Julie SchumacherRecensioni

Very funny & probably too true.

A library patron I hadn’t met before came to my desk saying she had a book suggestion, I began explaining about our online suggestion form and commenced filling it out for her until it became clear she’d just finished and returned the book to our library, and meant that she wanted to recommend I read the book—so I did. I too enjoyed the wit of the novel and the clever vehicle by which a story unfolds—a chronological series of letters, primarily LORs (letters of recommendation).

Trust an English professor (the female author gets to exercise her prowess with the male lead who shares her profession) to make a stealthy attempt to raise my Lexile level. Some of these words I had heard but couldn’t have used with confidence, others were completely new to me. I tired of copying them down, so this is an incomplete list (definitions compliments of Google’s online dictionary):
Imprimatur (person's acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard.)
Plenary ((of a meeting) to be attended by all participants at a conference or assembly, who otherwise meet in smaller groups.)
Screed (a long speech or piece of writing, typically one regarded as tedious.) ***Many will be surprised I didn’t know this word considering how many I have produced over the years.
Cipher (put (a message) into secret writing; encode.)
Divagate (to wander or stray from a course or subject : diverge, digress.)
Intercalate (insert (something) between layers in a crystal lattice, geological formation, or other structure.)
Encomiums (a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.)

It’s only 180 pages—if you’re a faculty member, or were an English major, or just enjoy good wit, I think you’ll enjoy this.

At times, so funny I laughed out loud.

mostly light, but fun - a view of the other side of academia

An epistolary novel about a disgruntled faculty member, Jason/Jay Fitger, who is writing an endless stream of Letters of Recommendation for students and faculty. It is funny in some cases, and in others, it is a venting of frustrations - with the faculty, with the office space, with people not responding, with former flames.
It is a quick read. Just OK in my opinion.

Funny enough but not as funny a novel of academia as "Nobody's Fool".

Hilarious yet sobering view of the world of secondary education, as told in a series of letters of recommendation by an English professor from a small liberal arts college. I’ve never come across this form of storytelling, and it works. I’ve known for some time that certain institutions have a culture that is all their own, and universities are no exception. Schumacher, herself a college professor, reaches back into her experience to illuminate the craziness of her world, and writes the LOR that I’m sure most academics would have loved to write themselves, but of course couldn’t. The book specifically addresses the dying liberal arts in the era of STEM majors, and the scant options for, in particular, English majors (often having to accept jobs well below their skill sets). There is a tragic element to the book, as the author of the LORs, Jason Fitger, tries to promote his last mentee. This book is so well written - it’s compulsively readable - and should be required reading for anyone teaching at the college level.½

I was very disappointed in this highly recommended book about an unhappy person who is forced to take 11 college students to England for a short trip. The very poor writings (grammar, punctuation, etc) were presented and supposed to be witty and funny. I found it very sad that that writing emanated from supposedly educated people. The politics of the college were also presented as funny, but as a person who has experienced the same treatment, mainly at a community college, I did not find them humorous. Many people are injured by the systems in place in this country, and laughing at them seves no one. I gave it a 2.5 because I would help some readers would see the problems and work to change them, as I did when I was employed.½

Funny enough to pass a two hour flight, and I can see why loads of people inside the bubble like it, but obviously pretty limited.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE BODY IS WATER (1995), the story of thirty-ish Jane Haus, a teacher who finds herself pregnant, and leaves her job (the latest of several) in Philadelphia to return to her childhood home in a small New Jersey beach town where her widowed father is staunchly resisting selling out to the powers of gentrification. With no particular plans for the future, she waits for the birth of her child, reconnecting with her uberorganized, successful genius older sister, who comes home from Atlanta to help; and her former high school health ed teacher and golf coach, who not-so-subtly courts the pregnant Jane, gradually insinuating himself into her delicate dilemma. In flashback fashion we learn of Jane's childhood and adolescence, growing up in the shadow of her brilliant sister, with little help from her often absent, sometimes ill mother, who died while Jane was away on a college-sponsored term in Mexico. During her seven months of pregnancy in the family home, Jane takes a part-time job teaching English to immigrants, and rummaging through attic boxes and her own confused memories to uncover some disturbing family secrets. I found the story of the Haus family to be very compelling and unique. This was Julie Schumacher's first novel, and I mostly loved it, except for the ending, which seemed a bit too abrupt, leaving too many unanswered questions. I know the book was written more than twenty-five years ago. But I'm wondering, is it too late for a sequel? Otherwise, a very good read with great characters. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

Loved it, and not just because a school I'm associated with is planning to eliminate foreign languages and creative writing.

All abroad!

A reluctant faculty member, hoping for an uninspiring break at home, finds himself chaperoning Payne University’s Experience Abroad program to England.
His students appear to be just as reluctant especially the one who thought he was going to Jamaica.
Jason Fitger designs his program around the written word desiring a 500 word essay each night about the student’s perceptions of the institutions visited. All very ho hum, although their responses often made me hold my head in my hands, unsure as to whether laugh or sigh.
Talk about Reluctanter meeting Reluctantees!
Hilarious at times and poignant at others, this is what happens when these particular two R’s meet.
I wasn’t sure, if given a choice between the two, Fitger or his students, which I felt more sympathy for.
Some absolute language usage gems and wonderful turns of phrases abound.

A Doubleday ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

My hangover prevents me from trying to be witty in this review, so I'll just list why I liked - LOVED - this book.

