Joel M. reviewed on 1/6/2008

As with much Wolfe, this is essentially a burlesque paean to masculinity, only here juxtaposed with the uncomfortably complex social and emotional undercurrents of the PC movement. It is also classic Wolfe in its roaring, operatic conclusion and denouement, tying together too many wild threads a little too neatly. The deus ex machina that saves the day for all, even Charlotte, is-- who would have thought-- a work of fiction-styled journalism! Hyper-celebrated college athletes are roasted but not really questioned; post-feminist collegiate sexual politics are explored in sultifying detail but not really lamented (other than being shown as grotesque and vulgar). It takes a crack at the American class system but in the end accepts it with effete resignation. A worthwhile read, worth it alone for seeing a septuagenarian's romp with potty slang.

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