At the request of the author himself (I'm so honored!) I’m including a review here of a book I just finished: Hume’s Fork, a comic novel written by philosophy professor by Ron Cooper. It is not about David Hume or his philosophy as one might assume from the title (or in my case from the fact that is was lent to me by a philosophy professor 
friend who happens to study Hume), however it certainly has a philosophical side to it. It is rather a comic account of the world of academic philosophy, or at least the state of affairs as you may know it if your name is not Paul Guyer or Allen Wood.
The main characters in the novel are Legare Hume, a philosophy professor at a mediocre college in Florida struggling to publish, in order to secure – or not secure – a tenure track position; and his brilliant but “exceptionally awkward” college Saul Grossman. The reader gets to follow these colleges on their trip to the American Philosophical Association, the APA yearly conference in Charleston, SC, where they both present papers, and “worlds and walks of life collide in a strange and satirical amalgamation.”
Hume’s Fork is one of the funniest novels I’ve read in a long time, and the style reminds me of that of Bill Bryson, only Cooper’s humor is slower to the punch, but all the more powerful. The book is very well written; the text flows elegantly, everything ties together in a classy manner, and the well-timed punch lines are delivered perfectly.
The academic world Cooper describes is disturbingly familiar, and I personally know a couple of Legare Hume myself. I also know at least one Saul Grossman, or different versions of him. My friend who lent me this book actually said he had to stop reading because it was too painful; the comical and tragic description of academic struggle and most of all Legare Hume’s inability to get a good publication out was simply a little too close to his own situation. My fellow philosophy professor wives however, laughed aloud when I cited passages to them, recognizing their husbands in the characters, the APA atmosphere, and the department chemistry. It is not only the peculiar characters that are the strength of this novel though, but also the humorous plot and setting; again, it’s the witty description of something familiar, not least the trailer past that Legare Hume has spent most of his adult life trying to escape, that makes it so on the spot.
In sum: you should read it!
friend who happens to study Hume), however it certainly has a philosophical side to it. It is rather a comic account of the world of academic philosophy, or at least the state of affairs as you may know it if your name is not Paul Guyer or Allen Wood.The main characters in the novel are Legare Hume, a philosophy professor at a mediocre college in Florida struggling to publish, in order to secure – or not secure – a tenure track position; and his brilliant but “exceptionally awkward” college Saul Grossman. The reader gets to follow these colleges on their trip to the American Philosophical Association, the APA yearly conference in Charleston, SC, where they both present papers, and “worlds and walks of life collide in a strange and satirical amalgamation.”
Hume’s Fork is one of the funniest novels I’ve read in a long time, and the style reminds me of that of Bill Bryson, only Cooper’s humor is slower to the punch, but all the more powerful. The book is very well written; the text flows elegantly, everything ties together in a classy manner, and the well-timed punch lines are delivered perfectly.
The academic world Cooper describes is disturbingly familiar, and I personally know a couple of Legare Hume myself. I also know at least one Saul Grossman, or different versions of him. My friend who lent me this book actually said he had to stop reading because it was too painful; the comical and tragic description of academic struggle and most of all Legare Hume’s inability to get a good publication out was simply a little too close to his own situation. My fellow philosophy professor wives however, laughed aloud when I cited passages to them, recognizing their husbands in the characters, the APA atmosphere, and the department chemistry. It is not only the peculiar characters that are the strength of this novel though, but also the humorous plot and setting; again, it’s the witty description of something familiar, not least the trailer past that Legare Hume has spent most of his adult life trying to escape, that makes it so on the spot.
In sum: you should read it!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment