This book was reviewed in the local paper and the review made is sound like an interesting tour thru academia. Some of it was; but, all in all, the politically correctness of the characters was exaggerated to the extreme. I am sure that somewhat similar people exist here and there, but to put them all together makes for pure fantasy.Hynes character description is detailed and very humorous. Without this I would not give even a two star rating. Also his "one liners" bring on a chuckle.The ending borders on the ridiculous. Perhaps it had a deeper meaning than I was able to fathom, but male and female bodies interchanging, spirits (or someone) jumping off a parapet. academics having a free for all shootout on a lonely campus, towers collapsing in a conflagration, etc., etc. How much liberty can an author take with fiction. I am sorry I wasted my time reading this.