I Am Charlotte Simmons

If you ask me for a book recommendation, the one that first comes to mind is Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons.  Of course, anything Tom Wolfe is brilliant.  But, at the time I read Charlotte Simmons, I was just past the age of Charlotte, with enough similar experiences and just enough time between those experiences and reading the book that I could put it into perspective.

Charlotte is a brilliant college freshman who has led a sheltered life.  She goes to a very prestigious university and is culture shocked and completely let down by it.  The cast of characters includes the stereotypical college types:  the frat guy, the intellectual (socially awkward) geek, and the star basketball player.

What is simply amazing about this book is that an older guy wrote it.  He does an amazing job of capturing college life.  He did lots of research on college campuses including Stanford and Michigan.  With one little exception, a completely melodramatic boy induced depression, he nails the life of a college girl.  Or, a college girl like me.

I certainly was not as smart as Charlotte Simmons, but I was definitely the sheltered girl who went to the big fancy school and got an education.  Before I started college I barely knew what brand names were, let alone high end brand names.  Gucci for example.  Not a lot of need for designer duds when growing up on a ranch.  I remember using a month's worth of food money for a pair of Diesel jeans...just like Charlotte.

I've read reviews that pan Wolfe for setting the stage to make a big social commentary on college life, race relations, and sex hierarchies.  Or saying that Wolfe trying to "shock" us.  Having been there, nothing in the book is that shocking and telling it like it is...well, it is what it is.

This is definitely one of my favorite books.  Have you read it?  What do you think?  If you haven't read it, go get it right now!  It reads fast.  And, stop by and let me know what you think.