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cemoses's review against another edition
What made this book interesting was not so much the mystery but what is shows about the status of women's rights in 1981 a year which I can remember.
saroz162's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book as part of a book group. We were charged with reading something fictional "about academia," and in fairness, the conversation we had as a result of reading the novel was quite strong, especially in considering how the role of women in academia has changed (or not changed) in the intervening 40 years between when the book is set and now. We also laughed a lot, too, because it's really a dreadfully, awfully written book.
Every single character is a type. The protagonist, Kate, is a privileged, married woman with limitless freedom and seemingly no end of money, who is both a respected academic and a keen detective. She is never wrong, and she has almost no self awareness. (She's the sort of character you could only love if you were exactly like her, and troublingly, a little basic research reveals more than a few similarities between Kate and the author who created her.) Her former classmate, whom she is called in to assist but doesn't really like, is snooty and career-driven. Her former lover, who is also the classmate's ex-husband, is a hippieish veteran with a guitar and a suitably hippie name ("Moon"). The bigwig tenured faculty member is overweight, red-faced, and suitably parochial. The lesbians who live in the local commune all believe in separatist politics, refer to each other as "sisters," and keep feminine clothing for when they need their driver's license photo taken because of course they do. It goes on, and on, and on. Nobody acts like a real, full-blooded person; everyone's just there to fulfill their little role.
Worse, there's almost no actual mystery, because Kate does so little for herself. She talks to people, certainly, but they tend to bring her her clues on a platter. Toward the end of the book, she makes some absolutely incredible mental leaps based solely on the contents of books she's seen lying around, which requires the reader to either be equally familiar with those works or very, very easily impressed. That type of story - the mystery where the reader is kept from knowing vital information until the reveal - can work when you have really interesting characters or really high tension. Death in a Tenured Position provides neither of these. In fact, I'm not sure what it does provide, aside from 150 pages of text.
I did like the dog, though.
Every single character is a type. The protagonist, Kate, is a privileged, married woman with limitless freedom and seemingly no end of money, who is both a respected academic and a keen detective. She is never wrong, and she has almost no self awareness. (She's the sort of character you could only love if you were exactly like her, and troublingly, a little basic research reveals more than a few similarities between Kate and the author who created her.) Her former classmate, whom she is called in to assist but doesn't really like, is snooty and career-driven. Her former lover, who is also the classmate's ex-husband, is a hippieish veteran with a guitar and a suitably hippie name ("Moon"). The bigwig tenured faculty member is overweight, red-faced, and suitably parochial. The lesbians who live in the local commune all believe in separatist politics, refer to each other as "sisters," and keep feminine clothing for when they need their driver's license photo taken because of course they do. It goes on, and on, and on. Nobody acts like a real, full-blooded person; everyone's just there to fulfill their little role.
Worse, there's almost no actual mystery, because Kate does so little for herself. She talks to people, certainly, but they tend to bring her her clues on a platter. Toward the end of the book, she makes some absolutely incredible mental leaps based solely on the contents of books she's seen lying around, which requires the reader to either be equally familiar with those works or very, very easily impressed. That type of story - the mystery where the reader is kept from knowing vital information until the reveal - can work when you have really interesting characters or really high tension. Death in a Tenured Position provides neither of these. In fact, I'm not sure what it does provide, aside from 150 pages of text.
I did like the dog, though.
yetilibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I found a copy of this in the latest local-library book sale. It looked like a late-70s, fun, pulpy mystery but it turns out it's really just a quality mystery, no pulp required. I got two other books by this author at the same sale and I'm looking forward to them. Well played, Amanda Cross. Well played.
Also: even though this book occurs in the late 1970s, the issues it discusses--feminism, systems of oppression, equal-opportunity employment, and so on--are very current, and I heard them talked about in the same way THIS WEEK. (People are STILL "concerned" about hiring women because of menopause. What is it about menopause?)
Also: even though this book occurs in the late 1970s, the issues it discusses--feminism, systems of oppression, equal-opportunity employment, and so on--are very current, and I heard them talked about in the same way THIS WEEK. (People are STILL "concerned" about hiring women because of menopause. What is it about menopause?)
lisa_mc's review against another edition
3.0
Amanda Cross has an excellent eye for academic satire, and this novel is particularly pointed about the academy's treatment of women. The sad thing is that it's nearly 40 years old and not that much progress has been made. While the book is quite incisive about academia and the characters are interesting, the plotting of this particular mystery is only so-so, leaving the ending feeling a bit rushed and a bit preachy, and thus unsatisfying.
luckyyjana's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
the mystery itself was lackluster but my god did I enjoy the character interactions in this book. cross/heilbrun teaches a masterclass in dialogue writing; her characters are endearing in their eccentricity, full of debonair charm and arrestingly witty! through the perspective of a (2nd wave) feminist fully aware of her position as a "token woman" in academia, institutions of higher learning come under fire for their hostility towards women (at worst) or their performative commitment to diversity (at best) -- painfully relevant almost 60 years later.
soupy_twist's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
carolinetew's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
The mystery here wasn’t anything to sneeze at but I did find the discussion of Harvard’s English department and overall “boys club” vibe to be interesting. Some of the discussions surrounding feminism were absolutely cringeworthy and I’m shocked at how overtly sexist people could be so casually.
The mystery here wasn’t anything to sneeze at but I did find the discussion of Harvard’s English department and overall “boys club” vibe to be interesting. Some of the discussions surrounding feminism were absolutely cringeworthy and I’m shocked at how overtly sexist people could be so casually.
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