The Language Professor

I want her out of there," Eugene Guzman, president of Penfield College, snaps to one of his underlings. As revenge for a past perceived slight, with these words, Eugene strips Naomi Singer of her position as director of admissions, just days before she is to return from a year's leave of absence. He relegates her to limbo at the college. Naomi's language lesson at the hands of Eugene has begun, for his action is both indefensible and illegal; moreover, Naomi is a sterling employee, and her leave of absence was sanctioned by the college. But to paraphrase Humpty Dumpty, when Eugene says something, it means exactly what he chooses it to mean, neither more nor less. Naomi fights Eugene on all fronts. After five bitter months, she is reinstated. Now another battle begins, that of trying to remove Eugene as president. Eugene's term is up for renewal, and Naomi has been elected as an employee representative to Penfield's Board, the group making the decision. Naomi's fight for justice continues at the Board, where Eugene and his supporters, to whom truth and the meaning of words are wholly contingent upon the moment, justify the unjustifiable to help Eugene cling to power. Will they succeed with their twisting of words and bending of facts? Delving into the Machiavellian use of language, micro-politics and the loss of innocence, The Language Professor is the gripping account of one woman's encounter with the world of double-speak. Author Debora Resnick is from Montreal and has written two other books.