Lucky Jim
Amis’s debut novel, published in 1954, is a satire on academia. The protagonist is a bored and disinterested history lecturer at a provincial university, trapped in a joyless and sexless relationship with a depressive fellow lecturer. The book immediately elevated Amis to fame as one of the leading writers of his generation.
Stats for nerds
5recommend
9mentions
6people
2009–2025years
78% recommend22% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- In this vein of work, I also heartily recommend Kingsley Amis' "Lucky Jim" (1954), which arguably began the "campus novel" genre.
- I first encountered his novel "Small World" in graduate school, and immediately became a fan. (It was on the reading list for one of my girlfriend's courses.) Along with other novels like "Lucky Jim" and "Straight Man" (and the other two novels in Lodge's campus trilogy), it was a hilarious look at campus life. He will be missed.
- Just thinking of that. I keep a copy of Hitch's "Love, Poverty, and War" as a bathroom reader, and although I don't recall the specific section, it was through their friendship that I was introduced to Martin's father's works.
The glue binding my copy of Lucky Jim dissolved in the back windshield of my car one summer, and I remember chasing the pages at the Indian mounds where I'd go after school to read.
I'll have to give Time's Arrow another read.
- You probably know this but for others, Lucky Jim was written by his father Kingsley Amis, who was also a popular author in his time. Reading Martin’s memoir about his relationship with his dad is pretty good.
- see my nick, but in addition to stephenson, the books i come back to over and over again for comfort and wisdom include:
- Lord of the Rings: The other bible. Not even the very wise can see all ends; be of good cheer.
- A Wrinkle In Time: 9 year old me, there is such a thing as a tesseract, and there is also Mrs. Beast.
- The Master and Margarita: apocalyptic reading from someone who knew, and a cat who always pays his way.
- the Discworld series: Sir Terry knew our hearts better than most, and sin, young feller, is treatin’ people as things.
- If On A Winter’s Night, A Traveler: a perfect joke that you can tell once, plus a love story.
- Good Omens: Gaiman and Pratchett team up, what’s not to love?
- Moby Dick: And so the universal thump is passed round, and all hands should rub each other’s shoulder-blades, and be content.
- Lucky Jim: grad school, a survival guide. Come in on the fa la la las, there’s a good chap.
This doesn’t include poetry, which is also in my head constantly.
- Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis is the only book I've ever read that actually made me laugh out loud. I'm told Catch 22 is like that, but I haven't read it.
