The English Experience
A Novel
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • Beleaguered Professor Jason Fitger chaperones Payne University’s annual “Experience: Abroad” to London and beyond, with eleven undergrads in tow • The bestselling author of Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement completes her hilarious trilogy of academic mishap
“Wise and hilarious and heartbreaking.”—Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls
Jason Fitger may be the last faculty member the dean wants for the job, but he’s the only professor available to chaperone Payne University’s annual “Experience: Abroad” (he has long been on the record objecting to the absurd and gratuitous colon between the words) occurring during the three weeks of winter term. Among his charges are a claustrophobe with a juvenile detention record, a student who erroneously believes he is headed for the Caribbean, a pair of unreconciled lovers, a set of undifferentiated twins, and one young woman who has never been away from her cat before.
Through a sea of troubles—personal, institutional, and international—the gimlet-eyed, acid-tongued Fitger strives to navigate safe passage for all concerned, revealing much about the essential need for human connection and the sometimes surprising places in which it is found.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schumacher's droll conclusion to her Fitger trilogy (after The Shakespeare Requirement) finds the blundering American professor abroad and out of his element. Jason Fitger, the curmudgeonly chair of Payne University's English department, is tasked with teaching the school's Experience: England class in London over winter break. Though his ex-wife, Janet Matthias, a law school administrator at Payne, is surprised by the assignment, remembering Fitger to be a bad traveler, he's soon off on the three-week excursion with 11 undergrads. Excerpts of their writing assignments are mixed into the narrative, including one in which the students must find their own way to the British Museum and write about an object there, while Fitger nurses a twisted ankle. One student takes unauthorized side trips to mainland Europe, to Fitger's consternation. Adding to his worries is Janet's request to put him as a reference on a job application, since he still loves her and doesn't want her to leave Payne. Though the passages of student writing tend to wear thin, Schumacher draws the series to a close with a satisfying arc and a surprising twist after Fitger forms an unexpected bond with his charges. Fans will delight in this winning send-off.
