Scan barcode
kerryp's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
matildahasopinions's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nickscoby's review against another edition
4.0
This one is definitely a winner for me. It helps that I was an English major and also received a PhD in English, so all of these characters were familiar to me. I think Janet is my favorite, but I also grew to love Fran and Fitger as an odd couple. There were some unexpected moments that kept me on my toes. I look forward to going back and reading Schumacher's prequel to this one.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
1.0
The world has changed so much since this book was published, I found the characters annoying.
shareen17's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe not quite as clever as the first book, but still an amusing look at the complications of university faculty life. I'll keep reading the series to see how things work out.
tine200's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
vidotson's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
otterno11's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Droll and relatable, The Shakespeare Requirement is a sequel to Julie Schumacher’s blisteringly academic farce Dear Committee Members. Stepping away from the epistolary format of the first novel and the correspondence of the disheveled, churlish professor Jason Fitger allows Schumacher to introduce more hapless denizens of the dysfunctional Midwestern liberal arts college Payne University during a contentious semester. As Fitger falls into the position of Chair of the English Department, a role he is as reluctant to take as he is ill-suited to lead, the perfidious Department of Economics upstairs jockeys to take everything from English through the tool of an academic nuclear option, the QAP. It also seems that Fitger may have met his match in terms of curmudgeonliness by the 90 year old Shakespeare specialist Professor Cassovin, incensed upon discovering that English undergrads need no longer take a course in the Bard.
As an audiobook, Schumacher read her work in a dry, acerbic tone that truly fit the mood of the work and caused me to laugh out loud on numerous occasions. Set during the early 2010s, Schumacher is working with many of the stark issues troubling higher education, both real and imagined, and it can feel like I was rooting for the rancorous snob Fitger only as much as the suave but calculating Dean of Economics Gladwell was far worse. Through the lens of her satire, Schumacher shares a fairly dire view of contemporary academia, though the amusing details that she keeps dropping, from a prof’s hobby farm raising miniature donkeys to the impertinence of students dressed as the college mascot, keep things from falling wholly into despair.
As an audiobook, Schumacher read her work in a dry, acerbic tone that truly fit the mood of the work and caused me to laugh out loud on numerous occasions. Set during the early 2010s, Schumacher is working with many of the stark issues troubling higher education, both real and imagined, and it can feel like I was rooting for the rancorous snob Fitger only as much as the suave but calculating Dean of Economics Gladwell was far worse. Through the lens of her satire, Schumacher shares a fairly dire view of contemporary academia, though the amusing details that she keeps dropping, from a prof’s hobby farm raising miniature donkeys to the impertinence of students dressed as the college mascot, keep things from falling wholly into despair.
lspargo's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed her first book about these characters, so this one was a bit of a letdown.