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adrastheia 's review for:
Changing Places
by David Lodge
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was given to me by a fellow teacher who I exceedingly appreciate. He asked me whether this novel, published in the mid 70s, still works today. I was born ten years after the satire hit the markets, so my colleague wasn't sure, I'd "get it".
Some of the ideas and politics within David Lodge's text have fallen out of time. From a 2024 perspective, some of exchanges seem dated - if not completely irrelevant. The swearing and open discourse of sexuality might have been shocking then, but surely appear harmless today. A bit of knowledge about certain social and political movements helps understand what's going on on this front and a bit of knowledge about English literature can't hurt either. None of both is necessary to "get it", though.
Having that out of the way, "Changing Places" at times is laugh-out-loud funny. It is sarcastic and clever, heartfelt and sincere and often displays all the little vanities and hypocrisies that are so innate to the human species - especially, it seems, in academia ;) Contrasting the academic systems of the UK and the US was amusing and informative. I thoroughly enjoyed all the wordplay, purposeful naiming of characters and places and nods I could find, eventhough it took me 50 pages to register Philip Morris! The sardonic views on authors and (academic) writing in general were cleverly woven into the plot. The stylistic choice to switch between text types I found to be skilfully done and quite entertaining and Lodge did not shy away making light of his own concepts.
"There's a whole chapter on how to write an epistolary novel, but surely nobody's done that since the eighteenth century?
Love from all of us here, Hilary"
According to Let's Write a Novel only one of the three types of ending can be considered the worst choice and keeping with the tone of the book, I think Lodge chose the freeze frame wisely, even if this miffed some readers. The author does not compromise :)
This was my first novel by David Lodge and I feel inclined to read more of his. This was a lighthearted, highly entertaining and clever read.
Some of the ideas and politics within David Lodge's text have fallen out of time. From a 2024 perspective, some of exchanges seem dated - if not completely irrelevant. The swearing and open discourse of sexuality might have been shocking then, but surely appear harmless today. A bit of knowledge about certain social and political movements helps understand what's going on on this front and a bit of knowledge about English literature can't hurt either. None of both is necessary to "get it", though.
Having that out of the way, "Changing Places" at times is laugh-out-loud funny. It is sarcastic and clever, heartfelt and sincere and often displays all the little vanities and hypocrisies that are so innate to the human species - especially, it seems, in academia ;) Contrasting the academic systems of the UK and the US was amusing and informative. I thoroughly enjoyed all the wordplay, purposeful naiming of characters and places and nods I could find, eventhough it took me 50 pages to register Philip Morris! The sardonic views on authors and (academic) writing in general were cleverly woven into the plot. The stylistic choice to switch between text types I found to be skilfully done and quite entertaining and Lodge did not shy away making light of his own concepts.
"There's a whole chapter on how to write an epistolary novel, but surely nobody's done that since the eighteenth century?
Love from all of us here, Hilary"
According to Let's Write a Novel only one of the three types of ending can be considered the worst choice and keeping with the tone of the book, I think Lodge chose the freeze frame wisely, even if this miffed some readers. The author does not compromise :)
This was my first novel by David Lodge and I feel inclined to read more of his. This was a lighthearted, highly entertaining and clever read.