MOO focuses on a broader community than Smiley's previous novels, which dealt primarily with individuals or families trying to make sense of the personal, social, and historical forces at work in their lives. By placing MOO in a midwestern university setting, Smiley can introduce a diverse cast of characters from many walks of life whose primary relationship is institutional.

Thus, many of the characters whom she introduces never interact directly, even though each's actions and inactions affect the others. The reason underlying this approach is that Smiley's concern is the institution itself and its impact on the people, often foolish and self-centered, who comprise its constituencies — students, faculty, staff, administration, community members, and politicians. Whatever their individual failings and hypocrisies, these people are open to self-examination and, in Smiley's eyes, wisdom. What is often a savage satire of the idiocies of the academic community and...