Book Review: Dear Committee Members

Book: Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Finally a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary."

Jason Fitger is a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the midwest. His department is facing draconian cuts and squalid quarters, while one floor above them the Economics Department is getting lavishly remodeled offices.

His once-promising writing career is in the doldrums, as is his romantic life, in part as the result of his unwise use of his private affairs for his novels. His star (he thinks) student can't catch a break with his brilliant (he thinks) work Accountant in a Bordello, based on Melville's Bartleby. In short, his life is a tale of woe, and the vehicle this droll and inventive novel uses to tell that tale is a series of hilarious letters of recommendation that Fitger is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce, each one of which is a small masterpiece of high dudgeon, low spirits, and passive-aggressive strategies. We recommend Dear Committee Members to you in the strongest possible terms.


Rating: 3 stars

Review:

Have you ever watched an episode of Dan vs.? If you're not familiar with this show it features an angry little guy who seeks revenge against any and everything from reality TV to the dentist. He complains about pretty much everything.

Okay, you might be wondering why I'm even mentioning this. Well, because in this book, which is a compilation of letters written by English Professor Jason Fitger who sends out these letters to various committees and individuals. In nearly every letter he either complains (in a sort of polite way) or gives an backhanded compliment about various people or organizations. He's upset with the lack of funds for his department and he's disappointed with the way his career is going. Not to mention his love life is non-existent. He is also putting in some effort to help one of his students who Fitger thinks is a brilliant writer.

Not only does Fitger remind me of Dan but also of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory where no one is as smart or as capable as him. He has the touch of arrogance that stops him from seeing the truth.

Dear Committee Members is a humorous look at one faculty member as he sends out these letters that really don't seem to benefit anyone. Especially not with the pompous yet humorous letters he writes. But it's also a little sad near the end.

Despite all of Jason Fitger's snarks and quirks you can tell he does care about the university and his students but the only way he can show it is by being a sarcastic arrogant pain.

This was an interesting read, however, there were times when some of the letters started to feel repetitive.