I read The Final Club by Geoffrey Wolff this week. Geoffrey is the "Gerry" of the two Wolff brothers.

I picked the book up because (a) it's by Tobias Wolff's brother, and I wanted to see whether my brother or I is destined to be the better writer (tough luck, Gerry-fans); and (b) the book is about my old friend Princeton University, the college I stupidly attended in those alternate universes where I tried harder in high school and especially got better grades in pre-calculus (and had more extracurricular activities, including charity work, and also came from a rich, important family, while we're at it).

Insofar as the book is about trashing Princeton, it amused me, although the chapter with the pretentious family-oriented application essay cut perhaps a little too close to home.

Trouble is, "Princeton is a banal place" is a pretty banal subject for 367 pages.