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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Smart, funny, depressing, and heartbreaking. Brilliantly unconventional storytelling.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
By recent estimate I have penned more than 1,300 letters of recommendation, many of them enthusiastic, some a cry of despair. I haven’t published a novel in six years; instead, I fill my departmental hours casting words of praise into the bureaucratic abyss.
The role that is left to me is to stand in the patronizing shadow of my younger and more aspiring colleagues and push. Up the chimney with you, and don’t get soot on your knickers along the way!
This went from hysterical to touching and remained superbly written thorough. It does the most of the epistolary format, and I'm absolutely obsessed with the prose and Jay's very distinctive narrative voice, and how through his letters all the various characters feel fleshed out and so real.
I really didn't expect to love this as much as I did. One of my all time epistolary favourites.
The role that is left to me is to stand in the patronizing shadow of my younger and more aspiring colleagues and push. Up the chimney with you, and don’t get soot on your knickers along the way!
This went from hysterical to touching and remained superbly written thorough. It does the most of the epistolary format, and I'm absolutely obsessed with the prose and Jay's very distinctive narrative voice, and how through his letters all the various characters feel fleshed out and so real.
I really didn't expect to love this as much as I did. One of my all time epistolary favourites.
medium-paced
Even if you hate the book, you can't deny the extraordinarily skillful, and clever use of language. I can't remember the last time I read a book that contained words I actually needed to look up in the dictionary. I was delighted, and thoroughly entertained. A+
3.5 ⭐ - The only reason I didn't rate this book more highly is because I think it has a very specific audience. If you've ever worked in academia in the liberal arts, this book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you nod your head with every painful page. An epistolary novel, Dear Committee Members follows a series of letters written by Jason Fitzger, self-described "Professor/Agitator/Slum Dweller." Being a part of this very specific audience brought back memories, memories of being in an office that hadn't been refurbished since WWII, while the floor above us allowed us to occasionally bask in the meager warmth that filtered through the floor from their carpeted and and tastefully decorated offices.
However, as I dug deeper into the story, these letters to various exes, friends, publishers and the ever present "committee members" revealed not only a man determined to stand up for a department considered superfluous, but also slowly reveals the story of Fitzger himself and his cause: finding funding and a roof for his graduate student Darren Browles. These parts of the story are pieced together slowly but have a more universal appeal. Let he who has not hit "Reply All" on accident inflict the first paper cut. And in the end it becomes a very human story of failure and resiliency. It is not a long read, and so if you are looking for something to while away an afternoon, you could do much worse than Dear Committee Members.
However, as I dug deeper into the story, these letters to various exes, friends, publishers and the ever present "committee members" revealed not only a man determined to stand up for a department considered superfluous, but also slowly reveals the story of Fitzger himself and his cause: finding funding and a roof for his graduate student Darren Browles. These parts of the story are pieced together slowly but have a more universal appeal. Let he who has not hit "Reply All" on accident inflict the first paper cut. And in the end it becomes a very human story of failure and resiliency. It is not a long read, and so if you are looking for something to while away an afternoon, you could do much worse than Dear Committee Members.