DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Schumacher has written an academic comedy of manners in the grand tradition of LUCKY JIM, MOO, and STRAIGHT MAN. Robertson Dean narrates masterfully. Part of the fun of these books is the surprising literary form many take. Here Schumacher has outdone herself. This is an epistolary audiobook written entirely in letters of recommendation. Robertson Dean does a wonderful rendition of the aging English professor who is trapped literally--in a building under construction--and figuratively--by his romantic and professional missteps over two decades. As he should, Dean leaves the listener guessing about Professor Fitger's real feelings towards the denizens of Payne University as his life emerges through a torrent of letters. F.C. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2014]