Customer Reviews

Moo

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Originally I was perplexed by the number of unhappy reviewers of this book, which I definitely enjoyed, but I think the reason is that Moo is not what the dust jacket makes it out to be. There is plenty of humor in this book, but it's mostly dry wit and wry situational irony-- there's not much laugh-out-loud material. In fact, some of the story lines (Dean and Joy's, for example) are downright depressing. The small army of charcacters takes some getting used to, but I didn't have trouble keeping track of them once they were established. It's true that some of them were not as well-developed as they could have been, but had they been, the book probably would have been another 300 pages. I think Smiley's intention was to give the widest, not deepest, possible portrait of university life. The fact that some of the characters are not fully developed helps her achieve that goal--at a big university, those not in one's immediate social circle are by necessity often perceived as "types" or character sketches, because there's no way you can fully understand the 35,000 other people around you. Keeping the characters lightly defined makes them both funnier and more authentic, in my opinion.

As it is, I think Smiley keeps the focus on the right characters. I understand the reviewers who wanted to see more of the students rather than the administrators and faculty, especially since I am a college student myself and could probably relate to their experiences more than those of the professors. But like I said-- I think Smiley's going for breadth, not depth. That said, I found some of the storyline resolutions unsatisfying. Some characters don't even seem to get a resolution in their stories, they just drop out of the novel 30 pages before it ends. Even so, that didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of the book.

Moo is a witty and spot-on satire of university life, but it is neither a lighthearted piece of comedic fluff nor an example of Great Literature. Those looking for either of the above, or a repeat of what Smiley did in A Thousand Acres, will probably not enjoy Moo. Those willing to take it for what it is probably will.

How can the same author who wrote Thousand Acres flip into the voice behind Moo?? What a phenomenal talent...
Moo is a tour de force of satire on life at an agricultural university (known as Moo U., in the parlance) that scathingly leaves no cow pie unkicked. Smiley uses the hypocrisy, prejudice, and self-importance of the characters as a metaphor for our entire society. No one who reads this outrageous novel will ever forget Earl Butz, the Herculean pig that becomes such an obsession for more than one of the quirky characters that sometimes teeter on the edge of caricature. That quality and the fact that the whole charade seemed to go on about 100 pages too long is the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5.
A great book, nontheless.

Don't be fooled by the title of the book; a pig named Earl Butz (ring any bells?)--is the literal and physical focus of this book. Earl is stowed away in the geographic center of the campus, Moo University, and those moving around him (students, faculty, etc), oblivious to his existence, nevertheless move in rhythm to him. When Earl escapes during the demolition of his home and dies, the campus is so affected that his picture on the front page of the newspaper affects everyone's life.

Everyone will recognize some familiar characters in this book. There are the four freshman girls living together--Mary, Keri, Sherri and Dianne--each of whom is drastically different, but borrows the others' clothes anyway. Then there's Bob Carlson, who doesn't know how to socialize with anyone but Earl Butz. Gary has a crush on his roommate's girlfriend and eavesdrops whenever they fight. English professor Tim can't keep his attention focused on any one woman long enough to establish a real relationship. The secretary to the Provost doesn't hide the fact that she controls EVERYTHING on campus and off, including her girlfriend Martha. Economics professor Lionel Gift believes he's God's gift to Costa Rica, as well as the rest of the world, often dropping the fact that he's in "some Rolodex" at the New York Times to impress people. One farmer, a frequent visitor to the provost, believes the FBI, the CIA and the big ag companies are out to get him, so he wears a bulletproof vest to protect himself.

These characters, weaved in and out of each other's lives, bring a rural campus to life with scandal, betrayal, but most of all, humor. Though Moo's huge cast can be confusing at times, it's a must-read for anyone in or graduated from college that never fails to bring a smile to your face.

Moo is Jane Smiley's terrific send-up of education, bureaucracy, racism, politics, love and just about everything else in the 1980s.

Set in a fictional Iowa university town, Moo U. is as much fun as a roller-coaster ride and features a cast of characters that are nothing short of hilarious. There is English professor, Tim Monahan, who is perpetually preoccupied with his always-imminent raise and promotion; provost Ivar Harstad, who is coping with the governor's cuts in university funding; and Bo Jones' secret experiment involving a hog named Earl Butz. Really!

