colin_cox's review against another edition
4.0
Changing Places is the first entry in a trilogy of campus novels. Set in the politically tumultuous late 1960s, Changing Places is a smart and funny satire of academia. David Lodge focuses his scathing satirical lens on two male professors, Philip Swallow and Morris Zapp. Both characters are deeply flawed, representing two distinct expressions of male chauvinism.
The larger narrative is, at times, uneven and conventional. However, the formal conceit of Changing Places warrants greater consideration. The novel's form shifts quite dramatically throughout, with the final chapter or section reading like a film script. This move emphasizes the anxiety a novelist like Lodge either feels or simply wants to explore. For example, one of the novel's two protagonists, Philip Swallow, says, "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" (204-205). Swallow's reference to "kids" operates on two levels. He speaks as both an educator and avatar for the novel's author. But Lodge is far from a romantic author interesting in maintaining the aesthetic supremacy of the novel form. He is, if anything, skeptical and resigned to the death of the novel, for a lack of a better phrase.
Lodge asks a series of interesting questions in Changing Places. These questions, however, are less about character and theme and more about form. For example, what form must the novel take in an increasingly visual age? Is the novel a superior aesthetic form or one situated in a distinct moment in time?
The larger narrative is, at times, uneven and conventional. However, the formal conceit of Changing Places warrants greater consideration. The novel's form shifts quite dramatically throughout, with the final chapter or section reading like a film script. This move emphasizes the anxiety a novelist like Lodge either feels or simply wants to explore. For example, one of the novel's two protagonists, Philip Swallow, says, "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" (204-205). Swallow's reference to "kids" operates on two levels. He speaks as both an educator and avatar for the novel's author. But Lodge is far from a romantic author interesting in maintaining the aesthetic supremacy of the novel form. He is, if anything, skeptical and resigned to the death of the novel, for a lack of a better phrase.
Lodge asks a series of interesting questions in Changing Places. These questions, however, are less about character and theme and more about form. For example, what form must the novel take in an increasingly visual age? Is the novel a superior aesthetic form or one situated in a distinct moment in time?
rosekk's review
4.0
The book was amusing and an absorbing read. The personal aspects of the story weave in nicely with the local politics which in turn reflect a vision of the two societies portrayed at the time in question. Often I end up annoyed with stories like this because I find the characters can be aggravating and the tone can vary between being patronising and depressing. This book didn't fall into those pitfalls. While the character were clearly flawed and made some poor decisions they retained a sense of warmth (I had a few concerns in this regard with Philip at one stage - his character was starting to loose me - but it all pulled back swiftly). The characters are people you want to stick with to the end. The settings, while flawed in ways that reflect reality, appears outrageous so it strikes a balance between being familiar and being larger-than-life.
_dunno_'s review against another edition
4.0
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.
rj42's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
David Lodge is a master of the traditional British farce, and Changing Places has dated far better than many of his contemporaries. The plot here is pretty straightforward: two academics, one from a dull mid-ranking UK university and the other from a prestigious Californian college, take part in an annual exchange. The book deals with their culture shock at their new surroundings, but really that's just an excuse for them both to get caught up in wild and improbable adventures which end in riots, infidelity and mid-life crises galore. Changing Places captures the liberal revolution in higher education at its very outset (it's set in 1969) and, despite its sexual mores feeling out of step in places, it is the characters' wives whose embrace of feminism ultimately wins out. Really, though, it's just funny in a simplistic way that modern novels no longer really attempt, a sort of literary slapstick that is an uninhibited joy to read.
reneerianne's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was great to read this on my way to a major conference and on the way back. I loved the exploration of US vs UK academic culture and found the book very funny. The storyline was a little convoluted and the style very experimental, with the book shifting between third person narration, letters, newspaper articles and finally, a play. Will be saving parts 2 and 3 for future conference travel!
valnightshade's review against another edition
1.0
First fourth was so promising. Dry English humor, an intriguing enough parallel drawn at the beginning, but then... Then it seems like the author lost his reassurance and got scared readers wouldn't find his book entertaining. So what do most people find entertaining? Sex. Yes. The rest of the book are sex jokes, sexual revolution, frustration, desire, etc. Bizzare situations and characters acting weirdly and NOT in a good way. Also gets repetitive after a while. I honestly don't remember most stuff that happened and I've read the book quite recently, it's only that I was so bored reading it. Huge disappoitment.
srebeka's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nice ending but I can't tell if I think that because of the experimental approach to open-endings (this experimentalism is actually present throughtout the whole book, which might be the only part I liked) or because my suffering is finally over.
isidoratrajko's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
doodlebuginarug's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5