kevfuz

As a Kappa Sigma, I was intrigued by this memoir that allegedly dealt with the hazing-intensive pledging period of a young man in the mid-90's in South Carolina. What I ended up reading was more like a pathetic attempt at ripping off Dave Eggers. Not only was the entire book pretty much void of cohesion or punctuation, the plot struggled to stay linear and relevant, with so many names of brothers and pledges dropped that it quickly became difficult to distinguish between tormentor and victim. But the style wasn't even the biggest problem. The main character/author sets himself up as supremely unlikable throughout the entire book, so when the hazing actually occurs (rather minor, to be honest, but still reprehensible on principal), you keep waiting for the real horror to begin. I've read this book twice, trying to give it a second chance in March of 2007. The entire book is basically ruined by the fact that you can't really stand the main character, and have little to no sympathy for his situation. He basically seems like an unstable, sad man, and while you pity him to a certain extent, all you really want is for him to stop whining.

2022-10-21 05:45