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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
It seemed to have got off to a very slow start with way too many unnecessary descriptions, but then it turned into a classic and humorous swap over story. The ending seems to be the exact opposite of the beginning with all its descriptions for it assumes a play structure which seems to get rid of all necessary descriptions and tries to get to the point.
Funny, clever and well-written novel about two academics swapping positions and countries in 1969. The fictional towns are thinly-veiled disguises of San Francisco and Birmingham and the contrasts in weather, living-standards and culture are described accurately and savagely.
I enjoyed this from start to finish and want to read more of Lodge's work.
I enjoyed this from start to finish and want to read more of Lodge's work.
A quirky look at how the lives of two professors change when they swap countries and roles for 6 months. An odd mix of styles that works to maintain interest and humour in what otherwise could be a slightly dry story. I thought the end was quite clever.
Having finished grad school last year, full of Derridean differance, Saussurean signifiers, Lacanian objets petit a, and Jameson (both the theorist and the whiskey), I was tickled pink by Lodge's juvenalian jest at academia. And the descriptions of England's college system, for one who has seen it, are both nostalgic and endearing. Here's a favorite paragraph:
The sudden eruption of the Sexual Revolution in the mid-sixties had, it is true, unsettled him a little. The Sunday paper he had taken since first going up to the University, an earnest, closely printed journal bursting with book reviews and excerpts from statesmen's memoirs, broke out abruptly in a rash of nipples and coloured photographs of apres-sex leisurewear; his girl tutees suddenly began to dress like prostitutes, with skirts so short that he was able to distinguish them, when their names escaped him, bu the colour of their knickers; it became uncomfortable to read contemporary novels at home in case one of the children should glance over his shoulder. Films and television conveyed the same message: that other people were having sex more often and more variously than he.
The sudden eruption of the Sexual Revolution in the mid-sixties had, it is true, unsettled him a little. The Sunday paper he had taken since first going up to the University, an earnest, closely printed journal bursting with book reviews and excerpts from statesmen's memoirs, broke out abruptly in a rash of nipples and coloured photographs of apres-sex leisurewear; his girl tutees suddenly began to dress like prostitutes, with skirts so short that he was able to distinguish them, when their names escaped him, bu the colour of their knickers; it became uncomfortable to read contemporary novels at home in case one of the children should glance over his shoulder. Films and television conveyed the same message: that other people were having sex more often and more variously than he.
Rather enjoyed this novel. In particular the changing methods of storytelling the author used in the writing made it refreshing. As though reading a series of different books in the same timeline.
If you do not enjoy novels with explicit sex then avoid this. As mentioned in the blurb, swapping is rampant.
If you do not enjoy novels with explicit sex then avoid this. As mentioned in the blurb, swapping is rampant.
It's so strange to enjoy a book that's so thoroughly and hopelessly dated, but there it is. It's a well-told story that moves quickly and keeps your interest with strange plot quirks. It's like an academic Coronation Street.
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
