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A review by mattmatros
Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever by Walter Kirn
3.0
Three stars is probably a bit generous, but I enjoyed the very end of the memoir, where Kirn gives his final verdict on the Princeton experience, so the book gets a half-star bonus.
Outside of the last few chapters, this read like a veiled attempt for Kirn to brag about all the women he slept with and all the drugs he did when he was younger. There was nothing resembling a narrative thread, and there wasn't really any rhyme or reason for what anecdotes were included, except that he seemed to include the most salacious and to leave out anything related to actual coursework. This seemed odd to me, given what the book was supposed to be about (and also, that it was supposed to be about something).
Parts of this were fun to read, but mostly the memoir failed to hold my interest, and didn't give me much new insight into the college experience (again, the last couple chapters excepted).
Outside of the last few chapters, this read like a veiled attempt for Kirn to brag about all the women he slept with and all the drugs he did when he was younger. There was nothing resembling a narrative thread, and there wasn't really any rhyme or reason for what anecdotes were included, except that he seemed to include the most salacious and to leave out anything related to actual coursework. This seemed odd to me, given what the book was supposed to be about (and also, that it was supposed to be about something).
Parts of this were fun to read, but mostly the memoir failed to hold my interest, and didn't give me much new insight into the college experience (again, the last couple chapters excepted).