Snapshots!

I just finished Snapshots. Not since the days of Animal House has an American writer more perceptively captured the adolescent fantasies and fraternal rituals of the American male. Snapshots, will send deans of students into therapy and college presidents back to the faculty. The fraternity stories have the kind of authenticity and the undeniable flavor of the late '60s that you can't make up. I adored the Dean Hadley/Lunch scene and, of course, Pristine Christine's fur coat dialogue is spot on. I haven't laughed out loud while reading for a long time and people walking by my office door wanted to know what was so funny. But as much as I enjoyed the Lodge material, I think the early Utica childhood and parochial school material and the country club reflections are exceptionally insightful. In fact, if we set aside the penises and mooning commentary, which are fun and revealing (pardon the lousy pun), the best moments are the more poignant ones when the authors' prose captures the angst of pre-teen and adolescent life. I want the recipe for those Italian pork chops. Warm regards from a former College President.