A Best Book of the Year: NPR and Boston Globe
Finally a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary." Jason Fitger is a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the midwest. His department is facing draconian cuts and squalid quarters, while one floor above them the Economics Department is getting lavishly remodeled offices. His once-promising writing career is in the doldrums, as is his romantic life, in part as the result of his unwise use of his private affairs for his novels. His star (he thinks) student can't catch a break with his brilliant (he thinks) work Accountant in a Bordello, based on Melville's Bartleby. In short, his life is a tale of woe, and the vehicle this droll and inventive novel uses to tell that tale is a series of hilarious letters of recommendation that Fitger is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce, each one of which is a small masterpiece of high dudgeon, low spirits, and passive-aggressive strategies. We recommend Dear Committee Members to you in the strongest possible terms."synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
A Best Book of the Year: NPR and Boston Globe
Praise for Dear Committee Members
"A hilarious academic novel that'll send you laughing (albeit ruefully) back into the trenches of the classroom. . . . [A] mordant minor masterpiece. . . . Like the best works of farce, academic or otherwise, Dear Committee Members deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage. By the end, you may well find yourself laughing so hard it hurts." --Maureen Corrigan, NPR
"If you like academic satires, you'll love this novel, which is written as a series of recommendation letters by a cranky, long-suffering English professor. Like Richard Russo's Straight Man this book has a lot to say about the humanities in American colleges and universities. It's very funny and also moving." --Tom Perrotta "In My Library", New York Post "For that reason, I entreat you, now that you've reviewed my précis, to read Ms. Schumacher's book. It is easily consumed in small pieces, like a tray of sweets and savories. It is ideal for passing the time between innings of a baseball game, waiting for a long red light to change, or sitting in a warm bath. As for Jason Fitger, I implore you to take a leap of faith and offer him admission to your next available residency. The worlds of business and academia will be poorer for lack of his letters, but perhaps, with your support, he can find a way to channel his energy and inventiveness into a new novel--one that will hopefully be as entertaining and as sharply written as Julie Schumacher's Dear Committee Members." --Jon Michaud, The New Yorker "A smart-as-hell, fun-as-heck novel composed entirely of recommendation letters. . . . Beyond the moribund state of academia, Schumacher touches on more universal themes about growing old and facing failure: not necessarily the dramatic failure of a batter striking out with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, but the quieter failure that accrues over time, until we are finally forced to admit that we are not who we wanted to become." --Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 3.16
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780345807335
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780345807335
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Dear Committee Members 0.45. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780345807335
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 23258396-n
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0345807332
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 0345807332
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 0345807332-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0345807332-new
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # BKZN9780345807335
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Reprint. About the AuthorJulie Schumacher grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Oberlin College and Cornell University. Her first novel, The Body Is Water, was published by Soho Press in 1995 and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her other books include a short story collection, An Explanation for Chaos, and five books for younger readers. She lives in St. Paul and is a faculty member in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at the University of Minnesota.Visit her on the web at julieschumacher.com.Product DescriptionA Best Book of the Year: NPR and Boston GlobeFinally a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary."Jason Fitger is a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the midwest. His department is facing draconian cuts and squalid quarters, while one floor above them the Economics Department is getting lavishly remodeled offices. His once-promising writing career is in the doldrums, as is his romantic life, in part as the result of his unwise use of his private affairs for his novels. His star (he thinks) student can't catch a break with his brilliant (he thinks) work Accountant in a Bordello, based on Melville's Bartleby. In short, his life is a tale of woe, and the vehicle this droll and inventive novel uses to tell that tale is a series of hilarious letters of recommendation that Fitger is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce, each one of which is a small masterpiece of high dudgeon, low spirits, and passive-aggressive strategies. We recommend Dear Committee Members to you in the strongest possible terms.ReviewA Best Book of the Year: NPR and Boston GlobePraise for Dear Committee Members:"After years of teaching, I write a lot of recommendation letters, and Schumacher's parodies sound alarmingly close to the real thing." -Claire Messud, The Guardian"A hilarious academic novel that'll send you laughing (albeit ruefully) back into the trenches of the classroom. . . . [A] mordant minor masterpiece. . . . Like the best works of farce, academic or otherwise, Dear Committee Members deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage. By the end, you may well find yourself laughing so hard it hurts." -Maureen Corrigan, NPR"If you like academic satires, you ll love this novel, which is written as a series of recommendation letters by a cranky, long-suffering English professor. Like Richard Russo s Straight Man this book has a lot to say about the humanities in American colleges and universities. It s very funny and also moving." -Tom Perrotta "In My Library", New York Post"For that reason, I entreat you, now that you ve reviewed my précis, to read Ms. Schumacher s book. It is easily consumed in small pieces, like a tray of sweets and savories. It is ideal for passing the time between innings of a baseball game, waiting for a long red light to change, or sitting in a warm bath. As for Jason Fitger, I implore you to take a leap of faith and offer him admission to your next available residency. The worlds of business and academia will be poorer for lack of his letters, but perhaps, with your support, he can find a way to channel his energy and inventiveness into a new novel-one that will hopefully be as entertaining and as sharply written as Julie Schumacher s Dear Committee Members." -Jon Michaud, The New Yorker"A smart-as-hell, fun-as-heck novel composed entirely of recommendation letters. . . . Beyond the moribund state of academia, Schumacher touches on more universal themes about growing old and facing failure: not necessarily the dramatic failure of a batter striking out with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, but the quieter failure that accrues over time, until we are finally forced to admit that we are not who we wanted to become." -Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek"The book. Seller Inventory # BKZN9780345807335