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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Very amusing to me at least, though I feel like this may be due to the two years I spent in academia, as well as the multitude of letters of recommendation I have written. So I gave this 3 stars, mostly due to the niche factor.
Not my favorite. Liked the concept, but in practice it didn't find my funny bone all that consistently.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. I read this book as part of the Reading Glasses Reading Challenge 2025 - read an epistolary novel. I previously thought I struggled with epistolary novels, but I didn’t struggle with this book and I liked the narrative frame of telling a story entirely through Letters of Recommendation and memos. It helps that it was a short book and that the writing style is haughty and sarcastic. It’s also fun to go back and read a book from 10 years ago instead of reading the latest books. I think the more I think about this book, the more I will like it.
The last 10% of this book somehow raised my rating of the novel from 3 stars (funny, well-written, clever) to 4 stars (oddly moving, greater than the sum of its parts).
You do need a little familiarity with the workings of academia, but only a very little, I think. What starts as a gimmick (an epistolary novel all written by one person -- no responses, few consistent correspondents) pulls together with a consistent voice and a clear character (even character arc) behind it.
You do need a little familiarity with the workings of academia, but only a very little, I think. What starts as a gimmick (an epistolary novel all written by one person -- no responses, few consistent correspondents) pulls together with a consistent voice and a clear character (even character arc) behind it.
Dear potential readers,
I am writing to recommend "Dear Committee Members" as an addition to your upcoming reading list.
This is short, and a quick read (took me about 4 hours total). It's almost a guide to how *not* to write reference letters. There's not much of a plot, but it's still enjoyable. I laughed out loud at some of the letters in the book. At the same time though, the book is sad, dealing a lot with failure and the death of one's dreams. I would highly recommend this to most academics, as well as anyone who spends much time reading (or writing) letters of recommendation.
I am writing to recommend "Dear Committee Members" as an addition to your upcoming reading list.
This is short, and a quick read (took me about 4 hours total). It's almost a guide to how *not* to write reference letters. There's not much of a plot, but it's still enjoyable. I laughed out loud at some of the letters in the book. At the same time though, the book is sad, dealing a lot with failure and the death of one's dreams. I would highly recommend this to most academics, as well as anyone who spends much time reading (or writing) letters of recommendation.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Dear Committee Members is, as my friend put it, "screamingly funny." It's the kind of satire that's also painfully real, and anyone who's done grad school in the humanities can sympathize with econ getting a makeover and all the money while English chugs along, forced to breathe in the dust and mold. Brilliant use of recommendation letters throughout the novel.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced