The Shakespeare Requirement
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The Shakespeare Requirement Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Julie Schumacher (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 799 ratings
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One of The Washington Post's 50 most notable works of fiction in 2018.

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune keep hitting beleaguered English professor Jason Fitger right between the eyes in this hilarious and eagerly awaited sequel to the cult classic of anhedonic academe, the Thurber Prize-winning Dear Committee Members. Once more into the breach...

Now is the fall of his discontent, as Jason Fitger, newly appointed chair of the English Department of Payne University, takes arms against a sea of troubles, personal and institutional. His ex-wife is sleeping with the dean who must approve whatever modest initiatives he undertakes. The fearsome department secretary Fran clearly runs the show (when not taking in rescue parrots and dogs) and holds plenty of secrets she's not sharing. The lavishly funded Econ Department keeps siphoning off English's meager resources and has taken aim at its remaining office space. And Fitger's attempt to get a mossbacked and antediluvian Shakespeare scholar to retire backfires spectacularly when the press concludes that the Bard is being kicked to the curricular curb.

Lord, what fools these mortals be! Julie Schumacher proves the point and makes the most of it in this delicious romp of satire.

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 1 minute
  2. Author
    Julie Schumacher
  3. Narrator
    Julie Schumacher
  4. Audible release date
    August 14, 2018
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B07FBCLTZP
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 1 minute
Author Julie Schumacher
Narrator Julie Schumacher
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 14, 2018
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07FBCLTZP
Best Sellers Rank #95,633 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#260 in Satirical Literature & Fiction
#834 in Coming of Age Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#3,308 in Fiction Satire

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
799 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jill Nicely
5.0 out of 5 stars required reading for all former English majors
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2019
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If you’re like me, who got an English degree in an underfunded, underappreciated department in a liberal arts college, then you will love The Shakespeare Requirement not just because it’s fabulous but also because of the memories.

Jason Fitzger is one of those overworked, underpaid members of the English faculty at a small liberal arts college , and he is about to face his worst nightmare. In a strange twist of fate, he finds himself the chair of the department. Suddenly, aside from tackling his usual classes filled with mostly apathetic students, now he also has to battle with the Economics department, which is attempting to take over all the office space in their shared building. He has to battle with the quirky long-standing assistant to the chair, who holds all the information about running the department but has to take a lot of time off to care for her menagerie of needy pets. And he has to find a way to get all of his colleagues to agree on a single vision for the English department. Oh, and his ex-wife is dating the dean, who has to approve all his plans for the department.

So it’s just another year at school for Fitzger.

Julie Schumacher’s The Shakespeare Requirement is a hilarious, heartfelt satire of academic life. Her first novel with these characters, Dear Committee Members, won a much-deserved Thurber Prize. In that novel, Fitzger struggles with a difficult year as he tries to save his marriage, help his students, and try to keep the English department afloat. Told entirely through letters, it shows one man starting to unravel under the pressure he put himself under.

While I loved the ingenuity of using only letters for the entirety of Dear Committee Members, for The Shakespeare Requirement Schumacher abandoned the form and told this story in prose. While it’s not as clever, it gave her a lot more room to tell a really good story, and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.

You don’t have to read Dear Committee Members to enjoy The Shakespeare Requirement, but why wouldn’t you? It’s a beautiful book and a quick read, and I recommend it just as highly.
10 people found this helpful
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B Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars Great follow up to Dear Committee Members
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2023
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Not quite as poignant as Richard Russo’s Straight Man, but in the same vein and very well executed and a fun read.
4 people found this helpful
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Marilyn Kallet
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant satire about academia!
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
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This satire of academia is spot-on! Schumaker knows the foibles of academia. No line is wasted! I'm ready to read the next book in this dynamite trilogy!
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Plover
3.0 out of 5 stars Humorous, but if you expect another "Dear Committee Members" you may be disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
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I enjoyed this, but I probably was one of those who expected it to be as hilarious as the author's previous book, "Dear Committee Members." It's not, but that's a very high bar, and I can't really fault her for not clearing it.
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Catherine Gerrish
5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
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This is a wonderful book for improving you vocabulary and having some laugh out loud moments.
Great book to read in your book club.
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Libby e berman
4.0 out of 5 stars New characters, and misunderstandings
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2023
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Jason Fitger became chair of the English department; and it is an unconventional staff. They can't agree on a mission statement to get funding; or anything else. Secretary Fran , into animal rescue, brings a variety of animals to work with her.Fitger and his unhappily divorced ex - wife eventually share an unsocialized dog named Rogaine. He has a new student to council; a lost, lonely home- schooled Christian called Angela Vackery. Without giving away too much- Fitger is there when it counts for Ms. Vackery, and his department survives.
One person found this helpful
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Weekly Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Summer read any time of the year.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019
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On the surface The Shakespeare Requirement is a light, enjoyable read. But it also deals with tough personal issues like loss/divorce, work politics, maturity. There are parts that are laugh out loud funny as well as poignant in the characters pain and struggles. The work politics at play are easy to relate to and it's easy to feel sympathy for the underdogs who are just trying to muddle thru. I completely enjoyed this book and will look for other books by this author. I also highly recommend this as a book club read, and have lobbied with my book club to add to our list.
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John Michael Albert
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Funny Premise In A Fun Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2019
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I usually limit myself to classics, snob that I am; but my book club has taken to reading NYT best sellers, so I'm getting quite an education in what people expect in "literature" from living writers. The style is different, the pace is different, techniques for constructing plot and creating character--everything is different. This book, which I heard about on a Folger Library broadcast on Shakespeare, lives up to it all. (I'm a complete Shakespeare fan.) Unfortunately, I worked in American universities for 40 years as an office schlub, so I can guarantee that all the people, politics, and situations are deeply buried in fact--which would be depressing, but the author's purpose of humor makes it zany instead of insane.

