"Like Richard Russo's Straight Man this book has a lot to say about the humanities in American colleges and universities... Very funny and also moving." -- Tom Perrotta, New York Post

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR and Boston Globe

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.

Don't miss Julie Schumacher's new novel, The English Experience, coming soon.

• We started tracking this book on August 9, 2014.
• This book was $9.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 80 times in the past 4,149 days.
• The current price of this book is $8.99 last checked one hour ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $1.99.
• The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on April 27, 2025.
• This book has been $1.99 8 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $13.99 last reached on May 26, 2024.
• This book has been $13.99 3 times since we started tracking it.

• Literature & FictionLiterary FictionHumor
• Literature & FictionHumor & SatireHumor

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 193 Pages
• File Size: 34 KB