Thirty-something Morris Gutman is a chronically indecisive temporary lecturer at the University of Coketown. Life hasn't turned out as he planned: he has a demanding wife, an insomniac child and teaches demeaning courses to ungrateful English students. However, he is willing to do whatever it takes to negotiate a permanent departmental job, even if it means finding his way through the minefield that is academia and winning over the alluring and manipulative research fellow Zoe Cable.
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Review
`Hugely entertaining' -- The Times
`In this sardonic academic novel, McGuire wittily exposes his
characters' pretensions and frustrations ... very funny' -- Sunday Times
`Lucky Jim for the twenty-first century' -- The Times
`McGuire's comic timing is faultless' -- Observer
`McGuire's humour, eye for detail ... and agile prose lift this
way above the crowd'
-- Arena
`In this sardonic academic novel, McGuire wittily exposes his
characters' pretensions and frustrations ... very funny' -- Sunday Times
`Lucky Jim for the twenty-first century' -- The Times
`McGuire's comic timing is faultless' -- Observer
`McGuire's humour, eye for detail ... and agile prose lift this
way above the crowd'
-- Arena
From the Publisher
A stunning first novel to delight all fans of Jonathan Coe,
Matt Beaumont and David Lodge
Matt Beaumont and David Lodge
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this up almost at random from a library bookshelf, took it on holiday and it was passed around three friends, all of whom found it entertaining and, on occasion, laugh-out-loud funny. I wonder how close to the bone the book really is -the maxim 'write about what you know' seems to have been followed by the author. The pseudonyms for places in what can only be Manchester ('Coketown') are a little clunky at times, but on the whole, this book is worth a read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2.0 out of 5 stars
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fills in a rainy day
15 July 2012
By WilloWill
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I feel like I've read a lot of novels like this: modern, knowing, yet ultimately pointless. I guess this was supposed to be farce, but it's just not that funny. I didn't laugh once, and it's not that hard to make me laugh. The author is himself a professor of literature so I suppose he captures the academic world quite well, but the characters were two-dimensional and the story ridiculous. Although the book was readable - I read it fast and to the end - the writing contained nothing particularly original or breathtaking. The edition I read also needed a good (better?) sub-editor. The word 'minuscule' appeared twice as 'miniscule', and there was the odd sentence like this: "Morris was stunned by her disingenuous." (Bloomsbury edition, 2006, p. 311). Her disingenuous what?
If you're looking for comic (or tragic) novels about professors of literature, go straight to Phillip Roth and stay there.
If you're looking for comic (or tragic) novels about professors of literature, go straight to Phillip Roth and stay there.
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