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"The most devastating satirical portrait of contemporary academic life I've ever read."
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Nelson Humboldt is a visiting adjunct lecturer in the English department at the prestigious University of the Midwest, until he is unceremoniously fired on Halloween. Minutes after the ax falls, his right finger is severed in a freak accident. Doctors manage to reattach the finger, but when the bandages come off, Nelson realizes he has acquired a strange power—he can force his will on others with a touch of his finger. And so he keeps the lease on his university-owned townhouse and picks up two sections of composition, saving his career from utter ruin. But soon these victories are not enough, and Nelson's finger burns for even greater glory—tenure. Cleverly macabre, The Lecturer's Tale is a pitch-perfect blend of satire and horror.
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Published in Spanish as El Cuento del Docente and in Russian as Рассказ лектора. "The most devastating satirical portrait of contemporary academic life I've ever read." -Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World "Wicked virtuoso humor...a superb supernatural farce." -Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air "Hynes writes so brilliantly, inventively, and lovingly about the sins of academe that the reader ends up, like Milton's Satan, even more eager to serve in Hell." -Elaine Showalter, The Chronicle of Higher Education "A full-blown academic farce. Hynes has hit on a brilliant ploy in weaving Gothic horror with contemporary lit crit." -Tobin Harshaw, The New York Times Book Review "A wild, laugh-out-loud ride." -Carey Harrison, San Francisco Chronicle |