Alma Mater (Rita Mae Brown)

[shewhostaples]

For the second week in succession I find myself surprised by the way that a book published in the early years of the twenty-first century feels rather dated. In the case of Alma Mater, this was at least partly because the book was in fact set in the early eighties. But it was also because the narrative's attitude to cheating is one that you really don't see much these days, and I spent much of it wondering if I was becoming one of Those Prudish Tumblr Kids, because usually it doesn't bother me as much as this.

Vic is a senior student at a university in the Southern USA. She's dating Charly, the star football player. As the book opens, Chris transfers in from Vermont. This sets up a love triangle which goes on for... the rest of the book.

Actually, I think I'd have been less irritated by the cheating if the characters had been written more strongly. Charly was something of a cardboard cutout, and Chris didn't seem to have much of a personality at all. Vic made Hamlet look decisive, and spent most of the book stringing both Chris and Charly along until compelled by developments to make a decision. Between Chris's reluctance to confront Vic and Charly's obliviousness, Chekhov's gun stayed put on the mantelpiece and went off with a damp *phut* in the last chapter.

Also, a large proportion of the action took place at Vic's home, which allowed for a few lovely bits of description on the one hand, and some deeply unfunny supporting characters on the other.