I have an uneven relationship with Jane Smiley. I have by no means read all her books, but I found some of them to be entertaining (The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton and Horse Heaven) but her trilogy beginning with Some Luck to be over-rated. However, The Greenlanders was excellent, and I thought A Thousand Acres was one of the best books I ever read. Checking her oeuvre, I see now that I haven’t read any of her more recent books. This book is not one of the more recent.
Moo is set in the 1980s in Iowa in what used to be called an agricultural university (nicknamed “Moo U”). I believe the novel is supposed to be a satire. It starts with students, a boy named Bob whose job is to feed a pig as much as it can eat and take measurements, a project that seems only to be known about by the faculty member who is paying him, and four freshman girls, roommates.
But we don’t really get to know them, because then we meet a bunch of faculty members, administrators, and staff. The Spanish professor begins sleeping with the English professor. The Dean has decided, on almost no acquaintance, to marry the lunch lady. The provost seems to be entranced by money and about to make some sort of shady deal with the rich Texan who almost ruined the university’s reputation years ago. He’s seeing dollar signs in his eyes at a time when the college is cutting costs to the bone.
At page 120, I felt like I’d been introduced to about 50 people I only knew one or two things about and didn’t care. I assumed it was a satire, but nothing was funny, and it didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. So, sadly, this was a DNF for me.
What? Me Read? 
I’ve only read the Some Luck trilogy and would like to read more of Jane Smiley’s books, but I don’t like the sound of this one! I’ll try The Greenlanders or A Thousand Acres instead.
I would recommend those most.
Satire has to be done really well if it’s going to work, and it sounds as if it doesn’t work at all here. I do like the idea of Moo U as a nickname for an agricultural uni!
Yeah, nothing about this seemed funny. Maybe you had to have attended Moo U. I think that nickname is pretty common for universities that started out as agricultural ones here in the states. Maybe I’m just not a fan of satire anymore. I used to like it, but I haven’t read a satire that I considered funny in years!
Yeah, it’s not my favourite thing either, though it can be great when it’s done really well.