The Sonnets

"Davis puts his insider knowledge of academic imbroglios to entertaining (if occasionally shameless) use in this campus novel...Academics will nudge each other with scandalous pleasure at this unusual ivory tower love story." - Publishers Weekly "A fascinating and disquieting look into deepest postmodern academia, through the lenses of Shakespeare's sonnets, deconstructivist dark ladies, fair young men, and much more besides in this riveting page-turner of a narrative. Little did we know that beneath the mild-mannered appearance of Lennard Davis the scholar and department head beat the heart of an in-your-face novelist!" - Gerald Graff, author of Beyond the Culture Wars "Lyric reverie, philosophical reflection, and savage satiric portraiture are linked seamlessly in an academic novel that transcends the genre. Constantly compelling, lucid, and brilliant-one of the best reading experiences I've had in some time." - Frank Lentricchia, author of The Music of the Inferno "Davis writes beautifully, has a keen ear and eye for textual detail, and rings some new changes on the standard mid-life crisis." - Michelle A. Masse, author of In the Name of Love: Women, Masochism, and the Gothic