypes because I think that would be giving them more credit than they rightly deserve. And if you read it as the desperate attempt of an aging writer to remain relevant, it might just make you sad (unless you are already enraged/insulted in which case feelings of hatred may render you unable to feel pity). This is the literary equivalent of Crossroads with Britney Spears. Instead, read it to revel in the hilariously awful (oh sorry, Mr. Wolfe, I meant "well-researched") writing. Especially enjoy the abundant use of the phrase "mons pubis." Seriously.