Biblioracle: There’s the whiff of real student writing in Schumacher’s Payne University novels
A recent Gallup poll found public confidence in higher education is at the lowest point in the history of the survey at 36%, a decline of around 20 points as compared to eight years ago.
There are a lot of reasons behind this drop. What goes on at college campuses has morphed from being part of the culture war where people argue and try to persuade the broader public, to an outright political war, as seen in recent partisan decisions affecting higher ed at the Supreme Court, or the takeover over of higher education in Florida by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
There’s also the impact of the cost of college and increasing concern that a degree is not worth the cost. The decline in confidence in higher education is mirrored by a similar decline in other institutions such as the medical system, schools, banks, organized religion, the courts, the media, and on and on.
Writ large, there’s a lot of discontent with these big-picture institutions that are supposed to serve us. But when you zoom in, there seems to be great satisfaction, even love for the people who work in these institutions — our doctors, our teachers, our priests/rabbis/ministers, even our bankers.
As someone who has spent the bulk of his adult life either in or adjacent to higher education, I’m glad when there is a book that manages to simultaneously recognize some of the absurdities of what happens inside these very important institutions, while also recognizing that fundamentally, they are made up of individuals — flawed, funny individuals who are doing their best.
All of this is a big windup to express my appreciation for Julie Schumacher’s “The English Experience” the third novel in her Payne University Trilogy, following the previously published “Dear Committee Members” and “The Shakespeare Requirement.”
The center of all three novels is Professor Jason Fitger, a beleaguered humanities professor at the under-resourced Payne University, frequently tasked with shepherding a disparate group of misfits and malcontents — consisting of students, administrators and faculty — toward some kind of worthwhile experience of learning.
The hallmark of these books is Fitger’s numerous failings in achieving these goals, which often rise toward farce, a challenging form that Schumacher wields with great skill. Once a character is wholly pathetic, it is difficult to continue to care about them, but Schumacher manages to keep us invested in seeing these people succeed throughout all three books.
Professor Fitger’s challenge this time is overseeing Payne University’s study abroad program in England. Fitger correctly anticipates disaster, but, of course, the specifics are nothing he or we could see coming. While Fitger is the center of the book, the tapestry of the story is enhanced by Schumacher’s use of actual student assignments submitted to Fitger as part of the course requirements.
Having graded thousands of student papers myself, I can testify that Schumacher’s fidelity to the befuddling, surprising and often wonderful array of student perspectives is impressive. Even though the student work is usually played for laughs, I often got a warm feeling reading the thoughts of these oddballs.
It is this sense of warmth that is perhaps most surprising and enjoyable about the book. In fact, each book of the trilogy has been progressively warmer in its treatment of its characters, even as they’re put through the wringer. As times have gotten rougher for higher education in general, it’s as if Schumacher’s sympathy for the individuals inside the institution has increased.
In the end, for me, Schumacher’s trilogy stands with David Lodge’s famous Campus Trilogy of the ‘70s and ‘80s as the go-to source for how it truly feels to make one’s way inside higher education.
John Warner is the author of “Why They Can’t Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities.”
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “Ron Carlson Writes a Story: Tips from a Master of the Craft” by Ron Carlson
2. “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott
3. “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert
4. “Dept. of Speculation” by Jenny Offill
5. “The Dud Avocado” by Elaine Dundy
— Mina R., Queens, New York
Sometimes the Biblioracle frequencies send me a book, and I’m not sure why, but it just feels right. This is one of those times, “The Best of Everything” by Rona Jaffe.
1. “Dhalgren” by Samuel R. Delany
2. “Leviathan Falls” by James S. A. Corey
3. “Razorblade Tears” by S. A. Cosby
4. “Ripley’s Game” by Patricia Highsmith
5. “The Grifters” by Jim Thompson
— James P., Chicago
Some science fiction and some crime suspense. Why not a book that combines those elements? “The 22 Murders of Madison May” by Max Barry.
1. “Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles
2. “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
3. “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese
4. “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez
5. “The Painted Bird” by Jerzy Kosinski
— Anna W., East Lansing, Michigan
Interesting list that suggests I could go in a number of different directions. How about a classic that still has plenty of relevance today, “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers?
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com
