Let me begin by saying that by the end of this book I was completely apathetic. I was so apathetic; I didn't even care about my apathy. I didn't care about ONE.SINGLE.CHARACTER, not even the alleged protagonist. The ending could have been that a meteor hit the school and blew everyone up and I would have just shrugged, closed the book, and placed it in my "done" book box.
Reading this book was, at times, like listening to Ben Stein's character on The Wonder Years. He was that monotone science teacher that droned on and on. Well, this book went on and on and often lulled me to sleep. I would not have minded that, if something were occurring. Here's the thing, though, nothing happens. Absolutely nothing of interest. The story follows a girl named Lee throughout her four years at a boarding school. She is on scholarship and most of the other students are not. So here is what happens:
1) She is socially awkward
2) She makes one real friend
3) She thinks the rich girls are bitches and everyone is judging her
4) She avoids social contact
5) She develops a crush on a popular guy
6) She secretly messes around with this guy
7) The guy moves on
8) She finally outwardly states how unhappy she is by way of NYT reporter/article
9) The other students give her the side-eye for a few days
10) She graduates
That's it. The author describes multiple trips to the dining hall, interactions with teachers, and most irritatingly she describes every last thought that Lee ever has. Lee is a very unhappy, self-conscious girl with low self-esteem. Her every thought is about what others are thinking about her. If someone says good morning to her in the hallway she spends a paragraph trying to think through whether or not the person really meant to greet her. So in the beginning of the book, I was anticipating that she would evolve and that kept me reading. I kept waiting for something. Anything. I was on page 280 before I realized nothing was going to happen. I was duped. She doesn't change one bit. By the end of the book, she is still thinking about what others are thinking. I didn't want to think I was duped so I found myself trying to seek deeper meaning, but if the character stays the same where is the profundity? Is the lesson that some of us are destined to be unhappy? Maybe it is a cautionary tale about living life in the shadow of others? I don't know. I suppose if I wanted to spend any more time on it, I could come up with something intellectual, but I've given this book enough of my time.
This is the second book by Curtis Sittenfeld that I've read. I am wary about reading a third.
