Campusland
A Novel
ISBN10: 1250222370
ISBN13: 9781250222374
Hardcover
336 Pages
$27.99
CA$37.99
Her room sucks. Her closet isn’t big enough for two weeks’-worth of outfits, much less her new Rag & Bone for fall. And there’s nothing worth posting. Cruel. To Lulu Harris—It Girl-in-the-Making—her first year at the ultra-competitive Ivy-like Devon University is a dreary impediment. If she’s fabulous and no one sees it, what’s the point?
To Eph Russell, who looks and sounds like an avatar of privilege (shh!—he’s anything but) Devon is heaven. All day to think and read and linger over a Welsh rarebit at The Faculty Club, not to mention teach English 240 where he gets to discuss all his 19th Century favorites, like Mark Twain. If Eph could just get tenure, he could stay forever, but there are landmines everywhere.
In his seventh year at Devon, Red Wheeler is the alpha dog on top of Devon’s progressive hierarchy, the most woke guy on campus. But when his position is challenged, Red is forced to take measures.
Before first term is halfway finished, Lulu bungles her social cache with her clubbable upperclass peers, and is forced to reinvent herself. Shedding her designer clothes, she puts on flannel and a brand-new persona: campus victim. For Lulu to claw her way back to the top, she’ll build a pyre and roast anyone in her way.
Presiding over this ferment is Milton Strauss, Devon’s feckless president, who spends his days managing perpetually aggrieved students, scheming administrators, jealous professors, billionaire donors, and bumptious frat boys. He just can’t say yes fast enough. And what to do with Martika Malik-Adams? Isn’t her giant salary as vice-president of Diversity & Inclusion enough?
All paths converge as privileged, marginalized, and radical students form identity alliances, sacrifice education for outrage, and push varied agendas of political correctness that drags every free thought of higher learning into the lower depths of an entitled underclass.
Campusland is a riotous, subversive and fresh read.
Reviews
Praise for Campusland
"A hilarious sendup of the current college climate."—New York Post
"This high-spirited, richly imagined, and brave novel is a delight to read . . . Trigger warning: it should not be read by those who lack a sense of humor. Smart and hilarious."—Kirkus Reviews
"Johnston’s standout debut successfully skewers the politically correct culture of liberal arts colleges by chronicling how opportunists use it to their advantage at exclusive Devon University in New England . . . Johnston’s writing is lively and takes his story through a few surprising turns. This strong debut will resonate with readers who enjoy their parody with a side of pathos."—Publishers Weekly
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
Milton’s Walk
MILTON STRAUSS WALKED WITH PURPOSE. His daily stroll had become something of a personal tradition, and it was good to see life back in the campus.
Things had been quiet over the summer, save for Model UN...