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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book as it is 'famous' for being a scream. I expected that the laughs would be dated (post WWII-1950s) or specific to the Oxbridge way of life and I think that's a valid take. It was well written and amusing, but I think it's lost its 'classic' status that it has in the nostalgic minds of writers such as David Lodge and Clive James.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The satire about academics was pretty great, but sadly there's very little of it compared to the satire about Jim being an arse and everyone else being an arse and some hopeless romantics going on.
I read a Wodehouse book and expected the humour to be dated and was pleasantly surprised. I read this expecting it to be an improved Wodehouse but alas, it was just less funny.
I read a Wodehouse book and expected the humour to be dated and was pleasantly surprised. I read this expecting it to be an improved Wodehouse but alas, it was just less funny.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book never disappoints me. It makes me laugh out loud and I find new nuances to amuse me with every re-read. This may have been my 10th re-read or my 20th. I first read it 42 years ago in 7th grade, and I still have the same copy. I like favorite re-reads as my bedtime books -- I read a couple of pages before going to sleep each night. If it takes months to get through the books or I fall asleep mid-page, it's fine because the story is so familiar. I'll probably read this one again in another year or so. Jim Dixon is one of my favorite fictional boyfreends.
This is a light novel taking place at a fictive university somewhere in the North of England. We follow James Dixon (Jim) who is struggling as a newly appointed as a university teacher, but whose fate depends too much on the erratic professor Welch. And then there's Margaret, and Christine...
The novel is lighthearted (there's even a finale worthy of any romantic comedy) and moderately funny, but there's a more serious undercurrent of resistance against the old customs and the old boys network, which makes this novel strangely akin to the later film 'The Graduate' (1967). Nevertheless, what strikes the modern reader the most is the alarmingly high amount of smoking in the novel.
The novel is lighthearted (there's even a finale worthy of any romantic comedy) and moderately funny, but there's a more serious undercurrent of resistance against the old customs and the old boys network, which makes this novel strangely akin to the later film 'The Graduate' (1967). Nevertheless, what strikes the modern reader the most is the alarmingly high amount of smoking in the novel.
There must be something wrong with me - I just don't find this as funny as everyone else does. Don't be put off by my idiocy though. Everyone with good taste likes it.
There was an entertaining book hidden in here somewhere. I enjoyed it enough but found the humor quite grating.
Pulling wild faces and jumping around pretending to be a monkey are just too juvenile for my taste.
Pulling wild faces and jumping around pretending to be a monkey are just too juvenile for my taste.