Well done! Humorous, intellectual, cliff-hanging and engaging. That's a lot of boxes to check. The author has a pulse on the current college climate: the cut-throat admissions process (She also wrote Admission), the liberal leanings of academia, the caprice that makes a college or university popular and she does it all in the context of a great story. Naomi Roth is the president of Webster College in MA, a small, but highly selective, exclusive school with a history of WASP origin, but a deliberate about-face in the mid-twentieth century to become a bastion of free expression, student activism, and liberal scholarship. Some of this Korelitz skewers, but she is devoted to the idea of dialogue and the give-and-take of ideas. So is Webster College, almost to a fault as it plays out in this story. During the Fall term, a popular professor, Nicholas Gall is denied tenure. He happens to be black. He also happens to be a plagiarist, which the College cannot reveal due to the confidentiality of the process. Since the college is known for student activism, it is not a surprise when students (not knowing the full story) mount a protest. What is surprising is how long it lasts (through the New England Winter); the leader that emerges (Omar Khayal, a scholarship student who has a story of a refugee escape from the Middle East, and looks up to Gall); that Naomi's sophomore daughter, Hannah is involved, and that this par-for-the-course activism that Webster (and especially Naomi) encourages almost costs her job and her relationship with her daughter. As things ramp up is it described: "Overnight, too, everyone of the movement's missing elements had been located. The action that so recently lacked a name and a public leader now possessed both of these, as if someone had made a run to the activist superstore and loaded up the van." The outcome of it all is a complete well-done surprise. There are the politics of "old school" attitudes and alumni, the board of trustees to pacify, the differing opinions of faculty, the concern about money/endowment/etc. in the face of scandal -- all the facets of running a college and the ways modern lifestyles (social media for one) threaten that. Gall is more a figurehead than a developed character and that works really well for the situation. His wife is also employed by the university which complicates things. Naomi's is a lonely existence, but her one trustworthy friend, Francine Rigor, Dean of Admissions seems to be too busy to really support Naomi in this tough time. Naomi is a hero -- her staunch belief in letting people speak truth to power as she had done as a student in the 70s, though now she is the "power" she wryly realizes -- makes her human and she wrestles with insecurity as a mom and a woman leader. She reflects on Kierkegaard: 'Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards' as she sees her own life as meander that has brought her to this point in time and realizes she must be the one to save Webster, if not her self. ( )

Leisurely and complex tale of the stories we tell to ourselves and to others, of honor and responsibility, and of the cracks that lie just beneath the surface of the most genteel lives.

Set at a small New England liberal-arts college and centering around a student protest that arises over the denial of tenure to a popular professor, the 2017 novel feels particularly timely in today’s atmosphere of protests based perhaps as much on perception as on truth, and vulnerable to rumor, distortion, and self-interest on both sides.

Naomi Roth is the first female president of the 250-year-old institution. A dedicated feminist, who is also Jewish, she is something of an anomaly at an institution which, well into the 20th century, was both determinedly male and WASP. She has always felt that her own history of collegiate protest has formed a core of her being, and perhaps for that reason, she did not respond aggressively to the protest, which was based on a falsehood to which she could not legally respond. To say things spiral out of control from there would give the impression of speed, which would be totally inaccurate. The protest grows, attracts members from off-campus, catches the attention of national media, and eventually turns a firestorm of conflict in her direction with all the speed – and inevitability – of glacial accretion.

Korelitz keeps the POV firmly with Roth, who is beautifully developed as a complex character, complete with her own internal conflicts and a view of herself as a moral and compassionate person who was essentially swept into her current position more from right-time, right-place happenstance than from any particular academic ambition. How she juggles responsibility to her own moral core, her responsibility to Webster college, and her genuine like for the protesters – even the enigmatic Palestinian scholarship student who seems to be at its head, form the core of the book.

Korelitz has a few surprises up her sleeve as the story draws to a close – most of which the reader is not going to have seen coming but which – once revealed – seem to have been almost foreordained.

Not a particularly exciting read, but certainly a thoughtful one. ( )

Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for a free copy of The Devil and Webster!

Plagiarism, and professor denied tenure, a student protest, increasing acts of violence. The Devil and Webster takes a hard look at the hypocrisy often found in higher education institutions and skewers it with its biting satire.

I enjoyed the characters featured in this book, the grey areas, the plot twists, the difficult situations. The book is almost infuriating at times. I will say that the voice that this is written in is very specific -- almost academic in nature, which is very fitting for the subject matter. But it's also a voice that took some getting used to and may not draw readers in right off the bat.

Also worth noting: I'm not totally comfortable with the depiction of transgender students throughout the book. I'm cis, so it's not my place to judge the depictions of trans folks, but the use of old pronouns, the casual inclusion of birth names, the debates over what 'qualified' a person to be in a women's space... I mean, I have no doubt this is reflective of a lot of post-secondary institutions, but I wish it had been handled differently here, especially since so little of the book is dedicated to the subject.

Having said that, if you enjoy books about academia and want a timely book that addresses some very real issues in university and college administration, give The Devil and Webster a shot. ( )

The Devil and Webster, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. This new novel brings some of the most hot-button issues on today’s college campuses into the forefront. Webster College, a once conservative school, is now known for producing fired-up, progressive graduates. Its first female president and former activist, Naomi Roth, is very proud of this until the beginning of the new fall semester when students begin a protest rally for a popular professor’s denial of tenure - which turns out to be led by a charismatic Palestinian student with a devastating personal history. As the crisis slips beyond her control, she must take increasingly desperate measures to protect her friends, colleagues, and family. This riveting novel touches on some of the most topical and controversial concerns at the heart of our society. It examines the fragility that lies behind who we think we are and what we thing we believe. Book club discussion groups take note!

Hurrah to a female college president in "The Devil and Webster". Her name is Naomi Roth. Along with this one position, she also holds other administrative jobs. President Roth is also the mother to Hannah Roth. The name of the college campus is Webster. At this point in time, the students are showing their activist spirit.

When students protest the actions of a college, Its professors and other higher up personnel must have eyes open and brain alert. This prestigious college in Massachusetts must not alarm parents, the surrounding community or any other colleges whether far or near with their raging desires. While keeping this balance, their ideals become the wishes of the president of the college to help fulfill, make welcome, whether she feels the same way or not.

I began to appreciate the presidents of student bodies whom I have never met while reading about the fictionalized Webster. Diversity in the student body like Native Americans and Omar Khayal, a Palestinian, and an African American student like Elise are only a few of the students who want to see tenure come to pass for a professor.

There is a feeling of expectancy. Will the campus remain at peace, or will chaos erupt? Since I am a Baby Boomer, my mind kept thinking of Kent State and other college situations during that period.
Whatever happens I know that a college campus is like an iceberg. There is much going on above the waters and far more going on under the ocean. There is a surety. Each person is important. Throw class aside. ( )