Thoughts, impressions comments regarding Wolfe's latest? Please only comment if you've actually read the book.

While I did think it was his weakest work over his last three novels, I don't think it deserved the extreme backlash it has been receiving. I found it entertaining. Call me crazy but I wasn't expecting a 70 year old man to completely nail the experience and attitudes of college kids today. Given that, I thought he did a fairly good job with his "stereotyped" look into university life. I'm under the impression that many people are taking this book too literally. He makes some good points about the glorification of athletes, the popular "partypartyparty" attitude of many students and the overwhelming desire to conform and be perceived as "popular and cool" by your peers. The characters in the novel are all overblown "caricatures" of these different student types. It's flawed, but a Metacritic rating of 37 is completely undeserved. Another 30 points should be added to that score.

Is this a book written by Gene Wolfe?

No, it refers to Tom Wolfe.

I've read excerpts, but not the whole novel. I went to college a few years ago, and while I feel I wasn't really a part of it, yes, those cliches do exist. To the point that they aren't really stereotypes, they are in fact reality in some places. I met my fair share of people who were real-life caricatures of the anti-establishment hippy, the bloated athlete, the "Animal House" partier...if there was more to them than that, it was hidden beneath a facade. For better or worse, those people really do walk the earth. I'm guessing most critics criticizing Wolfe on those points did not go to school at places like Ohio State or UW-Madison.

It is kind of shocking that any Tom Wolfe book would get such a low rating..he's a brilliant writer, and few would deny it. Again, I haven't read the entire novel, but a mediocre Tom Wolfe book is still great by most standards.