kplab81 's review for:

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

4.0

---

I think the commentary on the side flap of the book cover says it all: "this book puts the pissed back in epistolary." Schumacher's comical take on the ridiculous politics and persona that inhabit contemporary academia wins for hilarity points. She crafts the story of Jason (Jay to some) T. Fitger, Professor of Creative Writing at Payne University, entirely through letters of recommendation (or LORs as he calls them). Some are to recommend former students for menial jobs; while others are to the various friends (perhaps a more apt term would be "frenemies") that populate his life - his ex-wife, former girlfriend, former classmates turned competition in the literary world. Fitger is a fantastically fun character to follow because he is equal parts self-aggrandizing and self-loathing. Fitger's LORs reflect a man who firmly believes he is fighting the most valiant battle in history: preserving the English language against the budget-hoarding, glory-stealing merchants of STEM. He's a modern day Don Quixote, tilting at the windmills of academia, and he's a hot, wildly inappropriate mess to behold.