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Lucky Jim Audiobook
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(3.00) - 8,866 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A hilarious satire about college life and high-class manners, this is a classic of postwar English literature.
Regarded by many as the finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century, Lucky Jim remains as trenchant, withering, and eloquently misanthropic as when it first scandalized readers in 1954.
This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that “there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones.” Kingsley Amis’s scabrous debut leads the reader through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics with whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy.
More than just a merciless satire of cloistered college life and stuffy postwar manners, Lucky Jim is an attack on the forces of boredom and a work of art that at once distills and extends an entire tradition of English comic writing, from Fielding and Dickens through Wodehouse and Waugh.
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"Amis' characters shone brilliantly in this comic tale, although to describe it as comic could do the novel a large disservice as it does contain some emotionally well thought out moments. The characters definitely drive what is a fairly simple plot, even the bit part players such as Michie (Jim's frustratingly keen student) are brilliantly captured. Jim as the protagonist can make you want to tear your hair out as he bounds with hapless abandon into another display of buffoonery, but despite his idiocy you feel a sense of kinship for him as he finds himself at the mercy of the bureaucratic and intensely boring Mr Welch his egotistical son, and the hysterical presence of Margaret Definitely worth a read."
— Springheelednic (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Kingsley Amis’s 1954 book is, despite its unreconstructed attitude toward women, one of the funniest novels ever written…Narrator James Lailey delivers the story with brio, never overplaying the comedy but conveying the mood and mien of the characters as they appear to Jim, foremost among them being the frightful Welch.”
— Washington Post (audio review) -
“Contains some of the finest comic set pieces in the language.”
— The Observer (London) -
“Lucky Jim is as fresh and surprising today as it was in 1954.”
— Washington Post -
“If you can picture Bertie or Jeeves being capable of actual malice and simultaneously imagine Evelyn Waugh forgetting about original sin, you have the combination of innocence and experience that makes this short romp so imperishable.”
— Christopher Hitchens, New York Times bestselling author
Awards
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A Washington Post Pick of Summer's Best Audiobooks
Lucky Jim Listener Reviews
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" great "
— dd, 5/15/2016 -
" I can't find enough superlatives for Paul Shelley's reading of the classic. I loved it before, I adore it now I've heard this. Without a doubt one of the very best readings of any book I have listened to. What a terrific actor, with great comic timing. Particularly liked his take on the neurotic Margaret Peel and the abominable Professor Welch. Have this on tape, but would love it on CD "
— GARANCE, 1/8/2016 -
" Liked it - very funny in a grumpy sort of way. "
— Catherine, 2/14/2014 -
" Lucky Jim was so funny! I couldn't believe all the predicaments that he got into. The writing style seemed to match the subject matter--a British university community. Jim Dixon was smart and funny! "
— Kam, 2/11/2014 -
" I've never liked Kingsley Amis, and gave up reading him years ago. "
— Alison, 1/30/2014 -
" Funniest novel ever. "
— Jorn, 1/28/2014 -
" Contains the funniest description of a hangover that I have ever read. "
— Antoine, 1/21/2014 -
" The classic comic novel of a lowly English professor and his not so lucky love life and not so lucky professional life. "
— B, 1/13/2014 -
" It straddled the border (that I never knew existed) between light-heartedness and sarcasm. I recommend it to anyone exasperated with academic life or life in general. Very funny but I wanted more from the conclusion. "
— Heather, 1/12/2014 -
" Funny! Loved it. They said it's in the style of Evelyn Waugh, so now I am reading Waugh's "Decline and Fall." "
— Melissa, 1/4/2014 -
" You must read this book if you can find it. "
— Nattroop, 12/22/2013 -
" This was actually quite fun. And funny. The final climax of Dixon rushing to meet Christine was great. XD Also? Quite snarky at times. I approve. "
— Gilly, 12/6/2013 -
" Funniest story ever! About a man bent on destroying himself "
— Nathaniel, 12/3/2013 -
