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Editorial blurb labels it as a "comic" novel, but despite some comic elements, this novel is far from this genre. It is more a drama, that a comic work of art, as the protagonist(s) both find a romantic affair where and with whom they did not expected. I will not provide too many details so that I will not mark my review as containing spoilers, but I will add just that the overall message of this novel is that love has no boundaries, when it comes to age or even our own paradigms or stereotypes.
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Academics Gone Wild (London Edition)
Spring Break Sabbatical
Yes, all of the fervor of academics running amok in the libraries of London, riffing on nursery rhymes, the novels of Henry James and John Gay 's The Beggar's Opera, not to mention tweaking academic, popular and critical condescension. Any book that can tweak critics without being too mean usually garners critical praise and in this case a Pulitzer Prize. Plus it has some human depth and some decent life messages without feeling too di ...more
Spring Break Sabbatical
Yes, all of the fervor of academics running amok in the libraries of London, riffing on nursery rhymes, the novels of Henry James and John Gay 's The Beggar's Opera, not to mention tweaking academic, popular and critical condescension. Any book that can tweak critics without being too mean usually garners critical praise and in this case a Pulitzer Prize. Plus it has some human depth and some decent life messages without feeling too di ...more
Vinnie Miner is a professor specializing in children's rhymes who has gotten a grant to live in England for 6 months while researching her book. Fred Turner is a professor at the same university specializing in John Gay who is also in England on a research grant. The book alternates chapters between the two perspectives. Both characters also become romantically involved while in London. I really liked Vinnie and her story but I couldn't stand Fred. Every time a Fred chapter came up I got bogged
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This book follow two threads; that of Fred, a young, available professor, and Vinnie, a spinster professor. they both embark on sabbaticals to a university in England. Though they both find love, they find very different kinds of love. This is an old Pulitzer prize winner; it seems very light in compared to other winners I have read. The book is well written and enjoyable, giving a good synopsis og English culture and personalities.
Jul 17, 2009
Jennifer Eklund
marked it as to-read
Mar 03, 2010
Juliana Philippa
marked it as to-read
Jun 25, 2011
Kimberly
marked it as to-read
Oct 09, 2012
Mary
marked it as to-read
Mar 26, 2017
Terri
marked it as own
Jun 24, 2017
Lisa of Hopewell
marked it as to-read
Jul 10, 2017
Pam
marked it as to-read
Jul 16, 2017
MichelleCH
marked it as to-read
Aug 11, 2019
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
Aug 26, 2019
Deborah
marked it as to-read
Nov 23, 2021
Tammy Grimm
marked it as to-read