1. It is really funny. Actual laughing out loud happened when I read it.
2. The format is interesting. At times I had to go back and find the first letter that mentions someone to get the context, but that small inconvenience was balanced by the pleasure I got from the way the format allowed things to unfold.
3. Jay is mad at/resigned to the stupidity of our modern culture, especially the damn kids these days. I too am mad about this.
4. The English Department is being slowly killed off in favor of the sciences, and Jay is fighting the good fight to preserve literature at his school. Some of the funniest passages in the book.
5. The writing is smart, never shying away from a big word or a slyly-cutting turn of phrase. I wish I spoke like this book.

Verdict: fantastic. Easily one of my favorite books that I have read this year.

Jason Fitger, a longtime uninspiring English professor and now head of the department at Payne College, was the last choice to lead a group of students for a study abroad course in London. But, it was last minute and there really was no one else. The class is a conglomeration of students, including someone who has never been away from her cat, a student who thought he was signing up for a trip to the Caribbean, and another one who is claustrophobic and has a dubious history. What could go wrong?

Fitger was the main character in Schumacher’s prior two novels, including Dear Committee Members which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

This was an entertaining, humorous, surprisingly poignant satire. Not only are readers privy to many of the misadventures on the trip, but, as an added bonus, there are a sprinkling of the non sequitur, scarily a grammatical /poorly spelled essays written by the students. I loved some of Schumacher’s observations of the European experience. One of my favorites was the comment about a guide they encountered who spoke six languages. In the US, anyone with that expertise would be “considered a diplomat or a genius.” In London, that accomplishment only resulted in a part-time guide job.

This was a fun break from some of the heavier novels I have read recently.

Thanks to #netgalley and #doubledaybooks for the ARC

The idea is very good, the humour is often really spot-on but all in all the structure itself of the book - a series of epistolary exchanges - is its biggest constraint and makes the read very soon boring.

Elena's sister, Dora, is admitted to the psych ward of Lorning Hospital after an attempted suicide. There Elena thinks things will get fixed. What she doesn't realize is that this disease is just beginning to creep into their lives. Dora seems to get worse, not better. Elena wonders when Dora will be able to come home, and when she does if things will ever go back to normal. At school people seem to pity her, except Jimmy. Jimmy is an odd boy who lives near Elena. His brother was in Lorning, and he tries to get closed-off Elena to open up about what she's going through.


My Thoughts:
This book has been on my TBR since FOREVER, but I had forgotten what it was about. I saw it at the library and remembered seeing it on my TBR, but by glancing at the cover I assumed this was going to be something creepy. Ghosts maybe?? Doesn't the cover give you the creepy vibe? Okay well now we know, it's NOT creepy. It's actually one of the strangest books I've read in a long time (in a non-creepy way).

Dora and Elena are these two really opposite sisters. Dora's always been the creative, emotional one, while Elena is the responsible, analytic one. Even though Elena is younger, she's the one supposed to watch over Dora from a young age. As Dora goes through her issues, Elena is just left out on an island by herself. Her parents won't talk to her, she doesn't have friends, and she doesn't want to share her feelings with her therapist. It was interesting to read about someone so UN-emotional and closed off. Especially a girl. I haven't met many of those in YA.

So I'm thinking that this book would have been better as a short story. It's about this huge, heavy topic (depression), but it just wants to skim the surface. I didn't feel any depth to this book. Something would be mentioned and BOOM, end of chapter, on to something else. Seriously there were no chapters longer than 2 pages. There was a small part where Elena seemed to be getting completely overwhelmed by her situation, worrying about Dora 24/7, and just seeming to become overcome with fear of what Dora may do. I wish that part was more developed. It was the only real time I felt like the book was really saying something.

Jimmy confused me. He was all over the place. One minute he'd be asking Elena a question about her sister's well-being... and then before she could even answer he'd be off trying to cook some weird concoction. It was truly odd and I wasn't sure what the point of it was.

Basically, I'm not saying you shouldn't read this book... but I've definitely read better books about depression. I don't think I truly "got" this book and that's because it was too choppy and jumpy. And every time something big was on the brink of happening, it was the end of the chapter.

OVERALL: Ehhh. It's a super short, quick read, but it doesn't delve into the topic of depression the way I would expect an issues book to. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not terrible.

My Blog:

Very witty and amusing. It kept me entertained on my flight, which is all I want from a book when stuck in a plane for hours.

An absurd view of a university but somehow engaging enough to distract the mind on a hot, humid summer's day. The characters and situations are over the top.

begins funny - becomes tedious - compare w Jane Smiley's MOO and you'll see

Funny, light epistolary novel with a thoughtful end.

Charming and funny.

Tragically hilarious narrative and alarming, endearing truthiness.

I enjoyed this and the epistolary format was fun, but I wish the main character had been...nicer, I suppose. This doesn't reach the heights of Jane Smiley's Moo or Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, but it's a pretty decent satire of today's university.

This is a follow up to Dear Committee Members, which I loved. Fitger has been elevated to department chair and is struggling to bring the English department together in order to survive the incursion of the Economics Department.

Dear Committee Members was very nearly sublime in its satire and sneaky humanity; this one ... not so much. The Shakespeare Requirement is a standard narrative (as opposed to the epistolary form of DCM), and while still funny and heavily satirical, it just falls flat. It also lacks any clear plot, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say there's no clear story arc. I suppose there's a climax, but it's not really much of one, and there's very little to no emotional punch.

All of this sounds like I'm tearing a strip off the book and that's not my intention; I enjoyed it for the humor and the connection to the characters - I never found myself bored or wanting to put it down. It just didn't have the same grip as its predecessor and if asked, I'd definitely recommend Dear Committee Members but would likely suggest skipping this one, or at least preparing for it to be a different read altogether.½

It made me laugh, which was just what I needed.