Tom Wolfe, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
2004
Gadfly rarely reviews fiction, as the narrative possibilities of K-12 education reform are skimpy. I Am Charlotte Simmons, however, deserves a look, not just from education reformers but from just about everyone. Much is going on in this 600+ page story about an innocent young woman who leaves the evangelical hills of North Carolina for fictional Dupont University, which has the academic standing of Harvard, the sports program of Michigan, and the bacchanalian social life of Florida State. In the deepest sense, I Am Charlotte Simmons is about whether there is a "soul" or "being" separate from our determined genetic nature. (As always, Wolfe impishly leaves the question unanswered, though I suspect he wants the soul to exist - and is deeply saddened that he sees no proof of it.) What has attracted the reviewers' attention, of course, is Wolfe's portrayal of the orgiastic culture of contemporary college life, where sports stars reign supreme, academic work is secondary to fun, and buff young men sample freely from the sexual favors of nubile women, like chimps grazing from fruit trees. The world Wolfe describes is clearly exaggerated for effect, but not so exaggerated that those who care about education ought not to pause and wonder what has gone wrong with the American university. How did it happen that many of the nation's future elite spend four (or four-and-a-half, or five, or more) years partying - especially since the tab for this bacchanal now exceeds $100,000 for most students? I Am Charlotte Simmons is a must-read for education reformers and policymakers, though not a Christmas gift recommendation for your 70-year-old aunt. And if you're an undergraduate or recent college grad, you might want to keep this book away from your parents. Check it out here.