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Sir Middling U
A cheeky tale of campus folly!
Things aren't going well for James Duffy. The beleaguered communications director of Sir Richard Middling University is struggling to do the right thing while navigating the quirks and minefields of campus politics. The odds are against him and the challenges keep piling an ambitious polytechnical college is scheming to take over Sir Middling U; a furore erupts over a bigoted guest speaker; and activists want to tear down a statue of the university's controversial namesake. While striving to defuse the various crises, Duffy encounters a cast of eccentric a scholarly burlesque queen; an author of dreadful poetry; a hobby-horse-riding free-speech advocate; and a diaper-wearing basset hound. As things go from bad to worse, Duffy's flagging spirits are lifted-and his moral compass righted-by the girl of his dreams, the wise and loyal Sophie Munn.
Things aren't going well for James Duffy. The beleaguered communications director of Sir Richard Middling University is struggling to do the right thing while navigating the quirks and minefields of campus politics. The odds are against him and the challenges keep piling an ambitious polytechnical college is scheming to take over Sir Middling U; a furore erupts over a bigoted guest speaker; and activists want to tear down a statue of the university's controversial namesake. While striving to defuse the various crises, Duffy encounters a cast of eccentric a scholarly burlesque queen; an author of dreadful poetry; a hobby-horse-riding free-speech advocate; and a diaper-wearing basset hound. As things go from bad to worse, Duffy's flagging spirits are lifted-and his moral compass righted-by the girl of his dreams, the wise and loyal Sophie Munn.
342 pages, Hardcover
Published October 6, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 22, 2024
Sir Middling U a Novel, by Kevin Crowley
If you are looking for a light, humorous read this winter you could do worse than choose Kevin Crowley’s Sir Middling U, a smart, sassy and funny novel by Kevin Crowley, an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. It satirizes the politics of academe, with a smattering of ironic criticism of provincial politics. You know that it is a bit of a send up from the very title. The university Sir Middling U (as in mediocre) is located in the city of Yawnsville. The university paper is called The Rat’s Ass and the professors bear such character describing names as Professor Blunt, Professor Kiljoy and President Merriwether, an accurate reflection of their personalities. A well dressed provincial aide is called Mr. Prigg and a university lawyer is Mr. Pratt. The essence of the novel is summed up by the quote from Wallace Stanley Sayr, an American political scientist who taught at Columbia University and who invented Sayr’s law. At the beginning of the novel, his Sayr’s law is summarized as the politics of the university are so intense because the stakes are so low.
The central plot revolves around two universities in close proximity to one another, Sir Middling U, a traditional arts and humanities institution, steeped in tradition and resistant to change, and a second more dynamic forward looking technical institute. There is a plan afoot to amalgamate the two, much to the chagrin of Sir Middling U’s faculty and staff, which stands to lose hundreds of jobs if the merger goes ahead.
The protagonist is the director of Sir Middling U’s communications, Duffy by name, who is trying to help the university control the narrative and protect itself. The name might imply a doofus (a stupid or foolish person) but that is my assumption. From the reader’s perspective, it is Duffy, a staff not faculty member and sorely deficient in the art of academic one upmanship, who appears to be right on the money, but resistance to his suggestions arises from the hubris of navel gazing faculty who are convinced of their intrinsic superiority.
This novel has everything: a controversial statue of Sir Middling which is symbolic of colonial imperialism and a “settler” who founded the university, a contentious invitation to a right wing nut giving rise to free speech issues, the tendency of management not to trust its own staff and to hire outside “consultants” who advise the same thing as staff has been advising to resistant management for ages (not exclusive to universities), the lack of tenure stream positions for women and minorities, sit-ins, arrogant faculty and vulnerable staff, political deviousness, hidden political agenda. Pretty much every current issue is addressed humorously but with a ring of truth at its base. And Mr. Crowley exhibits his knowledge of our literary history in quotes from eminent Canadians.
All a bit of fun but well written sparking a flash of recognition at the atmosphere and issues facing academe in the twenty-first century.
