Prep: Curtis Sittenfeld
I had never heard of this author or this book before. I read this because my friend Jenny recommended it. Not only do I generally like what Jenny suggests, she often suggests surprising things, things that I would not guess she would like. This makes it more exciting. You don’t know what you’re going to get.
Also, I assumed that Curtis Sittenfeld was a man, and this would increase the number of ‘books written by men’ I have read recently. Not reading books by men has become another stick which I beat myself with.
Three pages in, I turned to the dust jacket, and it turns out, Curtis is a woman. So that was out, but I kept reading. I just made a mental note to beat myself later.
‘Prep’ is about Lee Fiora’s experiences in an elite, expensive boarding school in New England. (I thought it might go all a little bit ‘The Secret History’ but it didn’t).
In many ways, it seemed highly authentic and genuine. In fact, I disliked the chapters on freshman year for that very reason. I remember what it’s like to be constantly second guessing yourself because of what people may or may not think. And I remember how god-awful and exhausting that is. I don’t need to be reminded of that, thank you.
That’s a reflection on me, not the book. I’m saying I didn’t enjoy it because it was too good and too accurate. As criticism goes, that’s pretty sweet.
In other ways, something was a little bit off. Senior year, for example, was a little bit too neat and obvious. And though Lee worries obsessively, she never seems concerned about her appearance, which I thought was unlikely.
Lee herself is an interesting character. She’s what made me stick with this book. She’s not always that likeable. She’s often selfish and shallow. She’s real, she’s not just the innocent outsider chronicling the adventures of the rich and famous.
At first, I wanted to tell her: don’t worry! It’s not you, it’s them! But then as time went on, it became clearer that that wasn’t the case. Lee’s tragedy is that the protective shell she constructs gets in the way as she grows up.
Lee is telling this story with the benefit of hindsight, and she has moments of great clarity. ‘What strikes me now is that I had no idea how much I’d give away in the service of flirting…For years and years, there would be so many things I’d do for a guy that I wouldn’t do in my usual life – jokes I wouldn’t normally tell, places I wouldn’t normally go’. Who hasn’t been there?
I usually like my teenage angst more ludicrous and over the top: in a Gossip Girl sort of way. But if you can bear the self-loathing and loneliness of ‘freshman year,’ then this is well worth a read.
Now I feel old.
Posted on June 24, 2010, in Uncategorized and tagged book review, books, curtis sittenfeld, prep, reading, school. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Hi Lyndsey,
We published Prep so was nice to see this review!
You should try her third book American WIfe. Sadly we lost this to another publisher, but its a masterpiece!
I just saw that actually and was going to buy it – ooooh, but maybe now I should boycott her for abandoning you, bad author. I might read her second one first if that’s published by you!
This book very much mirrored my boarding school experience, to the point where I actually looked to see if Sittenfeld went to the same school as I did. (She didn’t, it was one of our competitors.) It took me a good 10 years to work out that almost everyone felt that isolated and out-of-place; it’s a difficult time in your life socially, and even harder when all 24 hours are coloured by the whims of your peer group (rather than escaping by going home to family each night).
Reading it made me feel old too– but in a good way. I was hugely relieved that I didn’t have to live through those years again. And so glad that I did them; I learned an enormous amount about myself and communal living then. It was very worthwhile.
P.S. I even had the belt that is on the cover of the book. It had my initials monogrammed on it. How sad is that?
Yeah, the belt thing is a little bit over the top!
I really liked Prep. Looking back it sounds like a slow book but it went by rather quickly and was hard to put down. I’ve got Man of My Dreams sitting on my night stand, her second book. I think I’ll read it very soon. You’ve reminded me how much I liked Sittenfeld in the first place. Also, I didn’t know she was a woman either!
Dude! Just reading this now, thank u for the compliment! I came to Prep having read that Wes Anderson had adapted it as a screenplay. Having read the book I don’t think it would make a good film but I did really enjoy how freshly it brought the agony of youth back. Interesting to hear Hadley thought it authentic, well done Hadley for surviving that… I love the bit where she gets her ears pierced by rockers in the mall and picks up the school hottie in the process. And the bit where she blabs to the journo is just unbearable. I had the impression she might’ve been a one off novel sort but intrigued by the publisher’s note above- might give the others a whirl… Jx
The not-over-the-top aspect of this story is what made the reading more worthwhile to me.
You are right – this is one of the few accurate depictions of what it’s like to be an angsty teenage girl that isn’t melodramatic.
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