Academic Year

by D.J. Enright

This novel involves three expatriate Englishmen teaching in Egypt toward the end of King Farouk's glittering, corrupt reign. As a portrayal of English academics abroad, the book is full of sympathetic, humorous insights. In its evocation of a time and a place, it has never been
bettered.

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another of those novels that doesn't particularly have a driving storyline, it's more a series of incidents/discussions that don't lead to anything.Some of the words and viewpoints put into the characters mouths are presumably the authors own, so much so that I felt like he was lecturing to me, e.g. a pointless discussion about crabs on the beach.

The blurb on the back, by the Daily Telegraph, describes the book as "funny, extremely funny". I don't think so.

But it says "20th Century Classics" on the front cover, so what do I know?

[Alan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A diverting read, but not as 'laugh out loud' funny as I thought it was going to be. This is a book very much of its time, set in pre-Suez Crisis Alexandria, and with more than a feel of Evelyn Waugh, together with a foretaste of the campus novels of Malcolm Bradbury or David Lodge.

The 3 main English characters, teaching English to the locals or working in the cultural sector, give us varying insights into the nature of life in Alexandria, from a newcomer to one who has been there for years. And as one might expect from a book written in 1955, it's not exactly what we might call PC, with its portrayal of the locals, the city and its culture!

An interesting read, and for anyone who has an interest in Alexandria and its cultural impact on British writers, it's a worthwhile and entertaining enough read. 3.5 stars.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The floating narrative is strung across funny anecdotal metaphysical encounters, between an expat’s reserved Methodist upbringing from Wales, coming face to face with the humanity and institutional idiosyncrasies that spin on the byzantine emotions of Egyptian society, as seen through the eyes' of an expat.

I suspect that anybody who has spent time in Alex would have no trouble with the expat’s scenarios, to relentlessly giggle through the pages, recognising the realities of the place. For others, not anointed to the gems of the Egyptian way of life, the appreciation is attenuated to purely a string of encounters, mixed with reflections to be somewhat contrived with some slapstick. A cross between ‘Buster Keaton’ and ‘Our Man in Havana’.

I enjoyed the book as it brought back to life a lot of memories of wonderful and zany events there.