" I love british sense of humor. "
— Hana, 12/1/2013 -
" Old-school funny. "
— Crystal, 11/30/2013 -
" Martin "
— Dan, 8/16/2013 -
" I thought this book was ok. I kept waiting for the funny parts. I did find them but they were few and far between. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was involved in academia. I am glad I read this story but I would not read it again. "
— Colleen, 8/1/2013 -
" One of the books I liked but not as much as everyone else. "
— Jan, 4/5/2013 -
" I think I read an abridged version of the book but I really enjoyed its British wit and the silly little tale of this little closed-off utterly bizarre world of 1960s English academia. I think I'd read it again if I found an extended version. "
— Camille, 3/6/2013 -
" If you have ever worked in academia, this book will heal you. Either that, or it will enrage you because it's all so true... "
— Nicole, 1/11/2013 -
" There must be something wrong with me - I just don't find this as funny as everyone else does. Don't be put off by my idiocy though. Everyone with good taste likes it. "
— Colin, 11/5/2012 -
" Amis' writing is so comically alive. Unbelievable. "
— Dave, 9/16/2012 -
" "The one indispensable answer to an environment bristling with people and things one thought were bad was to gone on finding new ways in which one could think they were bad." "
— Jan, 8/20/2012 -
" Best description of a hangover ever. I would reiterate it here but I returned the book to my beloved and most brilliant friend Celeste who loaned it to me. Also excellent descriptions of facial expressions meant to portray emotions that have no room to be in the world otherwise. "
— Masha, 7/9/2012 -
" Another I can't beleive I missed from NU days. Knigsley Amis is a bloody genius and this is about the funniest book you'll ever read. "
— Jpaflas, 6/13/2012 -
" A wonderful, hilarious novel of a university instructor, Jim Dixon, and his antics at a small college in England. Jim is quite a character and in his quest to stay in the periphery, really muddles things up! I truely enjoyed this book and can't wait to pick it back up someday! "
— Dawn, 5/1/2012 -
" I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book. I can't really say there was anything all that spectacular about it, but it was a pleasant read. "
— Barbz, 12/25/2011 -
" I will save my thoughts for book club! "
— Louise, 10/23/2011 -
" Wonderful view into twisted English academia and a main character devoid of conscious. "
— Michael, 5/13/2011 -
" Amis has a great sense of humor. "
— Heyheybrett, 5/5/2011 -
" Laughed out loud reading this book. Although it was not until I was 75% of the way through that I wanted to pick it up and carry on reading for the books sake, rather than just because it was for bookclub. "
— Lisa, 4/24/2011 -
" It's a shame that the only Kingsley Amis book I ever see on the shelf at the bookstore is Lucky Jim, because, after reading it, I want to read a whole lot more. Oh, Amazon, thank goodness you're there. "
— Thomas, 4/9/2011 -
" A few very funny bits but I can't see what all the fuss (flawless comic novel?) is about - maybe you have to have been there in the 50's to appreciate it? <br/> "
— Pete, 4/3/2011 -
" Fantastic read - sad that this gem has fallen out of the known world of "classics". <br/> <br/>I read most of this on an airplane and there were a couple of scenes that I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud.... "
— Brian, 4/2/2011 -
" I have read this book so many times, and each time it makes me laugh and laugh. Jim's horrible experiences as would-be academic would have to resonate with anyone who's ever had a job and/or boss he or she loathes. "
— Deedee374, 3/29/2011 -
" Fabulous dry British humor. Masterful writing full of intelligent whimsy. "
— Marin, 3/24/2011 -
" This is one of the books I love to re-read. It's hilarious. <br/> "
— Melissa, 3/20/2011 -
" great style and dry humor "
— matejcik, 3/18/2011 -
" i just hated the main character which can REALLY spoil a book "
— Colleen, 3/4/2011 -
" Really enjoyed this book - a look at the changing times of the 1960's within the old uni's and the new red brick uni's. Also very funny "
— Catherine, 3/2/2011
About Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) was a popular and prolific British novelist, poet, satirist, and critic. Lucky Jim, his first novel, appeared in 1954 to great acclaim and won a Somerset Maugham Award. Ultimately he published twenty-four novels, including science fiction and a James Bond sequel; more than a dozen collections of poetry, short stories, and literary criticism; restaurant reviews and three books about drinking; political pamphlets and a memoir; and more. He received the Booker Prize for his novel The Old Devils in 1986 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.