See, I like this book almost as much for its faults as for its successes. There's an off-kilter innocence to Charlie's character that's neatly contradicted by his developing smoking habit, recreational drug use, various sexual encounters, etc. The way the book is written makes you understand that this kid is totally in over his head. It's the choice of the kind of repressed Charlie, just smart enough to get absorbed in the counter-culture of his school, but dumb enough to fuck himself over, that makes it a neat little book. If the main character had been someone sarcastic, intelligent, cynical, etc. it would have changed the book completely.
