Customer Reviews

Lucky Jim (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Though the sexual mores of Kingsley Amis's 1950's feels decidely quaint,Lucky Jim does not seem dated. The book is a riotous comedy that is satire at its greatest. Evelyn Waugh's reputation soars above that of Kinglsey Amis, but in most of Waugh's satires, like most satire in general, we care little about the characters. We care about Jim Dixon--Amis's greatest creation. Amis never wrote a better book than this, his first; he grew increasingly bitter and, while the later books are often more complex, none bring the pure satisfaction of this perfect gem.

Kingsley Amis is one of my favorite writers, and Lucky Jim (1954) of course is probably his most famous novel. It's also his first novel, which makes him one of those writers who spent their entire career trying to live up to early success. Despite Lucky Jim's preeminent reputation, several later novels are at least as good: I'd mention as my personal favorites The Anti-Death League, The Green Man, Ending Up, The Alteration, and The Old Devils.

I think this is my third reading of Lucky Jim. It remains a very enjoyable book. It's the story of Jim Dixon, a history lecturer at a provincial English university shortly after the second world war. Jim is involved in an unsatisfactory relationship with a drippy fellow lecturer called Margaret Peel, who uses emotional blackmail such as implicit suicide attempts (she took sleeping pills after breaking with her previous boyfriend) to keep him on the string. He hates his job, and he hates his boss (Professor Welch) if anything even more, while worrying that he won't be retained for the next school year. He hates phoniness in general, particularly that represented by Professor Welch, who is into recreations of old English music (recorders and all).

The plot revolves mainly around Dixon's growing attraction to Christine Callaghan, a beautiful girl who is nominally Professor Welch's son Bertrand's girlfriend -- but Bertrand is also fooling around with a married woman, and he's a crummy artist to boot. Also, Dixon is working on a lecture about Merrie Olde Englande, which he hopes will impress Professor Welch enough that he can keep his job, but every sentence of which he hates. The resolution is predictable, if rather convenient for Dixon (involving a rich uncle of Christine's), but it satisfies. The book itself is really very funny: such set-pieces as Dixon's hangover-ridden lecture, and his disastrous drunken night at the Welch's, remain screams after multiple rereadings.

I should say that some things bother me a bit. Some of Dixon's stunts (such as stealing a colleague's insurance policies and burning them) seem, well, felonious. And of course Margaret Peel really is someone he's better off breaking up with, but the way Christine is presented as naturally good because she is beautiful does seem rather sexist. Still, all this can be laid to accurate description of a certain character -- and if we root for Jim (as we more or less naturally do), it should be with some uneasiness.

All this said, Lucky Jim is deservedly a classic of 20th Century fiction, and an enormously entertaining book. This edition includes an introduction by David Lodge, who is both an first rate writer of comic novels in the same mode as Lucky Jim, and a first rate critic as well.

This book was recommended to me wisely by several young (in their career) academics. It was so good that I wish I had saved it an extra year until I was going through the inevitable torment of the job hunt, and the various disgusting tangles academic life involves. I highly recommend this novel for some perspective on ivory tower ambitions and all the failed attempts.

A pleasant and refreshing read. Sir Kingsley's mastery over the English language combined with a hilarious 'common man' story makes LUCKY JIM undoubtedly one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Follow the misadventures of Jim Dixon, the novice college professor who can't seem to find happiness or luck anywhere, until his life turns around for the better, ironically because of his own irreverance and ineptitude at the climax of this outrageously funny novel. Certainly the funniest book on my shelf-- concise, witty and timeless.

This book is a hilarious balm for a quarter life crisis and should be required reading for anyone who is in Generation X. Set in the 1950's, Jim proves that today's young professionals are not the first to be "slackers". Newly graduated, Jim feels lost, does not like his job, dislikes his boss (and the boss's family), and enjoys making fun of pseudo-intellectuals with his razor sharp intellectual sense of humor. During this turmoil Jim finds himself hopelessly falling in love with a woman who is "off limits" and he is forced to make some serious choices. This book is truely a classic and one will fall in and out of love with this witty anti-hero with every passing page.

"Lucky Jim" is one of those books that has gotten less politically correct in the fifty or so years since it was written. Somehow it has avoided becoming too dated. However, reading Kingsley Amis's debut novel, there is the feeling that Amis himself would be delighted to hear that his book is considered sexist.

James "Jim" Dixon, the story's central character, is a quirky sort of anti-hero: well-meaning but selfish, he is conniving, spineless, and works just enough to keep his job. Despite it all, Dixon is quite is likeable. A junior lecturer at one of the new universities being built all over Britain in the 1950 and 60's, Dixon has an over-bearing boss, one Professor Welch, and a pathetic but psychotically manipulative girlfriend, Margot. To make matters worse, Margot lives with the Welches as part of her emotional blackmail of Dixon.

When Dixon is invited to a medieval "artsy" weekend at the Welch's country home, he is put in contact with Professor Welch's pretentiously artistic family. This includes his obnoxious son, Bertrand, an artist more interested in acting a part than actually painting. Dixon also meets Bertrand's non-committal girlfriend, who is not nearly so objectionable.

While it's a little formulaic, zaniness ensues. The thing with "Lucky Jim" is that it doesn't matter if the story is formulaic. The book is a good read. It's not just the laugh-out-loud parts, but that the whole story is funny. It's so well told that you can't wait to see how all this foolishness gets tied up.

Silly British campus foolishness it is though. This isn't for fans of in-your-face, shock comedy. This is England of the 1950's; everyone is very polite, but this desire not to be rude that is part of the fun. No one is able to come right out and speak plainly, so the comic action keeps spinning further and further from its center through country weekends, school dances, and what must be every pub in a college town.

"Lucky Jim" is a good debut from one of the more influential comic writers of the last century. Read it.

My oh my, this book is honest to goodness, hands down, one of the funniest books ever. Well - in my opinion. It's one of the few books that lives up to that awful cliche, 'laugh-out-loud funny'.

The Lucky Jim in question, Jim Dixon, is so human, and yet also so eccentric, irrational, and unintentionally hilarious - even the most absurd situation (and there are several) is understandable. The description of a hangover is so spot-on it's spooky, though I guess given Amis' reputation as a drinker, we shouldn't be surprised! The first review here gives a rather good plot summary, so I won't go into this. Highlights for me were the above-mentioned hangover, the sheets/blanket debacle, the various telephone impersonations, Dixon's habit of pulling extraordinarily odd faces for no particular reason, and of course the epic, drunken rant that is his lecture on 'Merrie Old England'.

I do think that the kind of humour Amis employs here is, as with all comedy, a matter of taste - it's a dry, absurdist kind of humour, quite English, and would appeal to those who enjoy Monty Python and/or Bridget Jones. And that, to me, is the best kind there is. Hilarious, wonderful fun.

You will be hooting with laughter, disturbing your seatmates, and causing consternation among the flight attendants. This book is amazingly funny. But you will need some working knowledge of British academia to 'get it'. Which means, if you know the difference between a 'grammar school' and a 'comprehensive', you can feel sort of snobby while you chortle hysterically. Plus, if you like the work of Martin Amis (Kingsley's son, for those of you who don't know your 'grammars' from 'comps'), you can now have one of those real 'aha' moments: as in 'I see! THIS is where he gets it!'.

Lucky Jim is John Dixon, a university lecturer trying to find a path through the first of 2 probationary years for his job. A particularly cynical fellow, his journey is marked by his mischievous (and quite frankly absurd) behaviour, which regularly arises for no other reason than an the latest attack in an old score or an invented, new one. Toss into the storyline a couple of flawed female characters (Margaret a great character who is very much the horror pursuit - seemingly the easy romance option but intolerably manipulative and frigid), including the boss's son's girlfriend (Christine) and he finds himself into a nightmare of his own doing. Can Lucky Jim keep his job and have his way too?

Society has changed a lot since Lucky Jim was first published in that it has become much less bound to such restrained conversation, making the characters seem quite dated and the wit perhaps a little less than razor sharp. This is not a heavy criticism, old movies often elicit a similar feeling. A prerequisite of satire is that one must have an understanding of the subject being satired, something that seems to be diminished over time. Nevertheless, it is still a very enjoyable book to read and a classic piece of writing. There are many laughs throughout and what would have to be one of the best descriptions of trying to wrestle one's drunk, spinning head to rest, and the consequences on the next morning.

As a general observation, many Kingsley Amis novels bear male characters with traits remarkably similar to those of the author, or the author's friend Philip Larkin. In particular, the main men in his books almost always seem to have a special relationship to alcohol and view women as more than chattel, but generally less than equals. The irony of this is that the booze usually brings about calamitous situations and the women often have a certain power over the men.

I've noticed some other reviewers have complained that the introduction by David Lodge spoils some of the narrative by giving the game away. I believe a good story needs no introduction, so I skipped it and by the end felt no need to revisit it. For a greater understanding of the novel (strictly to be read after you have finished Lucky Jim), consider reading Christopher Hitchens review published in the magazine The Atlantic in May 2002 and again in his book Love, Poverty and War: Journeys and essays.

I don't know how I missed this one all these years. I hadn't even heard about it until a couple of weeks ago. I read it through in a couple of days. Luck Jim is a great book, funny, and skillfully written. Like other reviewers, I too laughed out loud. It can be a liitle bit dense, and some of the vocabulary will have you reaching for the dictionary, but overall it's engaging, and it flows. The characters are well portrayed and the story is suspenseful. I'm now looking for my next Amis book.