Set in Academia: Novels in Letters

New terms are about to start at most local colleges and universities, so it seems appropriate to do a post on the travails of academia. To no one's surprise, many of the novels about college are written by creative writing instructors and heavily involve the literary aspirations of their protagonists. Most of the books in this post are also epistolary, that is to say, in the form of letters. So, sit back and enjoy the fall of Western civilization.

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher is the often-hilarious charting of an academic year in the life of an English department at a Midwestern liberal arts college. Jason Fitger no longer has time for his novel, he is so busy writing letters of recommendation for people, mostly his students. Through these, we learn of the campus politics, dismal employment prospects for those with liberal arts degrees, and Jason's chaotic personal life. Not one hypocrisy nor indignity of academic life goes unskewered in this pain-shot comedy.

While Sam Lipsyte's Home Land concerns high school as opposed college, the tone is much the same. Lewis "Teabag" Miner is disgusted by the banal milestones and success stories in his former high school's alumni newsletter. So, knowing that it will not be printed, he writes of his own life, which mostly involves controlled substances and autoeroticism when not slaving/slacking away at his dead-end job. The result is a giddy diatribe against cheerful, wholesome facades. 

The Ghost Apple is a return to college, this one in New England and in dire straits. This debut novel by Aaron Thier finds Tripoli College partnering with an agribusiness in order to save itself and its satellite campus in the Caribbean. Through a compilation of emails, course descriptions, and the most entertaining notes of faculty meetings ever penned, Thier tells the story of a few dedicated individuals try to save the school from the machinations of corporate America.

And what if Jason Fitger or his students ever finished their books? The Grand Tour by Adam O'Fallon Price is a road trip with a novelist rediscovering success with a memoir and his biggest (and only remaining) fan. That the memoir is not entirely accurate and that there is booze everywhere almost goes without saying in this mirthful tale of public and private humiliation.

What would you write, if you were being completely honest? Tell us in the comments.