Philurius College Blues

by Ray Carson Russell

Overview

"...Ray Carson Russell mixes the poignant with the preposterous and shines a sharp light on the absurdities of academia."

-Douglas Light, author of Where Night Stops

 

Dr. Vic Sawyer, the newly appointed director of Academic Affairs for the Philurius College Programs for the Military in Europe, encounters a nemesis of the highest order in the persona of his dean, retired Lieutenant Colonel Gio Malfatto. Malfatto, aided by the alluring and ambitious Assistant Dean Doris Kink, intends to make Vic's life miserable. Unfortunately for the two puppet masters, Vic joins the fray with abandon, and the normally staid college is embroiled in the ensuing battle, which fosters surprising alliances and strange bedfellows. Philurius College Blues explores a clash of cultures between an American academic subculture and a US military environment in Germany, and throws in some true love and indiscriminate erotic intrigue to boot. For those whose lives have touched this educational system, both military students and faculty, this satirical tale will bring both laughter and some head shaking, and perhaps a tear or two.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633939622
Publisher:	Ray Russell
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	286
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

In his native Tuscumbia, Alabama, Ray Carson Russell learned early to confront and ameliorate problems with humor and to stand on principle regardless of the consequences. The former has served him well; the latter sometimes not, but both have enlivened his writing. He has worked in Germany as lecturer and administrator for American colleges and universities associated with the US military. Ray is also a translator, trumpeter and actor. Leading study tours and speaking on cruise ships, he has traveled in fifty-six countries, including as a National Geographic historian. His academic essays have appeared in the Journal for Peace&Justice Studies, the Atlantic Quarterly, et al, and his culture and travel writing in various magazines and internet sites.

Editorial Reviews

“Ray Carson Russell pulls no punches in this sardonic romp through the academic world of a college program for our military overseas. At times ironic, other times amusing, it is an insider’s view of an alternate reality.”

Michael Hogan

Author of Savage Capitalism and the Myth of Democracy

“With his debut novel, Philurius College Blues, Ray Carson Russell mixes the poignant with the preposterous and shines a sharp light on the absurdities of academia. As the new director of Academic Affairs at a college serving the military in Europe, Dr. Vic Sawyer quickly finds himself embroiled in a behind-the scenes battle of principles with his boss, retired Lt. Colonel Gio Malfatto. Humorous and insightful, Russell’s writing explores how human desire drives personal destruction. Philurius College Blues is an engaging, well-crafted novel that reinforces Sayre’s Law: In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake. That is why academic politics are so bitter.”

Douglas Light

Author of Where Night Stops

“Anyone who has worked in higher education will recognize some of the tangled politics – and characters – so sharply brought to life in Ray Carson Russell’s droll account of academic intrigue, but few will have had the joy of seeing such a spectacular and satisfactory resolution of them.”

Professor Rob Morrison

Australian zoologist, author and broadcaster and co-host of the Youtube channel Curiosity Show.

“With the satirical eye of Joseph Heller and the insights of Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Russell takes aim at the absurdities and illogic of an educational system rooted in rules and processes rather than a quest for knowledge. Laugh-out-loud funny in places and consistently profound, Russell weaves a tale through his unassuming hero striving to find his way through a bureaucratic maze. A well-written, clever and memorable read.”

Greg Fields

Author of Arc of the Comet

2018 Kindle Book of the Year Nominee in Literary Fiction

From the Publisher