The Final Club

Rating:
Summary: Two halves don't make a whole
Review: For all its references to Fitzgerald, Wolff's out-of-print novel boasts a main character who is certainly the "anti-Gatsby." Set largely in Princeton, the story presents three friends during the 1950s: Nathaniel Clay, whose undergraduate experience is tainted by the fact that his maternal grandparents are Jewish; Booth Tarkington Griggs, a pampered product of elite private schools who lives off his blueblood wealth while seemingly mocking it; and Pownall Hamm, who wrestles with the demons of his alcoholism.

The novel itself is schizophrenic. The first half is an affecting look at Nathaniel's desire to fit into the college community after being passed over by its eating clubs (Princeton's version of fraternities); his efforts are both supported and frustrated by his two friends, by a charming (if sometime dotty) professor of literature, and by his own reticence. His love-hate relationship with Princeton supplies the emotional tension and witty melodrama that haunt his college career as well as his adult life.

The second half of the book relates a series of random events during Clay`s adult life: his son's recollection of Nathaniel's extramarital affair, his 10-year and 20-year reunions, the decision by both of his children to attend his alma mater. Wolff relates these episodes through a variety of devices and perspectives, such as a short story written as a grade-school assignment and essays written to accompany college applications. The resulting disjointedness does little to provide depth to the supporting characters or the emotional weight necessary for the climax, which should come as little surprise to anyone who has read "The Great Gatsby." All in all, the final chapters don't live up to the promise of the first half of the book.