I Am Charlotte Simmons

Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe writes books I have enjoyed reading. He is not a writer for the ages, like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, but he has a gift for doing extensive research and writing very readable stories which capture the essence of some sub-set of Americana.

Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test captured the essence of the hippy state of mind better than any other book ever written. It is one of my favorite books. I Am Charlotte Simmons does not attain those heights. However, if anyone has an interest in viewing the early 21st century college campus life, this is a must read.

Charlotte Simmons, a “hillbilly” from Sparta North Carolina, is brilliant, highly motivated, and socially and culturally naïve. She receives a full scholarship to attend Dupont University, a fictional campus best described as a cross between Duke and Yale. She is thrown into a world of co-ed dorms, alcohol, sex, big time athletics, pedantic intellectualism, and spoiled filthy rich preppies. Wolfe does a great job of telling her story which involves all aspects of growth, disappoint, triumph and despair.

This book is more than bawdy, I would say “raunchy” is probably a better description. But campus life is raunchy in an age of changing values or lack thereof.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story and characters drew me in, and I found it harder and harder to put it down as I was drawn into the story and wanted to experience the denouement.

Review by Len Oppenheim