The dialogue is awful, and the collegiate "patois" (Wolfe's affected term) is stilted and unbelievable.
I didn't care for this either.
Wolfe was born in 1930. I wonder what research he did to determine the current lingo, especially the lingo when an old man like him isn't around.
Experimental writing has been attempted many times (Gertrude Stein and John Barth come to mind) but it never works well, like experimental art and music sometimes do. There is too much specificity and expectation associated with language. Maybe someone should write an expose: The Printed Painting.
"The dialogue is awful, and the collegiate "patois" (Wolfe's affected term) is stilted and unbelievable."
The dialogue is pretty realistic, IMO. The way many kids actually do "express" themselves these days.
once again, just my opinion