Inspired by my friend’s discovery of the term “epistolary novel,” I picked up Dear Committee Members. A slim volume made up of letters of recommendation from a professor of creative writing, it turned out to be a delight of a novel. His letters range from appeals to his exes in other parts of the university to help his students, to recommendations for employment that suggest that eye-rolling would be a perfect skill for a computer “helper” in any position. Few of them fail to mention the construction going on outside of his office, where the economics department is getting a lavish remodeling. If you’ve ever worked in a bureaucracy or academia, this novel is for you. If you ever had to be creative while writing a letter of recommendation, this novel is for you. And if you think a droll, luddite, English professor trying to save his graduate program might make you laugh out loud, try this gem.
Dear Committee Members tells the story of Jason Fitger, a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University who writes letters of recommendation ranging from appeals to his exes in other parts of the university to help his students, to recommendations for employment that suggest that eye-rolling would be a perfect skill for a computer “helper” in any position.