I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe is a gross book, a crass and crude and bawdy book, or at least it’s a story containing a heavy dose of those things however negatively (read: unappealingly) they are presented. And this is exactly where its merits lie.

Many people consider themselves cultural connoisseurs and therefore rationalize spending inordinate amounts of time watching stupid, obscene, softly pornographic and gratuitously violent films (books not as much because of the amount of work involved to digest them) only to say that “this movie [sorry, “film”] is a great example of depravity….” So a movie like The Departed is somehow considered worthwhile. Yeah, if you were considering the career path of organized crime.

But there are stories that really do inform us about things we don’t know about and might need to. I’ve known more than a few parents sending their kids off to colleges and universities having no idea what takes place there. The ignorance is either willful or simple naievete, but either way a story like I Am Charlotte Simmons can be a good dose of reality for anyone considering sending their kids to a secular college or university (few Christian colleges are much different but there’s probably a better book to skewer that hypocrisy). Not every school will be like Dupont nor every girl have the weaknesses (or the strengths) of Charlotte Simmons, but frat boys are, well, frat boys, and collegiate athletic programs are small and sometimes big businesses with players filling the role of cash cow. This book, for all of its narrative craft and wit, is difficult to enjoy because of the filth, which is the point. Some of those least likely to pick it up (or even hear about it) because of the high f-bomb count are the ones who ought most to read it. Christians who intend on attending public schools (I almost wrote “universities” but middle and high schools are catching up) or sending their kids there ought to be informed about what they are getting into. I Am Charlotte Simmons is one cautionary tale about what they will encounter to one degree or another.