Reviews

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

chrisspeckwriter's review against another edition

5.0

My brother bought me this book when I first became a teacher. At that time, I was a young drunk and Lucky Jim seemed to be me - 'he could never smoke enough cigarettes in the day'. It also has the best description of a hangover ever written.
'A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he'd somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by secret police. He felt bad.'

sophiecole's review

funny reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really liked this. Actually did make me giggle, felt very relatable and likeable, but also you really empathised with the characters. Some pockets of astounding writing - the funny bit of the Now is the month of Maying to the greengages bit. Got a bit confused by characters periodically but generally kept being a book i’d come back to.

ergative_'s review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

soundracer's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aamnaua's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

hungerford's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

blotchedtabby's review against another edition

Because of the cover I thought it would be a funny book. Instead I found the characters sad. For me, they were hard to relate to.

ultronvision29's review against another edition

3.0

To me, this is the story of a man rebelling against the arrogance of elitist attitudes in academia. It's also the story of a man choosing between a woman he deems unattractive but feels bound to, and a woman he finds very attractive but is currently unavailable. Somehow these narratives work well together, and this is mostly down to Amis' writing style. The book is filled with charm, and humour, mixed in with moments of seriousness and reflection. Jim Dixon comes across as a very real character. He's someone that's winging it through life, likes to make lots of silly faces and has somewhat violent but funny fantasies about people that annoy him. Sadly I think some of the other characters aren't given the same time to shine. There's a large supporting cast, and some of them feel like what they are; side characters with no lives outside of being there to be the punchline to a joke or to move the plot along.

nbarton82's review against another edition

3.0

The parts are far greater than its sum. I was very entertained while reading, but by the end it all felt strangely pointless: A novel about nothing in particular that really goes nowhere special.

john_langley's review against another edition

5.0

I’ve read this many times and it does not get stale. It’s a classic of comic writing and satire, with some genuine laugh out loud moments. Re-reading in 2021 also brings back some memories for me of the end of the Fifties and the beginning of the less stuffy Sixties. Fascinating to see how our British world was organised so rigidly in class and gender roles compared to today. I first read this only a few years after it was written, and at that time it certain,y seemed like things were changing for the better, and I think in many ways they did.

A social documentary, and a great, funny piece of writing.