BOOK REVIEW: Purely Academic by Stringfellow Barr

If you enjoy satirical novels about the world of academia, you won’t go wrong with Purely Academic by Stringfellow Barr. (How’s that for an author name?) Although first published in 1958, it feels surprisingly contemporary. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The novel largely focuses on Dr. Schneider, chairman of the history department, but other characters also share their views: the pompous but effective university president who’s seeking a bigger, better job; the chairman of the economics department, a schmoozer who vacuums up all the funding for his own department and who wants to succeed the president; the schmoozer’s very young, beautiful, charming wife who is bored with their marriage; the president’s Machiavellian secretary, the power behind the throne; a high-living member of a large philanthropic board, who may be the most clear-sighted of all, and others.

Although the jockeying for power, the politicking, the complaints about low salaries and unteachable students are timeless, the novel is written in an older style. It starts fairly slow as Barr maneuvers all the characters into place for the finale. He also head-hops, making the prose a bit clunky. But once you settle into the read, the style becomes less noticeable. What stands out is the irony. This novel is clever.

The characters are all unpleasant in their own way. Even Schneider, who you can’t help but root for, has some fairly large character flaws. And yet, I was entranced. Once the stage is set, the president gets the call to move up to a large state school. Then things start happening fast. 

Stringfellow Barr was a history teacher himself, who moved on to administration as a college president, and then to president of a research foundation. So it seems this book is written from the voice of experience. 

This is another old novel found in the library, but it’s available on kindle or used copies can also be found. If you’d like to see the academic world lampooned, give it a try.