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A review by books1533
Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
2.0
This book had an interesting premise, and I was looking for it as soon as I heard about it. But, it took way too long to get into the main plot, and at times it slogged through.... I found myself really having to push myself to finish; liked it well enough to want to see how it ended, but not enough to really be interested. Does that make sense?
As someone really interested in higher education -- and as someone with advanced degrees who thought they would be working in the university system -- I loved the peek into the admission process. However, I grew weary of Portia's (the main character) self-involvement. I get that the admission process is fraught with anxiety, etc. That many kids feel their self-worth is defined by where they go to college. That people hold her responsible if their kid didn't get into the college of their choice. Got it. Portia is not curing cancer here.... she is one of many people involved in the admission process. I found myself disliking her -- and understanding that she was carrying around this heavy weight of her importance to the world because she had nothing, and no one, else.
As someone really interested in higher education -- and as someone with advanced degrees who thought they would be working in the university system -- I loved the peek into the admission process. However, I grew weary of Portia's (the main character) self-involvement. I get that the admission process is fraught with anxiety, etc. That many kids feel their self-worth is defined by where they go to college. That people hold her responsible if their kid didn't get into the college of their choice. Got it. Portia is not curing cancer here.... she is one of many people involved in the admission process. I found myself disliking her -- and understanding that she was carrying around this heavy weight of her importance to the world because she had nothing, and no one, else.