The Lecturer's Tale A Novel

by Hynes, James

• ISBN13: 9780312203320
• ISBN10: 0312203322
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-08
• Publisher: Picador

Summary

The author ofPublish and Perishreturns with a Faustian tale of the horrors of academe Nelson Humbolt is a visiting adjunct English lecturer at prestigious Midwest University, until he is unceremoniously fired one autumn morning. Minutes after the axe falls, his right index finger is severed in a freak accident. Doctors manage to reattach the finger, but when the bandages come off, Nelson realizes that he has acquired a strange power--he can force his will onto others with a touch of his finger. And so he obtains an extension on the lease of his university-owned townhouse and picks up two sections of freshman composition, saving his career from utter ruin. But soon these victories seem inconsequential, and Nelson's finger burns for even greater glory. Now the Midas of academia wonders if he can attain what every struggling assistant professor and visiting lecturer covets--tenure. A pitch-perfect blend of satire and horror,The Lecturer's Talepaints a gruesomely clever portrait of life in academia.

Author Biography

James Hynes is the author of The Wild Colonial Boy and Publish and Perish. He lives in Austin, TX.

Table of Contents

Part One: A Man's Reach
All Hallow's Eve	3	(11)
Curriculum Vitae	14	(17)
The Curse of Fu Manchu	31	(24)
Nelson in the Underworld	55	(19)
The Seminar Luncheon	74	(24)
Professor Weissmann Explains	98	(21)
Enter a Murderer	119	(20)
Nelson in Nighttown	139	(13)
The Morning After	152	(9)
Part Two: The Rope Dance
The Story of O	161	(21)
Discipline and Punish	182	(21)
The Three Stooges	203	(32)
L'arret de Mort	235	(30)
Victoria's Secret	265	(22)
Curriculum Vita	287	(10)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre	297	(26)
Part Three: The Blazing World
To Reign in Hell	323	(20)
La Vita Nuova	343	(28)
Chapter One	371	(16)
The Author's Retractions	387