And, it only gets better. There is Dr. Lionel Gift who gets hopelessly involved with a Texas billionaire named Arlen Martin. The two cook up a project to mine gold from the world's last virgin rainforest, a project that incurs the wrath Chairman X, a man so caught up in leftist ideology he forgets to marry the mother of his children...for more than twenty years. And best of all, there is Mrs. Walker, the plotting and conniving lesbian secretary to the provost who secretly runs everything at Moo U. with an iron hand.

If it seems like Smiley doesn't write much about education in this book about university life, then that's exactly right, for education has little to do with the day-to-day goings-on at Moo U. Moo U. and its cast of off-beat characters are really a microcosm of America under the Reagan Administration and Moo U. could be any university in the United States.

The only thing wrong with Moo is that, while it is supposed to be satire, it just misses the mark. Don't get me wrong, this is a hilarious book and a hilarious send-up, but I think true satire requires a harder heart than Smiley seems to have. The ending is a bit of a letdown, especially after the rollicking good ride Smiley has taken us on to get us there. Anyone who doesn't mind a bit of a letdown, however, will find Moo an enjoyable and hilarious book that makes fun of just about everything.

When I read the back of the book, it sounded like chick-lit, so I figured from past experience that I wouldn't be interested. However, several people had recommended it to me, so I gave it a chance. I was really pleasantly surprised.

All of the characters are well drawn and the story is just plain fun. The campus politics ring true with my small exposure to them. The writing was lively and I loved spending time with this novel.

"Moo" begins very well, but it stretches itself too far in an attempt to cover an Altmanesque cast of main characters - only about half of which are interesting. So much time is spent on character development that a story never seems to evolve.

One never knows what to expect from a Jane Smiley novel. She has yet to cross the same territory in any two books. This novel, a satirical look at the usual suspects one encounters on a state university campus, is crowded with characters but short on plot. It reads more like a collection of vignettes which ultimate add up to a comic big picture of the campus and its inhabitants. The style is deliberately artificial and quite fine once one is adjusted to it; nicely suited to a piece about academics.

Some of the characters are real gems. Many of us who have been associated with academia will recognize, all too painfully, others - if not ourselves - that we have known in these portraits. Exaggerated but never quite over the top (except perhaps in the wildly imaginative sections dealing with Earl Butz, prize hog and great character) this book is a darkly comic portrait of the extremes of personality that florish in the somewhat isolated atmosphere of a large state ag college.

Very pleasant reading for those of us who have been there. Since Smiley has as well, we wonder, is this her revenge on peers and administrators for all those years of teaching? It's great stuff in any case.

For anyone who has been to college, and worked for one, this novel is a right-on comedy fest... I laughed so hard because she nailed the common uncommon characters from college life... The land grant college has a culture both interesting and entertaining that serve for the perfect setting for this novel. I'm just waiting for the movie!

Smiley has written a good but not great academic novel. Moo bears some disturbing parallels to David Lodge's much better academic trilogy (Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work)---Lodge's work was written earlier and is frankly much better.
The characters, setting and plot should be familiar to anyone who has spent time in a university (the newly minted professor struggling to get a grip, the jaded older faculty, the endless and pointless committee meetings, the tensions between administrators and faculty and so on). The one fairly original aspect of Moo is Smiley's inclusion of undergraduate characters who are usually completely ignored in academic novels. Mary, an 18 yr old urban African American freshman put down in the middle of the cornfields is one of Smiley's best characters and I read the novel looking for her (alas, she is not a central character).
For Smiley fans (and I am one), the book is a disappointment (it can't compare to her fantastic epic, The Greenlanders) and for those who love academic novels, the book is only mildly good.

Having taught for a few years in the '70s at a state university, I approached this book with trepidation... even though Smiley teaches at Iowa State. I needn't have hesitated -- it's a hoot and a half! Some of the characters are types (like Bob Carlson and the university president in his mint-green shirts), but no less valid for all that. Others are shrewdly original and it's fascinating to watch them develop -- especially Dr. Lionel Gift, whose approach to economics is Darwinian, and Timothy Monahan, novelist/professor, who struggles with proto-writers during the school year and works the writers' conference circuit in the summer. Chaiman X, the incendiary horticulturalist, is my other favorite; I knew a couple like him. Wait! Can I have more favorites? Like Mrs. Walker, the secret power behind practically everything, and Earl Butz, gourmand extraordinaire and a helluva swell hog, and...

From the other posted reviews, I suspect Big City-types aren't going to entirely understand or appreciate this book, but if you spent any amount of time around a university that had "agricultural" in its name, you really ought to give this one a try.