Grow Up

June 4, 2012
Brooks's latest (after Fences) follows British teen and aspiring novelist Jasper James Wolf in his post-ironic and frequently post-literate quest to pass his O-levels, peg his stepfather as a murderer, and have sex with unattainable classmate Georgia Treely. While pining for Georgia, pretty much anyone or anything will doâeven, in one unfortunately memorable instance, his stepfather's golf sock. Jasperâso young, so bored, so boringâspends his time pretending to study for his university entrance exams, getting high on various drugs, and having sex with sometimes unwilling women. After he confesses to having drugged and subsequently seduced a classmate, his best friend, Tenaya, gallantly reassures him: "That sounds like most of the sex most teenage girls ever have." But Brooks's greatest offense isn't tastelessness; it's dullness. Jasper's antics are funny for the first 30 pages, but there isn't enough plot development to propel us to the realization he comes to on the last page (and which the discerning reader will surmise almost immediately). Toward the end of this slog, Jasper declares, "I am Holden Caulfield, only less reckless and more attractive." Holden could spot a phony like this from a mile away.