Dear Committee Members

For academics, especially, this is a side-splittingly funny “novel” told via a year's worth of letters of reference written by Professor Fitger, Professor of Creative Writing (and, sometimes, Upholder of the Ancient Flame or Professor of the Lost Arts), in the moribund and neglected English Department of a small college in a small town in England. In his LORs, Professor Fitger, a formerly successful novelist, is insightful, acerbic, and offensive to friends, administrators and many of the recipients of his pointed, wry, sarcastic and exceptionally funny letters.  The freshness, impact and hilarity of the letters pales slightly as they accumulate, but the cantankerous Professor Fitger offers shrewd insights into people, academia and commerce.  Fleeting glimpses of humanity and vulnerability emerge occasionally, making Professor Fitger rather likable as well as vastly entertaining.