What do you think?
Rate this book
Interim
What if, one shining summer day, a friend-in-need asks you to take a job you don’t want, aren’t qualified for, and will just plain hate? If you’re Rob Roy, Professor of English at STATE University, and your sweet son—gone sullen under his headphones—is about to incur some hefty college costs, you say fine, dammit, and become Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities, Interim.
It turns out Rob can do some good, if he can head off the nefarious plans of unctuous archrival, Professor Steve Klutz, who’s got something cooking with STATE’s online education. Along the way, though, he’ll need to steer clear of the scheming Dean Eileen, master manipulator in charge of the College of Ed; land on the good side of Dean Trout, College of Science and Engineering, who spares no soul his acid tongue; and stay sane in the face of every other wonky academic wandering the campus—all while he and his wife worry about their daughter, who junior high gossipers say was born with a tail.
At least, for comfort, there’s Andres the aging corgi, steadfast sidekick.
It turns out Rob can do some good, if he can head off the nefarious plans of unctuous archrival, Professor Steve Klutz, who’s got something cooking with STATE’s online education. Along the way, though, he’ll need to steer clear of the scheming Dean Eileen, master manipulator in charge of the College of Ed; land on the good side of Dean Trout, College of Science and Engineering, who spares no soul his acid tongue; and stay sane in the face of every other wonky academic wandering the campus—all while he and his wife worry about their daughter, who junior high gossipers say was born with a tail.
At least, for comfort, there’s Andres the aging corgi, steadfast sidekick.
126 pages, Paperback
Published February 11, 2022
8 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Roberson
6 books24 followersMatthew Roberson is the author of four novels—1998.6, Impotent, List, and the recently published campus novel Interim. He also edited the collection Musing the Mosaic: Approaches to Ronald Sukenick. His short fiction has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Fiction International, Clackamas Literary Review, Western Humanities Review, Notre Dame Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and others. He lives and teaches in central Michigan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 18, 2023
While not being in the realm of higher education administration, I thought Roberson made this life extremely accessible to read and had me laughing and enjoying the various trips and turns that came along the way. I’d recommend this to anyone.
December 7, 2024
While reading this book, I was as frustrated as a toddler given a circle for a square hole (and surprised as the toddler who saw the circle go in). "Internim" pulls back the curtain on academic administration as main character, Professor Rob Roy, reluctantly fills the role of internim associate dean for the College of Arts and Humanities at STATE College. What's behind this curtain is empty commitments and ladder-climbing politics.
Some unique features of this book includes the short chapters, which satisfy and heighten that sense of accomplishment, and the side-story columns. The side-story columns consisted of Rob's family (Amy—his wife, Warren—his son, and Emily—his daughter). At first, these columns come across as off-putting. In fact, I bounced between starting the main text and the side text first because I was intended to read first, or if it mattered what I read first. By page 105, I managed to look forward to, and even appreciate, the mini stories that were occurring during Rob's main story.
In terms of syntactic composition, the excessive use of commas, while distinguishing the voice of the narrator, disrupted the pacing of the story and occasionally discouraged me from reading on. I'd also went back to the start of the sentence (more than once) to understand what was being said.
The dry humor was a solid hit to my funny bone to where I'd smile here and there from the occasional funny name and characterization of one of the administrative officers. Also, the first line in the scene with several undergraduates was believable enough for me to recall my recent time as an undergraduate.
Throughout the book, I felt empathetic toward Rob and his plight to achieve what should be straightforward results on a task only for him to be sent on a goose chase hindered by the indifference of the people he talks to. As someone who works in customer service, I, like Rob, wished for a simple answer.
The purpose of this book seemed to use dry humor in an information-dense environment to amplify the convoluted and redundant nature of administrative work within the college setting.
This is not a book I would reread but rather pass along to students, educators, and administrators. I hope readers gain a more empathetic understanding of administration, and for those who can do something to change it for the better, I hope this story gives them the motivation to do something about it.
Some unique features of this book includes the short chapters, which satisfy and heighten that sense of accomplishment, and the side-story columns. The side-story columns consisted of Rob's family (Amy—his wife, Warren—his son, and Emily—his daughter). At first, these columns come across as off-putting. In fact, I bounced between starting the main text and the side text first because I was intended to read first, or if it mattered what I read first. By page 105, I managed to look forward to, and even appreciate, the mini stories that were occurring during Rob's main story.
In terms of syntactic composition, the excessive use of commas, while distinguishing the voice of the narrator, disrupted the pacing of the story and occasionally discouraged me from reading on. I'd also went back to the start of the sentence (more than once) to understand what was being said.
The dry humor was a solid hit to my funny bone to where I'd smile here and there from the occasional funny name and characterization of one of the administrative officers. Also, the first line in the scene with several undergraduates was believable enough for me to recall my recent time as an undergraduate.
Throughout the book, I felt empathetic toward Rob and his plight to achieve what should be straightforward results on a task only for him to be sent on a goose chase hindered by the indifference of the people he talks to. As someone who works in customer service, I, like Rob, wished for a simple answer.
The purpose of this book seemed to use dry humor in an information-dense environment to amplify the convoluted and redundant nature of administrative work within the college setting.
This is not a book I would reread but rather pass along to students, educators, and administrators. I hope readers gain a more empathetic understanding of administration, and for those who can do something to change it for the better, I hope this story gives them the motivation to do something about it.
June 12, 2025
It was a pleasure to find myself completely immersed in the campus life of 'STATE' University in Matthew Roberson's novel 'Interim'. I enjoyed following the main character's adventures through endless acronyms, labyrinthine buildings and a series of unique personalities.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews