Editorial Reviews of One Man's Purpose
"One Man's Purpose is Stephen D. Senturia's illuminating story of a college professor who must reconcile the increasing tensions between his personal and work lives. The book chronicles an academic year in the life of 43-year-old Martin Quint. When Quint, a tenured professor at the prestigious Cambridge Technology Institute in Massachusetts, is not lecturing in the very popular Circuits and Electronics course, he juggles other aspects of academic life. These include flirtatious students, managing a possible plagiarism scandal, competing against online courses, and navigating the politics behind tenure appeals. On the home front, Quint must contend with a sick father and a jealous wife. ... Dialogue is lively and the plot is engaging. One Man's Purpose effectively sets up the work-life balance from a man's perspective and provides keen insight into the inner workings of colleges." – Foreword Clarion Review
"A professor faces the drama of academia and the emotional demands of family life in Senturia’s debut novel about work and ambition. ... The chapters move along quickly and the dialogue is true to life, particularly between Jenny and Martin as they navigate the bumpy road of marriage. ... Readers steeped in academia will appreciate and identify with Martin’s problems." – Kirkus Reviews
"I enjoyed the s**t out of this novel. I became so immersed into Martin's life, that ... I found myself thinking about Martin Quint every time I stopped reading. I wanted to see how it all turned out for him, and hoped through the book that he landed on his feet, not his ass." - Word Gurgle
"A professor faces the drama of academia and the emotional demands of family life in Senturia’s debut novel about work and ambition. ... The chapters move along quickly and the dialogue is true to life, particularly between Jenny and Martin as they navigate the bumpy road of marriage. ... Readers steeped in academia will appreciate and identify with Martin’s problems." – Kirkus Reviews
"I enjoyed the s**t out of this novel. I became so immersed into Martin's life, that ... I found myself thinking about Martin Quint every time I stopped reading. I wanted to see how it all turned out for him, and hoped through the book that he landed on his feet, not his ass." - Word Gurgle
Reader Reviews
“Senturia has crafted a remarkable, intricate and gripping novel built around the stresses of a senior professor’s life as he balances his own teaching and research, faculty politics, responsibilities to his students, care for a younger colleague (a woman whose tenure case is entrusted to him), and a personal life filled with dying parents, a new child, a stressed marriage. And evil lurks in the woodwork throughout. It does not get much more real than this. A stunning first novel.” – Amazon
“(My) experiences in a similar environment lead me to commend the author for his accurate perspectives of life within a research university. I intend to recommend One Man’s Purpose especially to newcomers in our faculty, and to their spouses.” - Goodreads
"A gripping novel depicting the struggle between ambition and politics on a high-profile college campus. Throw in the protagonist Martin Quint's added pressure of trying to incorporate family obligations. This page-turner entertains, informs and provides the intrigue which makes for a "can't put it down" novel. We can only hope the author has a sequel in mind." – Amazon
"Is a Professor's purpose to do research or to teach? How does a Professor balance family life and work life? Senturia's engaging work depicts the workaholic, never say no life of a Professor of Engineering at a major American research University. Written with an easy to read, graphic prose, a Professor's life becomes the vehicle for examining what is important in any life, in every life. A good read" – Amazon
“An insider's look at a driven institution and a driven man. … Who would have thought that a tenure case can make a page-turner?” – Amazon
“If you want an entertaining and accurate picture of what it's like to be on the faculty of a high powered research university, read this book. On one level it's a suspenseful thriller, but at another level it explores the pressures of academic life and the tension between research and teaching in a modern university. … I hope protagonist Martin Quint makes a return in a sequel. He's a likable main character who deserves some more space in which to romp.” – Amazon
“A good read, about a world that for most of us is quite opaque. … Two of the dynamics of the story were particularly notable for me. One is the debate on the advent and growing emphasis on MOOCs, large-scale online "teaching." … The other was the depiction of a form of cyber-crime. More hacking is done by organization insiders than Anonymous or the Chinese military. The small but devastating acts depicted are representative and very telling.” – Goodreads
" I was impressed with the diplomacy and tactical ability of Martin. He sets quite an example. I enjoyed with many a chuckle his growing understanding of adoring female students, and I liked his wife Jenny very much, a real trooper. Altogether I think this is a triumph of a first novel in a very complicated and timely story. I feel richer for the adventure of having read it." – Amazon
“Having myself spent more than 15 years in this kind of high pressure academic culture, I can say that the author captured the essence of this culture.” - Amazon
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“(My) experiences in a similar environment lead me to commend the author for his accurate perspectives of life within a research university. I intend to recommend One Man’s Purpose especially to newcomers in our faculty, and to their spouses.” - Goodreads
"A gripping novel depicting the struggle between ambition and politics on a high-profile college campus. Throw in the protagonist Martin Quint's added pressure of trying to incorporate family obligations. This page-turner entertains, informs and provides the intrigue which makes for a "can't put it down" novel. We can only hope the author has a sequel in mind." – Amazon
"Is a Professor's purpose to do research or to teach? How does a Professor balance family life and work life? Senturia's engaging work depicts the workaholic, never say no life of a Professor of Engineering at a major American research University. Written with an easy to read, graphic prose, a Professor's life becomes the vehicle for examining what is important in any life, in every life. A good read" – Amazon
“An insider's look at a driven institution and a driven man. … Who would have thought that a tenure case can make a page-turner?” – Amazon
“If you want an entertaining and accurate picture of what it's like to be on the faculty of a high powered research university, read this book. On one level it's a suspenseful thriller, but at another level it explores the pressures of academic life and the tension between research and teaching in a modern university. … I hope protagonist Martin Quint makes a return in a sequel. He's a likable main character who deserves some more space in which to romp.” – Amazon
“A good read, about a world that for most of us is quite opaque. … Two of the dynamics of the story were particularly notable for me. One is the debate on the advent and growing emphasis on MOOCs, large-scale online "teaching." … The other was the depiction of a form of cyber-crime. More hacking is done by organization insiders than Anonymous or the Chinese military. The small but devastating acts depicted are representative and very telling.” – Goodreads
" I was impressed with the diplomacy and tactical ability of Martin. He sets quite an example. I enjoyed with many a chuckle his growing understanding of adoring female students, and I liked his wife Jenny very much, a real trooper. Altogether I think this is a triumph of a first novel in a very complicated and timely story. I feel richer for the adventure of having read it." – Amazon
“Having myself spent more than 15 years in this kind of high pressure academic culture, I can say that the author captured the essence of this culture.” - Amazon
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Editorial Reviews of A Different Purpose
Kirkus Reviews:
This final installment of Senturia’s Martin Quint trilogy finds the professor facing exhausting years at Bottlesworth College after a scandal that forced him to leave Cambridge Technology Institute. Then there is his deteriorating marriage to his wife, Jenny, who, despite her indiscretion with a work subordinate, still feels as “stuck” as she did when their problems began in the author’s series debut, One Man’s Purpose (2015). ...
Adding texture to the narrative is Martin’s passionate advocacy for the modernization and advancement of educational philosophies, including the practice of vocal participation and peer-to-peer learning curriculums in the tech classroom. Senturia, a veteran engineering professor, sets his novel in pre–Covid-19 academia where classrooms are still in-person. The exchanges between instructors and students are realistically portrayed, avoiding what the author calls in his introduction “Zoom fatigue.” ...
While Senturia effectively touches on several areas of the modern human condition, readers will naturally gravitate back to the core story of Martin and Jenny rebuilding their relationship with the aid of a therapist. The durability of a bruised marriage navigating the emotional fallout of betrayal is the true beating heart of the author’s engrossing trilogy. Though Senturia leaves things on a positive, upbeat note, readers will yearn for more solid conclusions about the fate of this couple on the road to marital recovery.
An immensely satisfying trilogy finale examining marriage, forgiveness, race, youth, and university life. -- Kirkus Reviews
Booklife Reviews:
Building and rebuilding are at the heart of the thoughtful final novel in Senturia’s Martin Quint trilogy, which finds its protagonist still facing challenges both in his private and work life. Martin labors on establishing a new school at Bottlesworth college while satisfying the demands of his energizing yet challenging benefactor as well as the bureaucracy of his college, and on assessing a teaching method. At same time, he and his wife Jenny try to mend their marriage and broken trust. Through therapy, they realize how much the past afflicts their relationship, and strive to heal it. Despite their differences, the couple must pull together in order to deal with unexpected crises–including a shocking racial incident in the boarding school of Andrew, Martin's son from a previous relationship, that targets his best friend Lavelle, one of the few Black students at the school.
MIT professor Senturia doesn't just share a glimpse into the backstage of the academic world he knows so well, as through Martin and the kids he delves into urgent educational questions–from treatment of racial incidents in school to what would make a new program truly cutting edge. Such serious consideration of the realities of education is rare in contemporary fiction, even novels about academia, and his keen understanding of the complexities shine through, though at times narrative momentum is diminished by Senturia’s interest in technical matters.
Senturia also focuses on exploration of relationships, especially the reconstruction of damaged ones, observing through Martin: “This is what his entire career in science had led him to believe, that there were discoverable truths, objective truths that could be analyzed, verified. But life doesn’t offer those kinds of truths.” Such wisdom—and a welcome sense of humanity and hopefulness—distinguishes the novel, though at times a lack of nuance weighs on the story. The happy yet very open ending is satisfying, though it will leave fans of serious contemporary fiction eager for more.
-- Booklife Reviews
This final installment of Senturia’s Martin Quint trilogy finds the professor facing exhausting years at Bottlesworth College after a scandal that forced him to leave Cambridge Technology Institute. Then there is his deteriorating marriage to his wife, Jenny, who, despite her indiscretion with a work subordinate, still feels as “stuck” as she did when their problems began in the author’s series debut, One Man’s Purpose (2015). ...
Adding texture to the narrative is Martin’s passionate advocacy for the modernization and advancement of educational philosophies, including the practice of vocal participation and peer-to-peer learning curriculums in the tech classroom. Senturia, a veteran engineering professor, sets his novel in pre–Covid-19 academia where classrooms are still in-person. The exchanges between instructors and students are realistically portrayed, avoiding what the author calls in his introduction “Zoom fatigue.” ...
While Senturia effectively touches on several areas of the modern human condition, readers will naturally gravitate back to the core story of Martin and Jenny rebuilding their relationship with the aid of a therapist. The durability of a bruised marriage navigating the emotional fallout of betrayal is the true beating heart of the author’s engrossing trilogy. Though Senturia leaves things on a positive, upbeat note, readers will yearn for more solid conclusions about the fate of this couple on the road to marital recovery.
An immensely satisfying trilogy finale examining marriage, forgiveness, race, youth, and university life. -- Kirkus Reviews
Booklife Reviews:
Building and rebuilding are at the heart of the thoughtful final novel in Senturia’s Martin Quint trilogy, which finds its protagonist still facing challenges both in his private and work life. Martin labors on establishing a new school at Bottlesworth college while satisfying the demands of his energizing yet challenging benefactor as well as the bureaucracy of his college, and on assessing a teaching method. At same time, he and his wife Jenny try to mend their marriage and broken trust. Through therapy, they realize how much the past afflicts their relationship, and strive to heal it. Despite their differences, the couple must pull together in order to deal with unexpected crises–including a shocking racial incident in the boarding school of Andrew, Martin's son from a previous relationship, that targets his best friend Lavelle, one of the few Black students at the school.
MIT professor Senturia doesn't just share a glimpse into the backstage of the academic world he knows so well, as through Martin and the kids he delves into urgent educational questions–from treatment of racial incidents in school to what would make a new program truly cutting edge. Such serious consideration of the realities of education is rare in contemporary fiction, even novels about academia, and his keen understanding of the complexities shine through, though at times narrative momentum is diminished by Senturia’s interest in technical matters.
Senturia also focuses on exploration of relationships, especially the reconstruction of damaged ones, observing through Martin: “This is what his entire career in science had led him to believe, that there were discoverable truths, objective truths that could be analyzed, verified. But life doesn’t offer those kinds of truths.” Such wisdom—and a welcome sense of humanity and hopefulness—distinguishes the novel, though at times a lack of nuance weighs on the story. The happy yet very open ending is satisfying, though it will leave fans of serious contemporary fiction eager for more.
-- Booklife Reviews
A Note to my Readers:
Self-published books like One Man’s Purpose rely on three things – word of mouth recommendations, sharing links on Facebook and other social media, and online reviews. I’m hoping you will help with all three.
Amazon and Barnes and Noble make it fairly easy to post reviews by clicking a box at the end of the posted reviews, but they occasionally bump them for reasons unknown. A good alternative is Goodreads.com, a non-commercial free website devoted entirely to exchanging ideas and recommendations about books and reading. Here are the instructions for putting up a review at Goodreads.
1. Create a free account at Goodreads.com. (Goodreads doesn’t sell anything and doesn’t send SPAM.)
2. Navigate to the book's page.
3. Beneath the book's profile picture on the top left, rate the book using the stars.
4. The "want to read" button will automatically be replaced with a "write a review" link. Click that link.
5. Write your review in the review box that will appear and save.
Amazon and Barnes and Noble make it fairly easy to post reviews by clicking a box at the end of the posted reviews, but they occasionally bump them for reasons unknown. A good alternative is Goodreads.com, a non-commercial free website devoted entirely to exchanging ideas and recommendations about books and reading. Here are the instructions for putting up a review at Goodreads.
1. Create a free account at Goodreads.com. (Goodreads doesn’t sell anything and doesn’t send SPAM.)
2. Navigate to the book's page.
3. Beneath the book's profile picture on the top left, rate the book using the stars.
4. The "want to read" button will automatically be replaced with a "write a review" link. Click that link.
5. Write your review in the review box that will appear and save.