- Hardcover: 396 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (P) (May 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345416376
- ISBN-13: 978-0345416377
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 14.2 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,079,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The New York Times Book Review called Jon Hassler's last novel, Rookery Blues, "one of his finest and funniest novels." Now, Hassler brings back the delightful hero from that novel. He's older, not necessarily wiser, and still fumbling with love and life amid the strange campus doings of the 1990s.
Leland Edwards, a piano-playing, fly-fishing English professor, has become Dean of Rookery State College. And since the president of the college has been on automatic pilot for the last thirty years, it falls to Leland to save his beloved campus from diminished enrollment, hockey thuggery, and its ignoble associations with Paul Bunyan.
Then his old pal from the Icejam Quartet, Peggy Benoit Connor, drops a fund-raising plum in his lap. The most famous poet in America, Richard Falcon, has agreed to come to Rookery. Leland envisions thousands coming from all over the Midwest to hear Falcon's reading--an event that will put Rookery State on the literary map.
But when he arrives, the poet is both more and less than what Leland expected. Their relationship leads Leland back to memories of the father he lost when he was fourteen--and on a wild ride that will compel him to harbor a fugitive, stand up to his domineering mother, and finally make peace with his brief attempt at love and the tragedy that ensued.
Like old friends past and present, Leland and his cronies come alive to amuse, provoke, and ultimately surprise us with their touching, complicated humanity. Once again, Jon Hassler has written a novel that shows that is he one of the most gifted authors working today.
Leland Edwards, a piano-playing, fly-fishing English professor, has become Dean of Rookery State College. And since the president of the college has been on automatic pilot for the last thirty years, it falls to Leland to save his beloved campus from diminished enrollment, hockey thuggery, and its ignoble associations with Paul Bunyan.
Then his old pal from the Icejam Quartet, Peggy Benoit Connor, drops a fund-raising plum in his lap. The most famous poet in America, Richard Falcon, has agreed to come to Rookery. Leland envisions thousands coming from all over the Midwest to hear Falcon's reading--an event that will put Rookery State on the literary map.
But when he arrives, the poet is both more and less than what Leland expected. Their relationship leads Leland back to memories of the father he lost when he was fourteen--and on a wild ride that will compel him to harbor a fugitive, stand up to his domineering mother, and finally make peace with his brief attempt at love and the tragedy that ensued.
Like old friends past and present, Leland and his cronies come alive to amuse, provoke, and ultimately surprise us with their touching, complicated humanity. Once again, Jon Hassler has written a novel that shows that is he one of the most gifted authors working today.
From the Author
How I came to write "The Dean's List"
When I finished writing 'Rookery Blues' I thought I had exhausted the topic of academe, but my editor's off-hanad remark brought me back to Rookery State for at least one more book. She said, one day on the phone, "You know, Leland is the most Hasslerlike character in the book" which I took to mean he was most like my characters. But then, as I began to concentrate on Leland Edwards and write about him, I found that he was also very much like Hassler himself. His voice, for exammple, is so close to my own that it seemed natural to write it in the first person. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
When I finished writing 'Rookery Blues' I thought I had exhausted the topic of academe, but my editor's off-hanad remark brought me back to Rookery State for at least one more book. She said, one day on the phone, "You know, Leland is the most Hasslerlike character in the book" which I took to mean he was most like my characters. But then, as I began to concentrate on Leland Edwards and write about him, I found that he was also very much like Hassler himself. His voice, for exammple, is so close to my own that it seemed natural to write it in the first person. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Mr. Hasslers's books are always a treat to read, and this one is no exception. He combines humor and wry observation to amuse us, while at the same time making us think about the serious matters in life. Comparisons to Russo's Straight Man and Smiley's Moo are inevitable. Dean's List struck me as less humorous than these two novels but still had plenty of humor. As always Hassler excells with characterization, although I thought the college president too stupid to be real (at least I hope so). The characters from the retirement center were superb. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intelligent fiction. All five of the Hassler novels I have read so far have been wonderful. North of Hope continues to be my personal favorite.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have not read Hassler's "Rookery Blues," but after finishing "Dean's List" this morning, I plan to start "Blues" by nightfall. Hassler's story stays with you even when you're not reading him--the mark of a good writer. Although much of the book is suffused with a melancholic, wintry mood, it is also greatly funny at times. The malapropic hockey coach is particularly hilarious. On the down side, there may be just a few too many extended-family characters than necessary, and it is hard to believe that the protagonist, approaching 60 years of age, is genuinely such a "mama's boy"! Also, the protagonist's second marriage at the end seems a little forced, as we learned comparatively little about his new wife during the main part of the book. On the plus side, Hassler's story keeps the reader involved, and his inclusion of poems by the fictional, aging poet, Robert Falcon, adds a nice touch of realism. I would also truly love to see hordes of people come out to see a beloved poet, as happens in the book. In short, "Dean's List" is engaging without being overwrought. I'd especially recommend it for anyone who is or has been in academia in the 1990s. Hassler, much like Richard Russo in "Straight Man," manages to poke fun at higher education while also eliciting a certain amount of respect for it.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
One of the things that I love most about Jon Hassler's writing is that he takes us to a level where we become intimate with the characters and their stories. I very much enjoyed the first person perspective of Leland in Rookery Blues, and felt as though he were someone I knew and cared about by the end of the story. Although Jon does have Parkinson's, I do not believe that this book was a questioning of his effectiveness/impact of either his writing or of his life. I believe that he is very comfortable with his accomplishments and with who he is, and happen to know that he actually has a number of projects that he is currently working on. So the good news--we've not heard the last from Jon Hassler yet!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Jon Hassler's Dean's List explores aging and significance.
As a displaced Minnesotan, I always enjoy revisiting my home state via the novels of Jon Hassler. Like coming home for the holidays, this book evokes the mixed emotions of... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 1997
Find a comfortable chair, put up your feet, and enjoy!
There's a comfortable "old-shoeness" to picking up a Hassler novel. One doesn't read Hassler primarily for the plots, though they are sometimes dramatic and always... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 1997
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