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A review by lkbside
Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
3.0
I enjoyed the book and its look into the admissions process, made more credible by the author's experience reading applications for Princeton, the setting of the novel. I especially liked how she began each chapter with a little snippet of an imagined college application essay.
Portia, the protagonist, isn't a particularly sympathetic or appealing character; she is very absorbed in her work in admissions and her "work" of keeping others at arms length. We're told early on that she has a secret in her past. The direction Portia's personal story was going in was a bit predictable and not terribly believable, in contrast to the author's writing style which is quite compelling and absorbing. Her final "admission" of the secret to her former partner gives one hope that she will continue to open up about her life, but I felt it would have been more satisfying if she also made a personal admission about her actions in her work.
Portia, the protagonist, isn't a particularly sympathetic or appealing character; she is very absorbed in her work in admissions and her "work" of keeping others at arms length. We're told early on that she has a secret in her past. The direction Portia's personal story was going in was a bit predictable and not terribly believable, in contrast to the author's writing style which is quite compelling and absorbing. Her final "admission" of the secret to her former partner gives one hope that she will continue to open up about her life, but I felt it would have been more satisfying if she also made a personal admission about her actions in her work.