If you are looking for a light, humorous read this winter you could do worse than choose Kevin Crowley’s Sir Middling U, a smart, sassy and funny novel by Kevin Crowley, an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. It satirizes the politics of academe, with a smattering of ironic criticism of provincial politics. You know that it is a bit of a send up from the very title. The university Sir Middling U (as in mediocre) is located in the city of Yawnsville. The university paper is called The Rat’s Ass and the professors bear such character describing names as Professor Blunt, Professor Kiljoy and President Merriwether, an accurate reflection of their personalities. A well dressed provincial aide is called Mr. Prigg and a university lawyer is Mr. Pratt. The essence of the novel is summed up by the quote from Wallace Stanley Sayr, an American political scientist who taught at Columbia University and who invented Sayr’s law. At the beginning of the novel, his Sayr’s law is summarized as the politics of the university are so intense because the stakes are so low.
The central plot revolves around two universities in close proximity to one another, Sir Middling U, a traditional arts and humanities institution, steeped in tradition and resistant to change, and a second more dynamic forward looking technical institute. There is a plan afoot to amalgamate the two, much to the chagrin of Sir Middling U’s faculty and staff, which stands to lose hundreds of jobs if the merger goes ahead.
The protagonist is the director of Sir Middling U’s communications, Duffy by name, who is trying to help the university control the narrative and protect itself. The name might imply a doofus (a stupid or foolish person) but that is my assumption. From the reader’s perspective, it is Duffy, a staff not faculty member and sorely deficient in the art of academic one upmanship, who appears to be right on the money, but resistance to his suggestions arises from the hubris of navel gazing faculty who are convinced of their intrinsic superiority.
This novel has everything: a controversial statue of Sir Middling which is symbolic of colonial imperialism and a “settler” who founded the university, a contentious invitation to a right wing nut giving rise to free speech issues, the tendency of management not to trust its own staff and to hire outside “consultants” who advise the same thing as staff has been advising to resistant management for ages (not exclusive to universities), the lack of tenure stream positions for women and minorities, sit-ins, arrogant faculty and vulnerable staff, political deviousness, hidden political agenda. Pretty much every current issue is addressed humorously but with a ring of truth at its base. And Mr. Crowley exhibits his knowledge of our literary history in quotes from eminent Canadians.
All a bit of fun but well written sparking a flash of recognition at the atmosphere and issues facing academe in the twenty-first century.
March 19, 2024
Had Kingsley Amis wrote like Stephen Leacock he might have penned Sir Middling U, which is to say an acerbic satire delivered with a chuckle rather than a sneer, a wink rather than a slap. For that is exactly what Kevin Crowley delivers with his debut novel, a comic tour de force by any literary standard.
Set primarily in a fictional university, Crowley’s intention transcends his setting. The target of his satire is institutional bureaucracy built on venal personal ambition rather than altruistic public policy. Crowley knows of what he lampoons because he’s been there and done that. The result is an insider’s view of human folly filtered through the lens of humour, irony, parody, slapstick, cliché, stereotype and wordplay.
But Crowley does more than expose human absurdity. He puts flesh on the bones of caricature, so readers come to care deeply about the good people who eventually taste the sweet desserts of poetic justice, as laughter turns to tears of joy.
Set primarily in a fictional university, Crowley’s intention transcends his setting. The target of his satire is institutional bureaucracy built on venal personal ambition rather than altruistic public policy. Crowley knows of what he lampoons because he’s been there and done that. The result is an insider’s view of human folly filtered through the lens of humour, irony, parody, slapstick, cliché, stereotype and wordplay.
But Crowley does more than expose human absurdity. He puts flesh on the bones of caricature, so readers come to care deeply about the good people who eventually taste the sweet desserts of poetic justice, as laughter turns to tears of joy.
January 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters and scenes are vividly drawn and the dialogue crackles. The book mixes humour and dramatic tension in a story about plans to merge two universities and the chaos and job losses that would entail, told from the point of view of the university's beleaguered communications director. Internal politicking, career-jockeying and romance play a large part in this saga of campus folly. There's even a subplot about a controversial statue symbolizing the college's troubled past. If you enjoyed The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis, you will probably love this book.
October 9, 2024
If you have ever working in Academia or Government, this story has a humourous and cynical view of how both work.
While there were a number of fun and relatable characters, the story just seemed to end with an unsatisfactory thump on the floor.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but definitely not worth a re-read.
While there were a number of fun and relatable characters, the story just seemed to end with an unsatisfactory thump on the floor.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but definitely not worth a re-read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews