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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*I received a copy through a First Reads giveaway*
An English professor reveals bits of his personal and university's history through a series of letters of recommendation made on behalf of his students and colleagues. I don't know why, but this is the second book I've read ([b:The Rosie Project|16181775|The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1)|Graeme Simsion|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371651741s/16181775.jpg|22084678] being the other) in which the protagonist's "voice" seemed to be best read in the form of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory.
Professor J. Fitger is very intelligent, opinionated, and honest; and that brutal honesty is by no means filtered in his letters of recommendation. Awkward snippets of how he views his students, the sharp decline of funding directed at his department, and his personal romantic life are told in a witty, sarcastic and hysterical manner. I actually burst into laughter quite a few times. You don't have to work in the education sector to appreciate this book. Anyone who has had to work for or with a blithering idiot and has done his/her job passionately with no recognition, praise, or decent pay scale to show for it, will connect with J. Fitger.
I am so happy to have won this little gem through a giveaway. I am definitely buying a couple of copies as gifts for friends I know will love this book as much as I have!
An English professor reveals bits of his personal and university's history through a series of letters of recommendation made on behalf of his students and colleagues. I don't know why, but this is the second book I've read ([b:The Rosie Project|16181775|The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1)|Graeme Simsion|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371651741s/16181775.jpg|22084678] being the other) in which the protagonist's "voice" seemed to be best read in the form of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory.
Professor J. Fitger is very intelligent, opinionated, and honest; and that brutal honesty is by no means filtered in his letters of recommendation. Awkward snippets of how he views his students, the sharp decline of funding directed at his department, and his personal romantic life are told in a witty, sarcastic and hysterical manner. I actually burst into laughter quite a few times. You don't have to work in the education sector to appreciate this book. Anyone who has had to work for or with a blithering idiot and has done his/her job passionately with no recognition, praise, or decent pay scale to show for it, will connect with J. Fitger.
I am so happy to have won this little gem through a giveaway. I am definitely buying a couple of copies as gifts for friends I know will love this book as much as I have!
Although I found this novel to be overall too redemptive of the curmudgeonly Jay Fitger, Professor of English at a fictional small liberal arts college, it was an easy--if dark--look at the mind of a man who is no where near where he thought he would be--or thinks he should be--at this point in his life or career. It has also made me doubly grateful for all the teachers and professors who have written me letter of recommendation over the years--big thanks!
Light, fun, witty read. Not much substance, but that's not what it's going for.
I laughed and cringed in recognition as I read this one. Author Julie Schumacher easily gets the nuances, absurdity, and humor of what a university's English department is like.
An epistolary novel consisting of letters of recommendation from curmudgeonly Jason Fitger, professor of creative writing, a fledgling department at midwestern Payne University. This is a pretty funny, sarcastic spoof of academia. Though, it does end on a somber note.
ND Women Connect Book Club March 2023
ND Women Connect Book Club March 2023