Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Monday, Nov. 18
The Indiana Daily Student

Harlan's advice book witty

Your ex-boyfriend is stalking you. You are secretly in love with your girlfriend's sister. Your roommate eats your food and lies about it. And to top it all off, you might or might not be an alcoholic.\nTales from the twilight zone? No it's worse.\nIt's the life of Joe College Student.\nAlumnus, former IDS staffer and advice guru Harlan Cohen takes his syndicated column to the next level with "Campus Life Exposed: Advice from the Inside," a compilation of his articles peppered with sage observations on what university life is all about. \nCohen tackles topics ranging from pot smoking to sexual assault in his first book, making satirical side comments about his readers and campus life in general along the way.\nWhile Cohen's confessional and witty writing style are mostly entertaining, his jokes are at times inappropriate and often fall flat.\nWhile the reader might get a chuckle at the pot shots he takes at his addressees, perhaps the writers of the letters did not appreciate Cohen's obvious humor quite as much. Let's face it, when you're troubled enough to write to "Help Me, Harlan!," the last thing you need is a peanut-gallery answer to your burning question. But while Cohen's jabs are often met with groans from his readers, the topics and responses are interesting enough to keep one's attention.\nOne thing Cohen has done and done well in the book is his homework. In-depth information on sexually transmitted diseases, psychological conditions and narcotics is provided for the reader in a straightforward and easily understood manner. Although Cohen takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to answering queries from troubled souls, he takes his research seriously.\nFor the most part, Cohen's advice to his readers is dead-on. In a manner reminiscent of Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Judge Judy Sheindlin, he doesn't beat around the bush when giving readers a piece of his mind. He calls it like he sees it, and the reader often echoes the sentiment he dishes out to the pondering writer. The sarcasm gets tiring, but the honesty is refreshing.\nOverall, Cohen's book is entertaining and informative. But like his column, which first graced the pages of the IDS in 1995, it is best taken in bits and pieces. While the chapters are clearly divided into different topics, the question-and-answer format, like his sarcasm, is hard to digest in one sitting.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe