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The Campus Trilogy #1
Changing Places
The plate-glass, concrete jungle of Euphoria State University, USA, and the damp red-brick University of Rummidge have an annual exchange scheme. Normally the exchange passes without comment.
But when Philip Swallow swaps with Professor Zapp, the Fates play a hand, and the two academics find themselves enmeshed in a spiralling involvement on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Nobody is immune: students, colleagues, even wives are swapped as the tension increases Finally, the cat is let out of the bag with a flourish that surprises even the author himself.
But when Philip Swallow swaps with Professor Zapp, the Fates play a hand, and the two academics find themselves enmeshed in a spiralling involvement on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Nobody is immune: students, colleagues, even wives are swapped as the tension increases Finally, the cat is let out of the bag with a flourish that surprises even the author himself.
251 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
142 people are currently reading
6989 people want to read
About the author
David Lodge
152 books923 followersDavid John Lodge was an English author and critic. A literature professor at the University of Birmingham until 1987, some of his novels satirise academic life, notably the "Campus Trilogy" – Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (1975), Small World: An Academic Romance (1984) and Nice Work (1988). The second two were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Another theme is Roman Catholicism, beginning from his first published novel The Picturegoers (1960). Lodge also wrote television screenplays and three stage plays. After retiring, he continued to publish literary criticism. His edition of Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (1972) includes essays on 20th-century writers such as T.S. Eliot. In 1992, he published The Art of Fiction, a collection of essays on literary techniques with illustrative examples from great authors, such as Point of View (Henry James), The Stream of Consciousness (Virginia Woolf) and Interior Monologue (James Joyce), beginning with Beginning and ending with Ending.
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February 10, 2025
Changing Places is the first of David Lodge's "Campus" series, this one being set in 1969 and published in 1975. The sexual revolution, Vietnam, student sit-ins and smoking "pot" are all highly topical themes; the novel is pure "psychedelic '60's." The style is redolent of Lodge's dry, sardonic humour, so it is very entertaining to read. The setting he has created affords plenty of his waspish observations, so perhaps this is why he is doffing his cap to the Inimitable with his subtitle, "A Tale of Two Campuses".
David Lodge has invented two academic campuses; one located in "Rummidge", which is clearly intended to be city of Birmingham in the Midlands, and the other is Plotinus, in the state of "Euphoria" (apparently modelled on Berkeley in California.) The story deals with a six-month academic exchange programme between these fictional universities. The participants are Philip Swallow, a very dull, conventional British academic, and an American, Morris Zapp, a dynamic and talented American professor. Whereas Philip Swallow cannot believe his luck with the comparative luxury of the US University, Zapp is at best amused, and at worst appalled by what appears to him to be a slipshod system of academia in Britain, peopled by amateurs, and with extremely backward living conditions. Hence these two academics, both aged 40, have little in common, either in their personalities, or the differing academic systems of their native countries. Most of the humour comes from the observations and contrasts resulting from this.
It has to be said though, that many of the discrepancies are no longer so pertinent, as in the intervening period British Universities have become more similar to their American counterparts, so this novel has inevitably lost a little of its edge. Or possibly each succeeding generation of academics worldwide have felt that their,
"barbed wisecracks sank harmlessly into the protective padding of the new gentle inarticulacy, which had become so fashionable that even [the] brightest graduate students, ruthless professionals at heart, felt obliged to conform to it."
Maybe it is not, after all, a clash of cultures which speaks to us now from this novel, but the vague feelings of dissatisfaction each successive generation has that educational standards are somehow dropping.
Although it is an entertaining read, and gives the reader a slice of life at the tail end of the sixties, it is not a classic of the period. The author gets a little bogged down in the sexual revolution aspect, which feels rather dated. There are no great insights here, and when Lodge could get down to the nitty gritty and make observations pointing up the differences between perceptions and cultures, he seems to veer off from doing so. Disappointingly, there is no analysis of the differences between the two educational systems, which was the initial starting point of the novel. Neither is it consistently witty; it seems to lose impetus in the middle, and descend into farcical bed-hopping between the academics, their ex-academic wives, (here would have been a ripe topic for more satire!) a daughter Melanie, an ex-student DJ Charles Boon and so on.
There are a few memorable laugh-out-loud scenes though. One is an hilarious description of local radio from the American professor Morris Zapp's point of view. At the time these regional radio stations were brand new in the UK, but have proliferated since, so that Lodge's witty detailed descriptions are still very astute and funny. Another highlight is a very humorous description of the new prefabricated structure of part of Rummidge university.
The subtitle of the novel is "A Tale of Two Campuses." In this way, both the title and subtitle are literary allusions to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. Apart from some of the characters' names, further similarities to Dickens would be hard to find in the content of the novel, however. Ultimately, the reader is left with a sense that, fun read though it is, this novel is a lost opportunity.
David Lodge has invented two academic campuses; one located in "Rummidge", which is clearly intended to be city of Birmingham in the Midlands, and the other is Plotinus, in the state of "Euphoria" (apparently modelled on Berkeley in California.) The story deals with a six-month academic exchange programme between these fictional universities. The participants are Philip Swallow, a very dull, conventional British academic, and an American, Morris Zapp, a dynamic and talented American professor. Whereas Philip Swallow cannot believe his luck with the comparative luxury of the US University, Zapp is at best amused, and at worst appalled by what appears to him to be a slipshod system of academia in Britain, peopled by amateurs, and with extremely backward living conditions. Hence these two academics, both aged 40, have little in common, either in their personalities, or the differing academic systems of their native countries. Most of the humour comes from the observations and contrasts resulting from this.
It has to be said though, that many of the discrepancies are no longer so pertinent, as in the intervening period British Universities have become more similar to their American counterparts, so this novel has inevitably lost a little of its edge. Or possibly each succeeding generation of academics worldwide have felt that their,
"barbed wisecracks sank harmlessly into the protective padding of the new gentle inarticulacy, which had become so fashionable that even [the] brightest graduate students, ruthless professionals at heart, felt obliged to conform to it."
Maybe it is not, after all, a clash of cultures which speaks to us now from this novel, but the vague feelings of dissatisfaction each successive generation has that educational standards are somehow dropping.
Although it is an entertaining read, and gives the reader a slice of life at the tail end of the sixties, it is not a classic of the period. The author gets a little bogged down in the sexual revolution aspect, which feels rather dated. There are no great insights here, and when Lodge could get down to the nitty gritty and make observations pointing up the differences between perceptions and cultures, he seems to veer off from doing so. Disappointingly, there is no analysis of the differences between the two educational systems, which was the initial starting point of the novel. Neither is it consistently witty; it seems to lose impetus in the middle, and descend into farcical bed-hopping between the academics, their ex-academic wives, (here would have been a ripe topic for more satire!) a daughter Melanie, an ex-student DJ Charles Boon and so on.
There are a few memorable laugh-out-loud scenes though. One is an hilarious description of local radio from the American professor Morris Zapp's point of view. At the time these regional radio stations were brand new in the UK, but have proliferated since, so that Lodge's witty detailed descriptions are still very astute and funny. Another highlight is a very humorous description of the new prefabricated structure of part of Rummidge university.
The subtitle of the novel is "A Tale of Two Campuses." In this way, both the title and subtitle are literary allusions to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. Apart from some of the characters' names, further similarities to Dickens would be hard to find in the content of the novel, however. Ultimately, the reader is left with a sense that, fun read though it is, this novel is a lost opportunity.
April 26, 2022
Neîndoios, un roman foarte amuzant. Din păcate, Lodge folosește în acest prim volum din Campus atîtea artificii narative încît romanul însuși devine artificios. Un exemplu: naratorul care ne face cu mîna din văzduh și ne avertizează zglobiu: „Nu uitați că sînt aici, eu fac jocurile”.
Deduc din pățaniile (perfect simetrice) ale celor doi „visiting professors” (Swallow și Zapp) că lui David Lodge nu i-a plăcut viața „academică”. Îl înțeleg perfect.
Iată și portretul cititorului desăvîrșit: „Philip Swallow adăpostea în suflet o dragoste autentică de literatură, în toate formele ei diverse. Îi plăcea la fel de mult Beowulf ca şi Virginia Woolf, Aşteptîndu-l pe Godot ca şi Acul cumetrei Gurton, iar în rarele momente cînd nu avea la îndemînă mostre mai nobile ale cuvîntului scris, citea atent instrucțiunile de pe pachetele cu fulgi de porumb, literele cît purecii de pe biletele de tren şi reclamele de pe coperţile carneţelelor cu timbre”.
Mă apuc, cu speranță, de Ce mică-i lumea! :)
Deduc din pățaniile (perfect simetrice) ale celor doi „visiting professors” (Swallow și Zapp) că lui David Lodge nu i-a plăcut viața „academică”. Îl înțeleg perfect.
Iată și portretul cititorului desăvîrșit: „Philip Swallow adăpostea în suflet o dragoste autentică de literatură, în toate formele ei diverse. Îi plăcea la fel de mult Beowulf ca şi Virginia Woolf, Aşteptîndu-l pe Godot ca şi Acul cumetrei Gurton, iar în rarele momente cînd nu avea la îndemînă mostre mai nobile ale cuvîntului scris, citea atent instrucțiunile de pe pachetele cu fulgi de porumb, literele cît purecii de pe biletele de tren şi reclamele de pe coperţile carneţelelor cu timbre”.
Mă apuc, cu speranță, de Ce mică-i lumea! :)
August 27, 2016
Satire – the use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to criticize faults
Farce – a ridiculous situation in which everything goes wrong or becomes a sham
Earlier I reviewed Dear Committee Members, a delightfully humorous epistolary novel about a disgruntled professor of creative writing and literature at a small midwestern college in the U.S. During the course of a discussion of the book, a GR friend, Esil, mentioned that British writer David Lodge had also written several humorous novels about the academic life. Since I have high regard for her opinion I went searching and found a used copy of Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (published in 1975). You can tell by the five stars that I awarded that I was glad I found the book.
It begins this way:
High, high above the North Pole, on the first day of 1969, two professors of English Literature approached each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour. They were protected from the thin, cold air by the pressurized cabins of two Boeing 707s, and from the risk of collision by the prudent arrangement of the international air corridors.
For the next six months the two professors would be “changing places” as part of an academic exchange program.
Phillip Swallow was flying from the University of Rummidge located in the English Midlands, clearly based on the University of Birmingham. He would seem to be an odd choice for the exchange since he was an unassuming underachiever who had never accomplished anything out of the ordinary and in fact was unpublished. The truth is, though he didn’t know it, he was selected over much more qualified applicants because his department chair used his influence to ensure his selection. He did so, not out of admiration or respect, but because he wanted to promote a younger department member to a position above Swallow and it would be easier if Swallow was out of the country.
Morris Zapp, on the other hand, was a well-known flamboyant scholar who had written a number of books and was considered to be the authority on Jane Austen. He was on the faculty at the University of Euphoria, known locally as Euphoric State, and obviously based on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. And as might be expected he was not all that eager to leave the campus by the Bay in order to spend six months in the blue collar Midlands. And there were other reasons for his reluctance.
Despite being an English Literature professor and a noted authority on Jane Austen, he didn’t want to go to England for he “always claimed that he had made himself an authority on the literature of England not in spite of but because of never having set foot in the country.” Besides, he enjoyed shocking his students by admitting that he thought Jane Austen was a pain in the ass.
So, why did he make himself a candidate for the exchange program? In a word, ego.
His wife was kicking him out of their home and threatening divorce and he could not tolerate the idea that people would know that it was her idea. He did get her to agree to delay the divorce if he left the country for six months which would, he hoped, prevent people from knowing what was transpiring at home.
The lives of the two professors would become extremely entangled and much too complicated to summarize here. Suffice it to say that the title refers to much more than an exchange of teaching positions.
I liked this satirical farce (farcical satire?), but I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. If you like your narratives linear, stay away. If you don’t like alternating points of view, stay away. If you like endings that tie everything up in a nice little package with a bow on top, stay away.
The book starts out with a straightforward narrative but later there is a epistolary chapter; a chapter of newspaper clippings, excerpts from student manifestoes, and student handouts (remember the setting is 1969); and the last chapter is written as a movie screenplay.
Since, as it turns out, Changing Places is the first entry in what came to be known as Lodge’s Campus Trilogy, which might explain its open-ended non-conclusion, one could read the other books to see how it all played out for the two professors. And I may do that.
Finally, in doing a little research I discovered why the novel was set in 1969 and why universities based on Birmingham and Berkeley were chosen as settings. It was in that year that an English professor at Birmingham did have the experience of serving as a visiting professor at Berkeley. His name was David Lodge.
Farce – a ridiculous situation in which everything goes wrong or becomes a sham
Earlier I reviewed Dear Committee Members, a delightfully humorous epistolary novel about a disgruntled professor of creative writing and literature at a small midwestern college in the U.S. During the course of a discussion of the book, a GR friend, Esil, mentioned that British writer David Lodge had also written several humorous novels about the academic life. Since I have high regard for her opinion I went searching and found a used copy of Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (published in 1975). You can tell by the five stars that I awarded that I was glad I found the book.
It begins this way:
High, high above the North Pole, on the first day of 1969, two professors of English Literature approached each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour. They were protected from the thin, cold air by the pressurized cabins of two Boeing 707s, and from the risk of collision by the prudent arrangement of the international air corridors.
For the next six months the two professors would be “changing places” as part of an academic exchange program.
Phillip Swallow was flying from the University of Rummidge located in the English Midlands, clearly based on the University of Birmingham. He would seem to be an odd choice for the exchange since he was an unassuming underachiever who had never accomplished anything out of the ordinary and in fact was unpublished. The truth is, though he didn’t know it, he was selected over much more qualified applicants because his department chair used his influence to ensure his selection. He did so, not out of admiration or respect, but because he wanted to promote a younger department member to a position above Swallow and it would be easier if Swallow was out of the country.
Morris Zapp, on the other hand, was a well-known flamboyant scholar who had written a number of books and was considered to be the authority on Jane Austen. He was on the faculty at the University of Euphoria, known locally as Euphoric State, and obviously based on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. And as might be expected he was not all that eager to leave the campus by the Bay in order to spend six months in the blue collar Midlands. And there were other reasons for his reluctance.
Despite being an English Literature professor and a noted authority on Jane Austen, he didn’t want to go to England for he “always claimed that he had made himself an authority on the literature of England not in spite of but because of never having set foot in the country.” Besides, he enjoyed shocking his students by admitting that he thought Jane Austen was a pain in the ass.
So, why did he make himself a candidate for the exchange program? In a word, ego.
His wife was kicking him out of their home and threatening divorce and he could not tolerate the idea that people would know that it was her idea. He did get her to agree to delay the divorce if he left the country for six months which would, he hoped, prevent people from knowing what was transpiring at home.
The lives of the two professors would become extremely entangled and much too complicated to summarize here. Suffice it to say that the title refers to much more than an exchange of teaching positions.
I liked this satirical farce (farcical satire?), but I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. If you like your narratives linear, stay away. If you don’t like alternating points of view, stay away. If you like endings that tie everything up in a nice little package with a bow on top, stay away.
The book starts out with a straightforward narrative but later there is a epistolary chapter; a chapter of newspaper clippings, excerpts from student manifestoes, and student handouts (remember the setting is 1969); and the last chapter is written as a movie screenplay.
Since, as it turns out, Changing Places is the first entry in what came to be known as Lodge’s Campus Trilogy, which might explain its open-ended non-conclusion, one could read the other books to see how it all played out for the two professors. And I may do that.
Finally, in doing a little research I discovered why the novel was set in 1969 and why universities based on Birmingham and Berkeley were chosen as settings. It was in that year that an English professor at Birmingham did have the experience of serving as a visiting professor at Berkeley. His name was David Lodge.
April 20, 2024
Маю зізнатися, що я дещо відвик від читання легкої літератури. Легкої не в сенсі ширпотребу, але легкої для розуміння та сприйняття.
"Університетський" або ж "кампусний" роман Девіда Лоджа "Переміна місць" виявився саме таким — легким, веселим, несподіваним та іронічним. Гарна книга, щоби хоч на трохи відволіктися від світу, сповненого болем, ненавистю, війною та скорботами.
Книга розповідає про двох викладачів англійської літератури, які їдуть за обміном працювати в університетах одне одного. Британець Філіп Своллоу охоче вирушає до США, де колись провів чудовий "медовий місяць" з своєю дружиною. Натомість американець Моріс Запп усвідомлює, що їде в якесь задуп'я, але він має на те певні причини.
Автор плете історію обох чоловіків паралельно і так жваво, що читачеві непросто занудьгувати. Спершу герої летять зустрічними курсами в літаках, потім обживаються в університетах, знайомляться з колегами та студентами займають кабінети одне одного, ба навіть більше... але такого спойлера я собі не можу дозволити.
Все відбувається у 1969 році: совєти вже окупували Прагу, у В'єтнамі гинуть кращі сини Америки, діти квітів проростають бур'янами по всій території Сполучених Штатів і мало не з кожного відчиненого вікна в умовному Сан-Франциско в'ється димок косячка...
Девід Лодж знайомить нас не лише з університетським життям того часу та різними підходами до викладацької та наукової роботи в Британії та США, але й з соціальними та політичними проблемами з обох боків Атлантики, мимохідь порівнюючи тихе сіреньке існування Філіпа з успішним успіхом Моріса.
Звичайна переміна місць раптом стає потужним поштовхом для розвитку та значних змін у свідомості обох чоловіків, адже відомо — щоби мати те, чого ти ніколи не мав, слід починати робити таке, чого ніколи раніше не робив.
Значна частина роману написана з використанням різних літературних прийомів — імітація новинних публікацій (частина з яких - справжні вирізки з газет) демонструє тло і поступове включення героїв у контекст, епістолярний жанр показує внутрішню трансформацію персонажів та характер їхніх стосунків з дружинами, а драматургічний фінал підсилює загальну невизначеність та комічний ефект.
"Університетський" або ж "кампусний" роман Девіда Лоджа "Переміна місць" виявився саме таким — легким, веселим, несподіваним та іронічним. Гарна книга, щоби хоч на трохи відволіктися від світу, сповненого болем, ненавистю, війною та скорботами.
Книга розповідає про двох викладачів англійської літератури, які їдуть за обміном працювати в університетах одне одного. Британець Філіп Своллоу охоче вирушає до США, де колись провів чудовий "медовий місяць" з своєю дружиною. Натомість американець Моріс Запп усвідомлює, що їде в якесь задуп'я, але він має на те певні причини.
Автор плете історію обох чоловіків паралельно і так жваво, що читачеві непросто занудьгувати. Спершу герої летять зустрічними курсами в літаках, потім обживаються в університетах, знайомляться з колегами та студентами займають кабінети одне одного, ба навіть більше... але такого спойлера я собі не можу дозволити.
Все відбувається у 1969 році: совєти вже окупували Прагу, у В'єтнамі гинуть кращі сини Америки, діти квітів проростають бур'янами по всій території Сполучених Штатів і мало не з кожного відчиненого вікна в умовному Сан-Франциско в'ється димок косячка...
Девід Лодж знайомить нас не лише з університетським життям того часу та різними підходами до викладацької та наукової роботи в Британії та США, але й з соціальними та політичними проблемами з обох боків Атлантики, мимохідь порівнюючи тихе сіреньке існування Філіпа з успішним успіхом Моріса.
Звичайна переміна місць раптом стає потужним поштовхом для розвитку та значних змін у свідомості обох чоловіків, адже відомо — щоби мати те, чого ти ніколи не мав, слід починати робити таке, чого ніколи раніше не робив.
Значна частина роману написана з використанням різних літературних прийомів — імітація новинних публікацій (частина з яких - справжні вирізки з газет) демонструє тло і поступове включення героїв у контекст, епістолярний жанр показує внутрішню трансформацію персонажів та характер їхніх стосунків з дружинами, а драматургічний фінал підсилює загальну невизначеність та комічний ефект.
April 7, 2024
За жанром цей текст — «університетський роман» або ж «кампусний», тобто події розгортаються навколо закладу вищої освіти й життя студентів-викладачі��. Університетів аж два — британський і американський. Та й головних героїв двоє — викладачі англійської літератури, які їдуть за обміном, тобто міняються місцями, й проживають життя один одного.
Філіп Своллоу — нудний британець, який так і не захистив докторську, наукової спеціалізації не має, курить люльку, живе не дуже щасливе життя за інерцією. Моріс Запп — жвавий американець, ключовий дослідник Джейн Остін (мріє написати таку багатотомну працю, щоб раз і назавжди закрити будь-які питання щодо цієї авторки), не гребує розпустою, багато працює, щоб багато заробляти і рухатися карʼєрною драбиною.
І Філіп, і Моріс опиняються в нових для себе університетах у непростий час — 1969 рік, тобто травневі події 1968 позаду, а студентські протести в Америці й Британії — попереду. Кожен з професорів опиняється у вирі подій, а ще перед численними спокусами, як перевиховати/ зламати/ розворушити систему.
Спершу роман видається іронічним, бо кожен з викладачів проживає діаметрально протилежну ситуацію. Але поступово ти розумієш, що у тексті багато соціальних проблем, труднощів поствоєнної Європи, страхів бунтівної Америки, непевності у тому, чим є щастя, для головних героїв та їхніх сімей, чи правильні вибори вони роблять, навіщо їм насправді потрібна ця подорож.
Автор майстерний у використанні різноманітних літературних прийомів, він добре знає, що робить, і дає нам ключ до фіналу у першій третині. Коли професор Запп дістає з полиці Своллоу (бо, звісно, займає його кабінет) посібник «Як написати роман», а там істина: «Існує три види історій: історія, що має щасливий кінець, історія, що має нещасливий кінець, і історія, що не має ні щасливого, ні нещасливого кінця, тобто, іншими словами, взагалі нічим не закінчується».
Із цієї книжки точно хочу забрати собі на згадку гру «Приниження», думаю, що це буде добра забавка:
«Він навчив їх гри, яку вигадав сам ще в аспірантурі: кожен має задумати відому книжку, якої сам не читав, і нараховувати очко тому, хто читав. Переможцями стали Конфедерат
і Керол, набравши по чотири очки з п'ятьох за «Степового вовка» й «Історію О» відповідно, а Філіп додавав їм свої очки.
Його власна номінація, «Олівер Твіст», — завжди безумовний
переможець, — цього разу не спрацювала.
- Як ви називаєте цю гру? — запитала Мелані.
- «Приниження».
- Геніальна назва. «Приниження».
- Необхідно принизитися, щоб перемогти, розумієте? Або не дати виграти іншим».
Ще кілька цитат:
«Британський аспірант — самотня, зневірена душа, яка не знає,
троху згідно: чим займається і кого намагається задовольнити; його можна легко розпізнати в кав'ярнях біля бібліотеки Оксфордського
університету або Британського музею завдяки порожньому погляду скляних очей контуженого ветерана, для якого немає нічого реального після «великого поштовху».
«…просто дивовижно, скільки людей вважає, що романи Джейн Остін написані про те, як знайти ідеального чоловіка. Неспроможність розрізняти категорії життя і літератури призводить до всякого роду єресі й нісенітниць — скажімо, до любові чи нелюбові до книжок, до надання переваги одним авторам над іншими й подібних примх, які, про що він постійно нагадував студентам, не становлять ніякого інтересу ні для кого, крім самих читачів (іноді він шокував студентів, заявляючи, що він особисто, на цьому низькому, суб'єктивному рівні, вважає Джейн Остін дратівливою занудою)».
Філіп Своллоу — нудний британець, який так і не захистив докторську, наукової спеціалізації не має, курить люльку, живе не дуже щасливе життя за інерцією. Моріс Запп — жвавий американець, ключовий дослідник Джейн Остін (мріє написати таку багатотомну працю, щоб раз і назавжди закрити будь-які питання щодо цієї авторки), не гребує розпустою, багато працює, щоб багато заробляти і рухатися карʼєрною драбиною.
І Філіп, і Моріс опиняються в нових для себе університетах у непростий час — 1969 рік, тобто травневі події 1968 позаду, а студентські протести в Америці й Британії — попереду. Кожен з професорів опиняється у вирі подій, а ще перед численними спокусами, як перевиховати/ зламати/ розворушити систему.
Спершу роман видається іронічним, бо кожен з викладачів проживає діаметрально протилежну ситуацію. Але поступово ти розумієш, що у тексті багато соціальних проблем, труднощів поствоєнної Європи, страхів бунтівної Америки, непевності у тому, чим є щастя, для головних героїв та їхніх сімей, чи правильні вибори вони роблять, навіщо їм насправді потрібна ця подорож.
Автор майстерний у використанні різноманітних літературних прийомів, він добре знає, що робить, і дає нам ключ до фіналу у першій третині. Коли професор Запп дістає з полиці Своллоу (бо, звісно, займає його кабінет) посібник «Як написати роман», а там істина: «Існує три види історій: історія, що має щасливий кінець, історія, що має нещасливий кінець, і історія, що не має ні щасливого, ні нещасливого кінця, тобто, іншими словами, взагалі нічим не закінчується».
Із цієї книжки точно хочу забрати собі на згадку гру «Приниження», думаю, що це буде добра забавка:
«Він навчив їх гри, яку вигадав сам ще в аспірантурі: кожен має задумати відому книжку, якої сам не читав, і нараховувати очко тому, хто читав. Переможцями стали Конфедерат
і Керол, набравши по чотири очки з п'ятьох за «Степового вовка» й «Історію О» відповідно, а Філіп додавав їм свої очки.
Його власна номінація, «Олівер Твіст», — завжди безумовний
переможець, — цього разу не спрацювала.
- Як ви називаєте цю гру? — запитала Мелані.
- «Приниження».
- Геніальна назва. «Приниження».
- Необхідно принизитися, щоб перемогти, розумієте? Або не дати виграти іншим».
Ще кілька цитат:
«Британський аспірант — самотня, зневірена душа, яка не знає,
троху згідно: чим займається і кого намагається задовольнити; його можна легко розпізнати в кав'ярнях біля бібліотеки Оксфордського
університету або Британського музею завдяки порожньому погляду скляних очей контуженого ветерана, для якого немає нічого реального після «великого поштовху».
«…просто дивовижно, скільки людей вважає, що романи Джейн Остін написані про те, як знайти ідеального чоловіка. Неспроможність розрізняти категорії життя і літератури призводить до всякого роду єресі й нісенітниць — скажімо, до любові чи нелюбові до книжок, до надання переваги одним авторам над іншими й подібних примх, які, про що він постійно нагадував студентам, не становлять ніякого інтересу ні для кого, крім самих читачів (іноді він шокував студентів, заявляючи, що він особисто, на цьому низькому, суб'єктивному рівні, вважає Джейн Остін дратівливою занудою)».
December 9, 2019
To everyone who was telling me I should read this: you were right, you were right, you were so so right. One of my favorite books is Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, so of course I would love Lodge's academic comedy—especially since it comes with the bonus of being set in Birmingham and Berkeley. They're not called Birmingham and Berkeley, of course, but if you have any familiarity with either locale, it becomes even more amusing to "decode" the various place names (i.e., Silver Span, Cable Avenue, etc.). Further, the way Lodge plays with format (epistolary, newspaper clippings, film script) is both fun and effective, and there's a delightful amount of meta-humor. In short, I enjoyed this immensely.
May 15, 2024
3,5
Книга, в якій автор опирається на власний досвід роботи в академічному середовищі британських та американських університетів. Гумор тут в кращих британських традиціях, тобто сухий з крапелькою сатири та іронії. Кілька разів змінюється і літературний стиль повісті, що додає загальній концепції ще додатковий вимір гри.
Загалом, це легкий та приємний текст, який неодноразово викличе усмішку, але ви навряд чи згодом повернетесь до історії обміну двох професорів.
Що важливо, текст було написано, коли прийшов вітер змін у суспільстві, відбувалась сексуальна революція, набирали силу феміністичні рухи. Як активний спостерігач цих подій, Девідові вдалося зробити чудовий знімок свого часу.
Якщо шукали щось легке для прочитання на дозвіллі - ”Переміна місць” ідеально пасуватиме
Книга, в якій автор опирається на власний досвід роботи в академічному середовищі британських та американських університетів. Гумор тут в кращих британських традиціях, тобто сухий з крапелькою сатири та іронії. Кілька разів змінюється і літературний стиль повісті, що додає загальній концепції ще додатковий вимір гри.
Загалом, це легкий та приємний текст, який неодноразово викличе усмішку, але ви навряд чи згодом повернетесь до історії обміну двох професорів.
Що важливо, текст було написано, коли прийшов вітер змін у суспільстві, відбувалась сексуальна революція, набирали силу феміністичні рухи. Як активний спостерігач цих подій, Девідові вдалося зробити чудовий знімок свого часу.
Якщо шукали щось легке для прочитання на дозвіллі - ”Переміна місць” ідеально пасуватиме
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May 16, 2024дізнався про цей роман з нонфіку Пʼєра Баяра “Як розмовляти про книги, яких ви не читали” в контексті історії про викладача літератури, котрого звільнили з посади, бо той не читав “Гамлета”. тобто, не вмів розмовляти про книжки, яких не читав 🤣 (до речі, те, як виявили цю прогалину в знаннях — окрема пригода, купуйте книжку, аби про все дізнатися!). енівей, майже одразу закохався в анотацію до роману… й успішно про нього забув, аж доки не вийшла українська версія від Вавилонської бібліотеки. хіба можна було пройти повз?
що маємо? ромком для чоловіків 30+. розумію, страшне написав, але це реально так. герої — два професори, обом близько сорока, в обох вантаж особистих проблем та челенджей. завдяки програмі університетського обміну, англієць їде на пів року в Британію, а його колега — в Штати. британець професор Своллоу — jack of all trades, щасливо одружений, має 3 дитини, любить читати все підряд й тому не має окремої спеціалізації, знуджений англійською рутиною, прим’ятий безподійним життям, м’якенький характером. американець професор Запп — зірка свого кампусу, двічі одружений, також має 3 дитини (та, що від першого шлюбу — вже доросла), пробивний, пихатий, полюбляє кітчеві спорткари кольору кризи середнього віку, чоловік-протиріччя, котрий не любить Британію, але має амбіцію написати найзмістовніший у світі аналіз творів Джейн Остін (його дітей від другого шлюбу звуть Елізабет та Дарсі). обидва герої доволі цікаві, на перший погляд абсолютно різні, але в кінці, звісно, в них знайдеться ДУЖЕ багато спільного 😏
як зроблено? бадьоро, спостережливо, кмітливо. написано трошечки по-джойсівськи, ледь-ледь: є розділ із газетних вирізок, є стилізація підпʼєсу кіносценарій (сцени з поліекраном в дусі Де Пальми вписані просто в текст). звісно, є й листування, бо дещо сентиментальна книжка про літературознавців не могла оминути такий важливий жанр прози як епістолярний роман. є іронія, кпини, трошки постмодерністської гри з читачем. мова строката, розмаїта. герої не соромляться вихвалятися інтелектом та обговорювати все підряд від “Другої статі” Сімони де Бовуар та сексуального підтексту в “Еммі” (м-р Елтон — імпотент 😱) до кризи інтимних стосунків у шлюбі та дещо незграбних спроб домовитися про оргію. так, ви все правильно зрозуміли, майже все тут крутиться довкола сексу. думаю, Вуді Аллену б сподобалось.
нащо мені це? зануритись в атмосферу університетського життя кінця 60-х. відрефлексувати проблеми вигаданих сорокарічних мужичків (я розумію, що не допомагаю продати вам цю книжку 😆). вкотре впевнитися, що дорослі — ті самі підлітки з крихким его, просто в них більше зморшок та постійно трошки болить спина. усвідомити, що зовсім не обов’язково їхати на інший кінець світу, аби зрозуміти щось про себе. змінити оптику, вийти з зони комфорту — не так вже й важко. правда ж? правда? 🥹
є легкі на позір книжки, котрі можна спокійно собі читати, знявши лише верхній шар. вони прекрасно працюватимуть і так, але якщо колупнути сильніше — то можна відшукати приховані сенси та спіймати більше референсів. це, імхо, найцінніші книжки. “Переміна місць” саме така книжка.
що маємо? ромком для чоловіків 30+. розумію, страшне написав, але це реально так. герої — два професори, обом близько сорока, в обох вантаж особистих проблем та челенджей. завдяки програмі університетського обміну, англієць їде на пів року в Британію, а його колега — в Штати. британець професор Своллоу — jack of all trades, щасливо одружений, має 3 дитини, любить читати все підряд й тому не має окремої спеціалізації, знуджений англійською рутиною, прим’ятий безподійним життям, м’якенький характером. американець професор Запп — зірка свого кампусу, двічі одружений, також має 3 дитини (та, що від першого шлюбу — вже доросла), пробивний, пихатий, полюбляє кітчеві спорткари кольору кризи середнього віку, чоловік-протиріччя, котрий не любить Британію, але має амбіцію написати найзмістовніший у світі аналіз творів Джейн Остін (його дітей від другого шлюбу звуть Елізабет та Дарсі). обидва герої доволі цікаві, на перший погляд абсолютно різні, але в кінці, звісно, в них знайдеться ДУЖЕ багато спільного 😏
як зроблено? бадьоро, спостережливо, кмітливо. написано трошечки по-джойсівськи, ледь-ледь: є розділ із газетних вирізок, є стилізація під
нащо мені це? зануритись в атмосферу університетського життя кінця 60-х. відрефлексувати проблеми вигаданих сорокарічних мужичків (я розумію, що не допомагаю продати вам цю книжку 😆). вкотре впевнитися, що дорослі — ті самі підлітки з крихким его, просто в них більше зморшок та постійно трошки болить спина. усвідомити, що зовсім не обов’язково їхати на інший кінець світу, аби зрозуміти щось про себе. змінити оптику, вийти з зони комфорту — не так вже й важко. правда ж? правда? 🥹
є легкі на позір книжки, котрі можна спокійно собі читати, знявши лише верхній шар. вони прекрасно працюватимуть і так, але якщо колупнути сильніше — то можна відшукати приховані сенси та спіймати більше референсів. це, імхо, найцінніші книжки. “Переміна місць” саме така книжка.
January 1, 2023
Last book of '22. I've leave my twenty-something*** self's rating as it stood. He saw further, or more, or something, or thought he did...
I'll leave youse with two quotations from the final section (written in the form of a screenplay, just as other sections aped the 18th Century epistolary novel, etc., etc.), one to embody the meta-playfulness of the book, another, a spoiler, cos it's the ending, cos it is like the end of a year, of a film, an anything other than a novel. And then you'll know whether Lodge or the campus novel in general is just the thing for your hippocampus. Or not.
But I'll continue the Lodge re-read in 2023, I expect.
***Edit: I checked...
I was 22!
How apropos?
I'll leave youse with two quotations from the final section (written in the form of a screenplay, just as other sections aped the 18th Century epistolary novel, etc., etc.), one to embody the meta-playfulness of the book, another, a spoiler, cos it's the ending, cos it is like the end of a year, of a film, an anything other than a novel. And then you'll know whether Lodge or the campus novel in general is just the thing for your hippocampus. Or not.
But I'll continue the Lodge re-read in 2023, I expect.
1. PHILIP: Well, you may be right, DÉSIRÉE. All I’m saying is that there is a generation gap, and I think it revolves around this public/private thing. Our generation—we subscribe to the old liberal doctrine of the inviolate self. It’s the great tradition of realistic fiction, it’s what novels are all about. The private life in the foreground, history a distant rumble of gunfire, somewhere offstage. In Jane Austen not even a rumble. Well, the novel is dying, and us with it. No wonder I could never get anything out of my novel-writing class at Euphoric State. It’s an unnatural medium for their experience. Those kids (gestures at screen) are living a film, not a novel.
MORRIS: Oh, come on, Philip! You’ve been listening to Karl Kroop.
PHILIP: Well, he makes a lot of sense.
MORRIS: It’s a very crude kind of historicism he’s peddling, surely? And bad aesthetics.
2.
***Edit: I checked...
I was 22!
How apropos?
February 23, 2017
“A Troca” é um livro que me fez chorar copiosamente… de muito riso.
Através de diálogos e situações hilariantes, David Lodge oferece-nos uma história simples e divertida, mas que nos incentiva à reflexão.
O contraste entre os anseios revolucionários da juventude e o conhecimento oferecido pela idade, de que o que realmente importa, é a procura da nossa própria felicidade, mesmo que seja de forma egoísta e derrubando tabus e regras sociais. Sem culpa!
“Quem não sabe ser feliz em nada pode contribuir para a felicidade”
André Gide.
Através de diálogos e situações hilariantes, David Lodge oferece-nos uma história simples e divertida, mas que nos incentiva à reflexão.
O contraste entre os anseios revolucionários da juventude e o conhecimento oferecido pela idade, de que o que realmente importa, é a procura da nossa própria felicidade, mesmo que seja de forma egoísta e derrubando tabus e regras sociais. Sem culpa!
“Quem não sabe ser feliz em nada pode contribuir para a felicidade”
André Gide.
August 21, 2024
Два характерні факти, що чудово описують враження від книги:
1️⃣ Другу і останню помітку про університет в кампусному (!) романі я зробила на 35 сторінці (з 280).
2️⃣ На 240 сторінці посеред глави я відклала книжку і пішла пошукать, що б такого поїсти.
Якщо ви, як і я, хотіли почитати про університетське життя, воно вам не треба, не витрачайте гроші. Якщо ви поціновувач Американського пирога, можна спробувати. Автор, до речі, в післямові дуже хотів екранізації. Ну ото було б ліпше (і бажано на фоні більш важливих справ і вже дуже хмільними). Такоє.
Із цікавого:
Є спроба "експериментів з формою" - тільки три з шести глав є наративом, ще є епістолярка (листи в одному випадку і газетні оголошення - в іншому), і телесценарій. Імхо, це не пасує Перемінам, але у всіх смаки різні.
Сподобалось, що на фоні дурні, якою є основний сюжет, розгортаються лінії зі студентськими страйками, є згадки жіночого руху, а також згадки американської війни у В'єтнамі. Шкода, що це не набуло необхідного об'єму, щоб я могла назвати ці проблеми визначальними в романі.
1️⃣ Другу і останню помітку про університет в кампусному (!) романі я зробила на 35 сторінці (з 280).
2️⃣ На 240 сторінці посеред глави я відклала книжку і пішла пошукать, що б такого поїсти.
Якщо ви, як і я, хотіли почитати про університетське життя, воно вам не треба, не витрачайте гроші. Якщо ви поціновувач Американського пирога, можна спробувати. Автор, до речі, в післямові дуже хотів екранізації. Ну ото було б ліпше (і бажано на фоні більш важливих справ і вже дуже хмільними). Такоє.
Із цікавого:
Є спроба "експериментів з формою" - тільки три з шести глав є наративом, ще є епістолярка (листи в одному випадку і газетні оголошення - в іншому), і телесценарій. Імхо, це не пасує Перемінам, але у всіх смаки різні.
Сподобалось, що на фоні дурні, якою є основний сюжет, розгортаються лінії зі студентськими страйками, є згадки жіночого руху, а також згадки американської війни у В'єтнамі. Шкода, що це не набуло необхідного об'єму, щоб я могла назвати ці проблеми визначальними в романі.
September 26, 2023
Pag 142, ecuador del libro y abandono.
Empezó entretenido y ha mutado a previsible, lleno de sospechosas coincidencias, paralelismos casi idénticos (entre las vidas de los dos protagonistas que intercambian temporalmente sus puestos de trabajo) y situaciones de comedia de enredo un tanto burdas y simplonas. Por momentos parece un de esos sainetes que tan populares eran en nuestro país en cualquier teatro de pueblo.
Por cierto, y aunque está escrito hace 50 años, bastante machista.
Empezó entretenido y ha mutado a previsible, lleno de sospechosas coincidencias, paralelismos casi idénticos (entre las vidas de los dos protagonistas que intercambian temporalmente sus puestos de trabajo) y situaciones de comedia de enredo un tanto burdas y simplonas. Por momentos parece un de esos sainetes que tan populares eran en nuestro país en cualquier teatro de pueblo.
Por cierto, y aunque está escrito hace 50 años, bastante machista.
April 6, 2021
Γιατί να διαβάσεις ένα βιβλίο για δεύτερη φορά όταν έχεις μια στίβα από αδιάβαστα στη βιβλιοθήκη σου?
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο το διάβασα πριν χρόνια, δεν θυμόμουν τίποτα από την πλοκή παρά μόνο ότι μου είχε αφήσει μια ευχάριστη αίσθηση και το είχα στο μυαλό μου σαν ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο.
Έτσι το ξεκίνησα σαν να ήταν ένα βιβλίο που διαβάζω για πρώτη φορα. Ευτυχώς την ίδια αίσθηση έχω και τωρα. Ένα βιβλίο ρεαλιστικό, με αρκετο χιούμορ και πολλές πολλές αλήθειες.Ήρωες αληθινοί, καταστάσεις κωμικές και πλοκή που κυλάει όμορφα χωρίς να κουράζει ούτε στιγμή.
Το πρώτο μέρος της τριλογίας με δεύτερο το " μικρός που είναι ο κόσμος" και τρίτο το " ούτε γάτα ούτε ζημιά" από τον αγαπημένο Ντέιβιντ Λοτζ. Βιβλία που είναι εξαντλημένα αλλά αν τα βρείτε πουθενά , σε καμιά βιβλιοθήκη ή σε κανένα παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο μην διαστάσετε να τα αποκτήσετε.
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο το διάβασα πριν χρόνια, δεν θυμόμουν τίποτα από την πλοκή παρά μόνο ότι μου είχε αφήσει μια ευχάριστη αίσθηση και το είχα στο μυαλό μου σαν ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο.
Έτσι το ξεκίνησα σαν να ήταν ένα βιβλίο που διαβάζω για πρώτη φορα. Ευτυχώς την ίδια αίσθηση έχω και τωρα. Ένα βιβλίο ρεαλιστικό, με αρκετο χιούμορ και πολλές πολλές αλήθειες.Ήρωες αληθινοί, καταστάσεις κωμικές και πλοκή που κυλάει όμορφα χωρίς να κουράζει ούτε στιγμή.
Το πρώτο μέρος της τριλογίας με δεύτερο το " μικρός που είναι ο κόσμος" και τρίτο το " ούτε γάτα ούτε ζημιά" από τον αγαπημένο Ντέιβιντ Λοτζ. Βιβλία που είναι εξαντλημένα αλλά αν τα βρείτε πουθενά , σε καμιά βιβλιοθήκη ή σε κανένα παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο μην διαστάσετε να τα αποκτήσετε.
January 5, 2015
“A Troca” de David Lodge é uma divertida narrativa sobre um intercâmbio universitário de professores decorrida em 1969: O inglês Philip Swallow da Universidade de Remexe vai lecionar seis meses na Universidade de Euforia e o americano Morris Zapp da Universidade de Euforia parte durante seis meses para a Universidade de Remexe.
São seis meses em que as vidas dos dois homens se sobrepõem ante o olhar ávido do leitor que segue com entusiasmo as peripécias de Philip numa universidade americana em pé de guerra e as peripécias de Morris numa pacata e obscura universidade inglesa que começa a despertar para o mundo.
Também as vivências amorosas dos dois homens se entrelaçam com uma reveladora troca de parceiras que, se por um lado é indicadora da debilidade dos relacionamentos estabelecidos com as respectivas mulheres, por outro apimenta essas relações aparentemente esmorecidas na “cimeira” de Nova Iorque...
O livro satiriza o mundo universitário dos dois lados do Atlântico expondo um choque de culturas que, na realidade, e por fim, se revelam complementares (tal como os relacionamentos – aventa-se a hipótese de viverem numa inédita comunhão conjugal a quatro!) e David Lodge fá-lo com mestria e um humor perene (o livro foi editado em 1975) até ao plano final. A vida destes dois dava um filme.
São seis meses em que as vidas dos dois homens se sobrepõem ante o olhar ávido do leitor que segue com entusiasmo as peripécias de Philip numa universidade americana em pé de guerra e as peripécias de Morris numa pacata e obscura universidade inglesa que começa a despertar para o mundo.
Também as vivências amorosas dos dois homens se entrelaçam com uma reveladora troca de parceiras que, se por um lado é indicadora da debilidade dos relacionamentos estabelecidos com as respectivas mulheres, por outro apimenta essas relações aparentemente esmorecidas na “cimeira” de Nova Iorque...
O livro satiriza o mundo universitário dos dois lados do Atlântico expondo um choque de culturas que, na realidade, e por fim, se revelam complementares (tal como os relacionamentos – aventa-se a hipótese de viverem numa inédita comunhão conjugal a quatro!) e David Lodge fá-lo com mestria e um humor perene (o livro foi editado em 1975) até ao plano final. A vida destes dois dava um filme.
January 28, 2018
I kept hearing that David Lodge is the funniest author around, that you have to read it, what, you haven't read David Lodge yet, no way, so I decided to finally make acquintances with Lodge through one of his novels and being a trilogy, i took this one to start with. The story is alert, dynamic and there was no wasted phrase. The story is good, well written. I liked the different types of writing - letters / newspaper cuts / a lot of dialogue / no dialogue / filmscript.
NOW A BIT OF A SPOILER
Lodge plays with his readers, he knew that we all waited to see how this elaborate story ends, and then he gave us that ending. So I can decide how I want the book to end. If anyone of my followers read this one, we could see if our endings match !
NOW A BIT OF A SPOILER
Lodge plays with his readers, he knew that we all waited to see how this elaborate story ends, and then he gave us that ending. So I can decide how I want the book to end. If anyone of my followers read this one, we could see if our endings match !
April 29, 2015
It's 1969 and British English Professor Philip Swallow and American English Professor Morris Zap are trading places. It's long been a tradition between their two universities to exchange a professor for 6 months.
Both of them leave their wives and children behind. Both of them have eye-opening experiences in their new surroundings.
Philip is a quiet, proper, faithful man. He's never cheated on his wife of 16 years and he has three kids. However, he must admit it IS nice to get away from family life for a while. And he's always loved America and had a romantic view of the place ever since he honeymooned there 16 years ago.
Morris is a cad. His second wife is demanding a divorce - a divorce that Morris is desperately trying to prevent, hence the trip to England. He's not trying to prevent the divorce because he loves his wife, but because he loves his twins: a girl named Elizabeth and a boy named Darcy (he's an Austen scholar). Morris hits on every single female he sees. He's cheated on his wife so many times that she's given up even trying to get him to stop or catch him with another woman. He sleeps with his students, he sleeps with the babysitter... But when his first wife divorced him he lost custody of his daughter, and he is terrified that will happen with the twins, whom he loves dearly.
Both men move in opposite directions - both geographically and psychologically. Philip starts to 'let his hair down' (or whatever the male equivalent of this is) and gets involved with the American hippies: complete with protests, pot, free love, and Black Panthers.
Morris on the other hand, makes a vow to be loyal to his wife while he's away in Britain...if only to annoy her, not really because he cares. He slowly finds himself doing good deeds and becoming a SLIGHTLY less sarcastic, less stuck-up person. Will keep his vow or will he cheat yet again?
Both men stumble around in their new surroundings. They have to get used to a new culture, a new English department, a new climate, and a new way of doing things.
The wives, for their part, are also getting an earful of this new thing called "Women's Lib." Will this change how they treat their husbands? How will the professors deal with this?
This is a comedy. A comedy written in 1975. I personally think David Lodge is hilarious. My first exposure to him was when I picked up his book THERAPY at a garage sale for 50 cents and it has become one of my Top 10 Books of All Time.
This book doesn't disappoint either. I was laughing constantly throughout the book. David Lodge just writes middle-aged men so well and so hilariously. I'm glad he sticks to the men in this book and doesn't try to speak from the female perspective.
Lodge plays around with writing in this book. There's one chapter that is made up entirely of letters between the spouses. Since I, the reader, know what's going on in the professors real lives, it cracks me up to see what they choose to tell their wives about their experiences and what they decide is best left out.
I had a heck of a lot of fun reading this. If you are going to read a David Lodge book, I think THERAPY is better than this one, even though this one is great.
Both of them leave their wives and children behind. Both of them have eye-opening experiences in their new surroundings.
Philip is a quiet, proper, faithful man. He's never cheated on his wife of 16 years and he has three kids. However, he must admit it IS nice to get away from family life for a while. And he's always loved America and had a romantic view of the place ever since he honeymooned there 16 years ago.
Morris is a cad. His second wife is demanding a divorce - a divorce that Morris is desperately trying to prevent, hence the trip to England. He's not trying to prevent the divorce because he loves his wife, but because he loves his twins: a girl named Elizabeth and a boy named Darcy (he's an Austen scholar). Morris hits on every single female he sees. He's cheated on his wife so many times that she's given up even trying to get him to stop or catch him with another woman. He sleeps with his students, he sleeps with the babysitter... But when his first wife divorced him he lost custody of his daughter, and he is terrified that will happen with the twins, whom he loves dearly.
Both men move in opposite directions - both geographically and psychologically. Philip starts to 'let his hair down' (or whatever the male equivalent of this is) and gets involved with the American hippies: complete with protests, pot, free love, and Black Panthers.
Morris on the other hand, makes a vow to be loyal to his wife while he's away in Britain...if only to annoy her, not really because he cares. He slowly finds himself doing good deeds and becoming a SLIGHTLY less sarcastic, less stuck-up person. Will keep his vow or will he cheat yet again?
Both men stumble around in their new surroundings. They have to get used to a new culture, a new English department, a new climate, and a new way of doing things.
The wives, for their part, are also getting an earful of this new thing called "Women's Lib." Will this change how they treat their husbands? How will the professors deal with this?
This is a comedy. A comedy written in 1975. I personally think David Lodge is hilarious. My first exposure to him was when I picked up his book THERAPY at a garage sale for 50 cents and it has become one of my Top 10 Books of All Time.
This book doesn't disappoint either. I was laughing constantly throughout the book. David Lodge just writes middle-aged men so well and so hilariously. I'm glad he sticks to the men in this book and doesn't try to speak from the female perspective.
Lodge plays around with writing in this book. There's one chapter that is made up entirely of letters between the spouses. Since I, the reader, know what's going on in the professors real lives, it cracks me up to see what they choose to tell their wives about their experiences and what they decide is best left out.
I had a heck of a lot of fun reading this. If you are going to read a David Lodge book, I think THERAPY is better than this one, even though this one is great.
January 26, 2025
Місцями дуже влучний гумор і цікаві головні персонажі. Та нічого такого щоб мене вразило чи запам’яталося - не було. Кінцівка взагалі викликала більше нерозуміння і розчарування. Ну таке - почитала і забула.
Ця книга була б набагато кращим фільмом.
Ця книга була б набагато кращим фільмом.
September 9, 2024
"Razmjenu" sam prvi put čitala još 2008., a nedavno pročitana knjiga Pierrea Bayarda "Kako govoriti o knjigama koje nismo pročitali" podsjetila me na Davida Lodgea, neke situacije iz "Razmjene", i potakla me da je ponovo pročitam. S užitkom - riječ je o silno zabavnoj, duhovitoj, a istovremeno vrlo inteligentnoj knjizi. Od samog zapleta (razmjene sveučilišnih pozicija dvaju profesora, engleskog i američkog, koji osim radnog mjesta zamijene i neke svoje navike, pa na kraju i supruge!) još zabavniji je prikaz engleskog i američkog sveučilišnog života, spletke oko napredovanja i odnosa prema studentima, a neki detalji kao da i nisu ostali u 1968., već opstaju i danas.
Knjiga koju preporučujem kao sjajnu čitalačku zabavu.
Knjiga koju preporučujem kao sjajnu čitalačku zabavu.
November 29, 2008
One of the advantages of a reading group is that you are forced (really much too harsh a word) to read books you’ve always meant to and that many people have recommended but that you’ve just never gotten around to. Such was the case with David Lodge’s Changing Places.
What a delight. This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It chronicles the events in the lives of two professors, Philip Swallow, of Rummidge College in England, and Morris Zapp, professor of English at Euphoric State University, the Jane Austen expert whose ambition it is to write the definitive work in multiple volumes summarizing all that has been and could be said or written about Jane Austen. They are participating in an exchange program. Morris discovers, after wondering what the odds are that he could be the only male on a planeload of women flying to England, that it is a special charter flight for pregnant women on their way to England for abortions. He then has the misfortune to wander into a striptease club (and to discover he is the only one there) where the artiste is Mary Makepeace, his seatmate from the plane who decided not to go through
with the abortion. Of course, she recognizes him and it’s all downhill from there.
Phillip, meanwhile, grants special permission to a student to enter his class late, only to have the student lead the entire class out on strike — it takes place during the sixties — “no offense intended.”
Lodge makes constant spirited fun of all the academic stereotypes. One of many favorite scenes takes place in Zapp’s lodging house, where the young daughter of his landlord has gotten ahold of Zapp’s Playboy. Zapp, of course, would like it back, but Shea, his landlord, retorts he has destroyed the magazine. The skeptical Zapp “didn’t believe him. Inside thirty minutes he would be holed up somewhere, jerking himself off and drooling over the Playboy pix. Not the girls, of course, but the full-colour ads for whiskey and hi-fi equipment. . . .”
What a delight. This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It chronicles the events in the lives of two professors, Philip Swallow, of Rummidge College in England, and Morris Zapp, professor of English at Euphoric State University, the Jane Austen expert whose ambition it is to write the definitive work in multiple volumes summarizing all that has been and could be said or written about Jane Austen. They are participating in an exchange program. Morris discovers, after wondering what the odds are that he could be the only male on a planeload of women flying to England, that it is a special charter flight for pregnant women on their way to England for abortions. He then has the misfortune to wander into a striptease club (and to discover he is the only one there) where the artiste is Mary Makepeace, his seatmate from the plane who decided not to go through
with the abortion. Of course, she recognizes him and it’s all downhill from there.
Phillip, meanwhile, grants special permission to a student to enter his class late, only to have the student lead the entire class out on strike — it takes place during the sixties — “no offense intended.”
Lodge makes constant spirited fun of all the academic stereotypes. One of many favorite scenes takes place in Zapp’s lodging house, where the young daughter of his landlord has gotten ahold of Zapp’s Playboy. Zapp, of course, would like it back, but Shea, his landlord, retorts he has destroyed the magazine. The skeptical Zapp “didn’t believe him. Inside thirty minutes he would be holed up somewhere, jerking himself off and drooling over the Playboy pix. Not the girls, of course, but the full-colour ads for whiskey and hi-fi equipment. . . .”
April 16, 2017
Lodge's Changing Places is the first novel in his Campus Trilogy. It follows a very simple story (or perhaps formula or script are more appropriate terms): two professors, one from the United States and the other from England, exchange positions and fill their counterpart's teaching position for six months. They also end up sleeping with each other's wives.
Contrary to expectations, the story was not particularly funny or revealing. It felt rather uneven—undeveloped in some places and overdeveloped in others. Nor was the style successful; to go from relatively straightforward storytelling to epistles to news bulletins and finally to film script might work theoretically, in some cases—not in this one. I think that the news bulletins especially killed what little interest I had in the flow of events.
I could see what Lodge was doing—at times it is almost painfully clear—but what he was doing simply failed to arouse serious response or passion.
I will read the subsequent two novels of the Campus Trilogy, but with dampened expectations and enthusiasm, I'm afraid.
Contrary to expectations, the story was not particularly funny or revealing. It felt rather uneven—undeveloped in some places and overdeveloped in others. Nor was the style successful; to go from relatively straightforward storytelling to epistles to news bulletins and finally to film script might work theoretically, in some cases—not in this one. I think that the news bulletins especially killed what little interest I had in the flow of events.
I could see what Lodge was doing—at times it is almost painfully clear—but what he was doing simply failed to arouse serious response or passion.
I will read the subsequent two novels of the Campus Trilogy, but with dampened expectations and enthusiasm, I'm afraid.
June 15, 2024
Дуже прикольний насичений і різноманітний текст.
Тут у нас і оповідь від двох головних персонажів, і листування, і вирізки з газет, і, навіть, постановка при кінозйомці.
І все це цікава історія про кардинальні зміни в способі життя та світогляді двох професорів, приправлена влучним гумором і сарказмом. Один застряг в рутині і власній безамбітності, інший самовпевнений бабій, що живе тільки для себе. Так, вони зміняться докорінно просто змінивши місце перебування.
Чим не мотивація до подорожей?
Тут у нас і оповідь від двох головних персонажів, і листування, і вирізки з газет, і, навіть, постановка при кінозйомці.
І все це цікава історія про кардинальні зміни в способі життя та світогляді двох професорів, приправлена влучним гумором і сарказмом. Один застряг в рутині і власній безамбітності, інший самовпевнений бабій, що живе тільки для себе. Так, вони зміняться докорінно просто змінивши місце перебування.
Чим не мотивація до подорожей?
March 14, 2010
Is humour a fragile or robust artform? A discussion took place here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... and one could not hope for a more apt example of the issues involved than this book. Paul kicked it off with the comment that ‘Comedy may be one of the frailer arts because it depends so much on the immediate cultural situation’.
Some of the best comedy does indeed depend on the immediate situation around it and its life span is sadly short as a consequence. Culturally referenced comedy less so than political, which is breathtaking in its immediacy - here today, gone tomorrow - but still; fashion-dependent culture of the moment, certainly will suffer the same fate.
Here we have a book, a comedy, firmly locked into its period of approximately 1970. The humour resulting from that is the shakiest part of the book. Incipient women’s lib, ban the bomb hippies, the emergent sexual ‘revolution’ – I’m guessing if you didn’t live through it, or were close enough for it to be in the ethos still - this would not be particularly amusing.
At the same time, we have the central theme of the book which is academia, how it functions and behaves and this is really awfully funny. And so far it remains timeless. Yes, I do want to say that. Right now I’d say it is timeless, but surely, I mean, really, surely, it can’t remain so. Because the implication that nothing has changed over the last forty years in terms of the inadequacies of academia, on which the humour is based, is well, a bit shocking, really. These days I’d say we would be pretty embarrassed by the very term women’s lib, we wish our parents hadn’t been hippies, marijuana is not exactly flavour of the month and if we talk about uni students having sex, we would not dare say ‘with the opposite sex’. It goes without saying that a uni student might have sex with more or less anything. Animal, vegetable, mineral, I imagine. The presumptuousness of ‘the opposite sex’ would be humourlessly politically incorrect.
And yet, when Lodge speaks of academia, it is a frozen world in which nothing has changed. Indeed, even though it is set in that period where something that might have seemed momentous was happening – students insisting on being part of the system, not merely the object of it – it still has not aged one bit. I wonder if the students realise how becoming part of the system has not changed it in the least.
So, much as I spent this book giggling and chuckling and snorting with laughter, at the same time it niggled me to think that the things he sends up, so obviously in need of reform, have not changed one tiny bit. I’m astonished by academia’s capacity to protect itself from outside interference and judgement. Astonished that it doesn’t see, as the self-regulatory community it evidently is, that things should change. Or, perhaps, sees but does nothing, is more like it.
Well, maybe one thing has changed in that world. Part of the outmoded humour is based on sex, and the involvements real and hoped-for and fantasised about by academics lusting after students. However much this is still in their hearts, maybe it is not, these days, talked about so often, or proferred as a source of humour. Yes?? I’m only guessing, but the ugly threat of sexual harrassment, although more offputting, I expect, to the school teacher, must also be an issue for the academic.
In Australia one has only to think of the money reaped by Helen Garner for The First Stone:
I really do like a no-holds-barred approach to humour and yet there are things that somehow seem to be humorous in one period and repugnant in another. I go to a lot of old musicals, 1940s and 1950s. A routine part of the humour is violence against women – jokes about it, not the act itself. I can only suppose that what made it funny once was that we didn’t believe in it, whereas now that we know it really exists, it is not possible to find it funny. I’m not quite suggesting this pertains to Lodge, but I do wonder if what further decades will do to the legitimacy of his humour here and there.
Well, one thing we do know. His wonderful observations about the academic world will not have changed in their impact, whatever else might, and since it is the important part of his work, surely it will continue to be timeless.
It makes me think of the Rumpole books. My gut feeling is that they will never date and when one asks why that is, the answer is just the same. The legal system is even more able to protect itself from change than academia. It doesn’t change and therefore the humour does not lose its punch. Think of the cutting observations of the processes of the law Dickens makes in Bleak House and how completely pertinent they seem today. We find them amusing because everything is still as it always was. Thus with the law, and thus, it would so appear, with academia. I wonder what the historical antecedent to Lodge’s books are?
Or – and this just comes to me – maybe academia did change and Lodge documented it. Maybe in some dim dark past, it was a community of idealistic scholars on a search for the truth. Is that possible? Oh…stop laughing, would you?
Some of the best comedy does indeed depend on the immediate situation around it and its life span is sadly short as a consequence. Culturally referenced comedy less so than political, which is breathtaking in its immediacy - here today, gone tomorrow - but still; fashion-dependent culture of the moment, certainly will suffer the same fate.
Here we have a book, a comedy, firmly locked into its period of approximately 1970. The humour resulting from that is the shakiest part of the book. Incipient women’s lib, ban the bomb hippies, the emergent sexual ‘revolution’ – I’m guessing if you didn’t live through it, or were close enough for it to be in the ethos still - this would not be particularly amusing.
At the same time, we have the central theme of the book which is academia, how it functions and behaves and this is really awfully funny. And so far it remains timeless. Yes, I do want to say that. Right now I’d say it is timeless, but surely, I mean, really, surely, it can’t remain so. Because the implication that nothing has changed over the last forty years in terms of the inadequacies of academia, on which the humour is based, is well, a bit shocking, really. These days I’d say we would be pretty embarrassed by the very term women’s lib, we wish our parents hadn’t been hippies, marijuana is not exactly flavour of the month and if we talk about uni students having sex, we would not dare say ‘with the opposite sex’. It goes without saying that a uni student might have sex with more or less anything. Animal, vegetable, mineral, I imagine. The presumptuousness of ‘the opposite sex’ would be humourlessly politically incorrect.
And yet, when Lodge speaks of academia, it is a frozen world in which nothing has changed. Indeed, even though it is set in that period where something that might have seemed momentous was happening – students insisting on being part of the system, not merely the object of it – it still has not aged one bit. I wonder if the students realise how becoming part of the system has not changed it in the least.
So, much as I spent this book giggling and chuckling and snorting with laughter, at the same time it niggled me to think that the things he sends up, so obviously in need of reform, have not changed one tiny bit. I’m astonished by academia’s capacity to protect itself from outside interference and judgement. Astonished that it doesn’t see, as the self-regulatory community it evidently is, that things should change. Or, perhaps, sees but does nothing, is more like it.
Well, maybe one thing has changed in that world. Part of the outmoded humour is based on sex, and the involvements real and hoped-for and fantasised about by academics lusting after students. However much this is still in their hearts, maybe it is not, these days, talked about so often, or proferred as a source of humour. Yes?? I’m only guessing, but the ugly threat of sexual harrassment, although more offputting, I expect, to the school teacher, must also be an issue for the academic.
In Australia one has only to think of the money reaped by Helen Garner for The First Stone:
The First Stone is at once an account of one of Australia's most explosive sexual harassment cases and an investigation into the soul of sexual politics. To provide the framework for her inquiry, Helen Garner takes the very public case of a University of Melbourne college master accused of sexual harassment by two of his students. After reading about the charge in the newspaper, Garner, a longtime feminist, impulsively wrote a letter of support to the accused man. The letter was made public and in the wake of much criticism over her support of the man, Garner set out to explore the women's claims. Along the way she uncovers issues that challenge her notions of feminism, political activism, gender relations, and power dynamics. With a journalist's eye for detail, Garner leads the reader into a riveting examination of the nature of sex and power in contemporary society. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63...
I really do like a no-holds-barred approach to humour and yet there are things that somehow seem to be humorous in one period and repugnant in another. I go to a lot of old musicals, 1940s and 1950s. A routine part of the humour is violence against women – jokes about it, not the act itself. I can only suppose that what made it funny once was that we didn’t believe in it, whereas now that we know it really exists, it is not possible to find it funny. I’m not quite suggesting this pertains to Lodge, but I do wonder if what further decades will do to the legitimacy of his humour here and there.
Well, one thing we do know. His wonderful observations about the academic world will not have changed in their impact, whatever else might, and since it is the important part of his work, surely it will continue to be timeless.
It makes me think of the Rumpole books. My gut feeling is that they will never date and when one asks why that is, the answer is just the same. The legal system is even more able to protect itself from change than academia. It doesn’t change and therefore the humour does not lose its punch. Think of the cutting observations of the processes of the law Dickens makes in Bleak House and how completely pertinent they seem today. We find them amusing because everything is still as it always was. Thus with the law, and thus, it would so appear, with academia. I wonder what the historical antecedent to Lodge’s books are?
Or – and this just comes to me – maybe academia did change and Lodge documented it. Maybe in some dim dark past, it was a community of idealistic scholars on a search for the truth. Is that possible? Oh…stop laughing, would you?
May 19, 2024
специфічна, але іронічна книга, до якої я поки не визначила остаточне ставлення. точно більше сподобалося, ніж ні, тому хотіла б прочитати продовження українською.
все починається з гостьового обміну більш і менш успішного викладачів між освітніми закладами, а переростає в іронічний, місцями дуже кумедний й абсурдний сюжет.
а ще сподобалося, що автор використовує різні стилі подачі самого тексту, через що теж прикольніше його читати.
думаю, на ті часи це був дійсно революційний текст.
все починається з гостьового обміну більш і менш успішного викладачів між освітніми закладами, а переростає в іронічний, місцями дуже кумедний й абсурдний сюжет.
а ще сподобалося, що автор використовує різні стилі подачі самого тексту, через що теж прикольніше його читати.
думаю, на ті часи це був дійсно революційний текст.
November 26, 2008
Fun - but for once, the sequel ( Small World) is much better!
July 31, 2009
Heinous, silly, contemptible, painfully dated. The fact that I actually finished this book makes me shiver with disgust.
June 2, 2024
Суперове видання, текст дуже легкий у читанні, експерименти автора з формою - окремий захват!
December 27, 2024
Le bouquin a 50 ans, il pourrait avoir souffert du temps qui passe et finalement... pas tant que ça. On suit deux profs d'université, l'un britannique, l'un américain, qui participe à un programme d'échange entre leur deux universités. à l'aube des années 70, au temps de la révolution sexuelle, de la libération des femmes et des révoltes universitaires, les deux profs vont observer les changements de la société à travers leur yeux d'étrangers.
C'est marrant parfois, d'un humour pince sans rire et typiquement british. Le roman est construit de façon originale : epistolaire, scénario de film, points de vues alternés. Il se réinvente à chaque partie. L'auteur casse presque le 4ème mur en prêtant des phrases à ses personnages de roman, qui ont l'air de comprendre qu'ils sont des personnages de roman. Mais pour autant, je me suis un peu ennuyé.
Tous ces points forts n'ont malheureusement pas réussi à me tenir intrigué sur 400 pages et parfois l'histoire et l'intrigue s'enlisaient au profit du style et de l'exercice.
C'est marrant parfois, d'un humour pince sans rire et typiquement british. Le roman est construit de façon originale : epistolaire, scénario de film, points de vues alternés. Il se réinvente à chaque partie. L'auteur casse presque le 4ème mur en prêtant des phrases à ses personnages de roman, qui ont l'air de comprendre qu'ils sont des personnages de roman. Mais pour autant, je me suis un peu ennuyé.
Tous ces points forts n'ont malheureusement pas réussi à me tenir intrigué sur 400 pages et parfois l'histoire et l'intrigue s'enlisaient au profit du style et de l'exercice.
March 20, 2024
Ce m-a mai amuzat primul volum al trilogiei campusului a lui David Lodge, autor pe care l-am admirat la FILIT acum ceva ani, o carte în același timp nepretențioasă și amuzantă, dar care oferă și incursiuni literare, culturale, artistice în lumea universităților britanice și americane!
Doi profesori - unul american, celălalt britanic - sunt parte a unui schimb de experiență între universități și fiecare dintre ei trebuie să se adapteze unui alt mediu, unor alte exigențe sau mentalități, mai ales că vorbim despre tumultuoșii anii studențești din 1969, caracterizați prin revolte, prin revoluție sexuală, prin libertate. Adaptarea vine destul de rapid, este plină de situații amuzante, ironice, rocambulești, care merg până la... schimbul de dame, de soții.
Un umor fin, o carte perfectă pentru o vacanță în... Toscana (sau oriunde).
Doi profesori - unul american, celălalt britanic - sunt parte a unui schimb de experiență între universități și fiecare dintre ei trebuie să se adapteze unui alt mediu, unor alte exigențe sau mentalități, mai ales că vorbim despre tumultuoșii anii studențești din 1969, caracterizați prin revolte, prin revoluție sexuală, prin libertate. Adaptarea vine destul de rapid, este plină de situații amuzante, ironice, rocambulești, care merg până la... schimbul de dame, de soții.
Un umor fin, o carte perfectă pentru o vacanță în... Toscana (sau oriunde).
November 10, 2009
Incredibly amusing, alert, witty but unpretentious at the same time, though, being part of a campus novel trilogy, someone might expect a lot of academia breathing through its pages. The plot is quite obvious, due to the title, Philip (British) and Morris (American) are supposed to exchange places as English Literature professors for 6 months. But since life always takes us by surprise, they change not only positions and it's a good opportunity for Lodge to use his own experience in order to emphasize the cultural / mental differences between America and England.
While reading, I was a bit disappointed about the final chapter. He uses the film script format, with a lot of cuts, camera close-ups and focusing, which made it a bit difficult to follow. Now I see it as a last tribute to sunny California (read Hollywood) -not sure this was Lodge's intention, though- and with a little bit of imagination it turns out to be quite hilarious. Speaking of film scripts, besides the classical narrative, he also uses the epistolary style in one of the chapters, plus newspapers clippings in another - techniques which also gave dynamism to the novel.
While reading, I was a bit disappointed about the final chapter. He uses the film script format, with a lot of cuts, camera close-ups and focusing, which made it a bit difficult to follow. Now I see it as a last tribute to sunny California (read Hollywood) -not sure this was Lodge's intention, though- and with a little bit of imagination it turns out to be quite hilarious. Speaking of film scripts, besides the classical narrative, he also uses the epistolary style in one of the chapters, plus newspapers clippings in another - techniques which also gave dynamism to the novel.
November 11, 2020
Required reading for English ugh
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