I like Jane Smiley's books, but I didn't like Moo.  There are too many characters, many boring, many unlikeable, many just so so.  Ms Smiley is a good writer who tells a good story, writes a good book, but this isn't one.  This book, set in a midwestern agricultural university is steeped in detail, there is too much politics, too much talk about obtaining funding for the school and ways to obtain monies.  There are too many characters to keep up with.  Ms Smiley jumps from one character to another.

There is a young man professor who is in love with himself and is trying to get a pretty young hispanic professor to think as much of him as he does of himself.  The lady falls in love with a bald middle aged man who has a live in girl friend and a bunch of kids.  There is a young woman who is kind of dating one of the high ups in the college but is sneaking around with  a long distance truck driver.  She is hoping to marry up and puts herself off as a sweet church going lady.

I liked the way the book began about the young girls leaving home, starting college and living away from home for the first time.  I also was interested in the young black girl from Chicago who decided to go to a mostly white school and how all that worked out for her.  There is also a professor of French and Italian, a lover of life type, who spent summers in Provence.  These characters could have been enlarged upon, the many others could have been forgotten about.

I finished the book but it was hard.
I like Jane Smiley's books, but I didn't like Moo. There are too many characters, many boring, many unlikeable, many just so so. Ms Smiley is a good writer who tells a good story, writes a good book, but this isn't one. This book, set in a midwestern agricultural university is steeped in detail, there is too much politics, too much talk about obtaining funding for the school and ways to obtain monies. There are too many characters to keep up with. Ms Smiley jumps from one character to another. There is a young man professor who is in love with himself and is trying to get a pretty young hispanic professor to think as much of him as he does of himself. The lady falls in love with a bald middle aged man who has a live in girl friend and a bunch of kids. There is a young woman who is kind of dating one of the high ups in the college but is sneaking around with  a long distance truck driver. She is hoping to marry up and puts herself off as a sweet church going lady. I liked the way the book began about the young girls leaving home, starting college and living away from home for the first time. I also was interested in the young black girl from Chicago who decided to go to a mostly white school and how all that worked out for her. There is also a professor of French and Italian, a lover of life type, who spent summers in Provence. These characters could have been enlarged upon, the many others could have been forgotten about. I finished the book but it was hard.