It will not go on the shelf with my other classics but I don't think that was the aim. It was a fun read with one running gag that tickled my funny bone--almost every page (of nearly 400!)--used one of those words from the long lists of words you studied (endlessly) for the English portion of the College Entrance Exams. And YOU thought you'd never see them again. Ha!
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Top reviews from other countries

Vlad Thelad
3.0 out of 5 stars It just about scratches a passing grade
Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2018
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Having dwelt in academia for some time, and being a former thespian with some knowledge of the Bard that could be labelled as scholarly, it is no surprise that this novel caught my eye. Described by a reviewer as a “witty but kindhearted academic satire,” I went for it. However, satire as a genre is a very tricky minefield, with the perils of falling into caricature or of replicating the object of your satire to a point where it is not distinguishable from a portrait lurking side by side. This is a light read, one comparable to watching a few episodes of a sitcom, a clever one, granted, but not much more. Characters are barely sketched, stereotypes are abundant, the Shakespearean element scarcely goes beyond isolated quotes, and the plot lines are weak, contrived and failed to engage me in any meaningful way. It just about scratches a passing grade.
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London Gal
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for follow-up
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2019
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Jason Fitger is one of the funniest protagonists to come along in a dog's age. I laughed out loud whenever he appeared on the page -- a brilliant comic character, but a remarkably sympathetic and endearing one as well. The supporting cast members were also great fun. And as someone who has worked in five higher education institutions in the US and UK, I found the characters' foibles and machinations to be only too true. Loved it and can't wait to read the follow-up. Please do continue with the series, Ms. Schumacher.
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Dr. M. W. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Australia on November 23, 2020
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Arrived in time and in good condition. Many thanks.
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Kate Hopkins
3.0 out of 5 stars Satire Isn't Easy...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2022
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'The Shakespeare Requirement' is set at a minor American University, Payne State. Jason Fitger, a once-praised now dormant novelist, has been appointed Chair of the English Department. In a bid to make English feel more relevant - and to stop the sneers of the villainous economics professor Roland Gladwell - he suggests that Shakespeare no longer be a requirement on the English curriculum. In so doing he excites the wrath of the department's elderly Shakespeare scholar and a number of students - and soon finds himself at the centre of a pitched battle, as his younger colleagues are only too happy to scrap the Bard. And that's only one of his problems - there's his desire to get back with his ex-wife Janet (now dating the Dean of Humanities), his small, belligerent secretary's habit of bringing her rescue pets into work, his worries about his brilliant but naive young student Angela...

Bearing in mind the problems universities are encountering today, a satire set in a university English Department sounds potentially hilarious. But I'm coming to the conclusion that satire is very hard to bring off - all too often it can become ponderous or just plain nasty. For me, 'The Shakespeare Requirement' had various problems. Firstly, I didn't much like Fitger as a person until the final section; he came across as whiny and a bit pathetic. And I think this was the kind of satire where you had to really be on his side for it to work. Secondly, I think Schumacher couldn't quite make up her mind whether she was writing pure satire (a la P.G. Wodehouse's 'Jeeves' books) or a mixture of satire and serious fiction. The scenes involving Angela, for example, appeared to approach serious literary fiction (and consequently didn't blend in so well with the rest of the plot) while other scenes, such as those involving Fran's pets and Fitger's elderly colleague with digestive issues, felt like farce. Thirdly, I don't think the Shakespeare theme was woven into the plot nearly thoroughly enough - in the end, other than a couple of brilliant quotes, and a few Bard-related meditations on mortality, the Shakespearean themes felt disappointingly slight. Fourthly, I felt more could have been made of Dennis Cassovan, and I wasn't too keen on where Schumacher took his story in the final pages (copy-editing error alert also - his late wife changed names from Margery to Louise at once point). And finally, too many characters felt underdeveloped, and a few scenes felt like treading water, especially the ones involving Roland and Phil.

It's a shame, because the book does have some excellent one-liners and individual scenes (hence three stars not two). The description of courses offered by Payne ('Aliens and Outlaws', 'Marxism 2.5', 'The American Soap and the Telenovela', 'The Literature of Deviation') had me laughing out loud. So did Cassovan's angry musings on a colleague: 'the worst sort of academician, encouraging in his students a smug, portmortem approach to literature and a view of the classics that stank of disdain'. The observations of the department's resident Marxist and militant feminist were sharply witty, particularly the latter's tendency to launch into 'a Personal History, including a roster of indignities suffered, against a backdrop of [her] sterling intellectual capabilities, her exemplary research and publication, and the collegial virtues that had surely served one and all'. [Yes, I've met academics like that.] There's a few genuinely likeable characters too, particularly the Shakespeare-devoted Cassovan, and the literature-loving, gentle Angela.

But somehow, the flashes of brilliance never combine to form a satisfactory whole. Which made the book, though enjoyable in parts, somewhat frustrating.
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MR Balch
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute gem
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2021
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An impeccably written story that is incredibly funny and moving. I cannot recommend it enough.
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