Product Description

Philip Swallow, Morris Zapp, Persse McGarrigle and the lovely Angelica are the jet-propelled academics who are on the move, in the air, and on the make, in David Lodge’s satirical ‘Small World’. It is a world of glamorous travel and high excitement, where stuffy lecture rooms are swapped for lush corners of the globe, and romance is in the air… ‘A wonderful tissue of outrageous coincidences and correspondences, teasing elevations of suspense and delayed climaxes’ Observer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33425 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The unbridled greed, pettiness, buffoonery and intellectual gobbledegook in the world of higher scholarship are the topics of this thorough and thoroughly funny "roman à English department". It's interesting for a couple of reasons, aside from its humour and lampoonery: it's an insider's view of things--always the best kind--and it takes its old- fashioned time telling a story, complete with reasonable digressions about the state of literary criticism and what may or may not be a realistic view of the academic life.

About the Author
David Lodge has written many bestselling novels, including THINKS and NICE WORK. His books have sold well over a million copies in Penguin. Formerly Professor of English at Birmingham University, he now writes full-time. He continues to live in Birmingham.

Customer Reviews

A very human comedy. Shortlisted for the Booker 1984.
This is the second in David Lodge's trilogy of campus novels, set in the fictional city of Rummidge. When Small World was published in 1984 Davd Lodge was Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Birmingham University and Small World is evidently very loosely based upon, or at the least inspired by, the author's own academic experiences at the time as the City and University of Rummidge are clearly inspired by popular preconceptions and prejudices about Birmingham (both the City and the University).

Published in 1984 and shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984, Small World was also adapted for a Granada TV series in 1988; a series I haven't seen.

It's hilarious. A book which can be enjoyed on several levels is an art form of literature which David Lodge achieves with Small World. The satire of human nature and relationships, and the parody of the holy-grail-type romance quest can be enjoyed by any reader. A reader who has been a student at University (especially a campus-based one) will appreciate something more of the campus-life amusements of the novel. Anyone who has worked at a University, attended any kind of conference, or organised one, will get a lot of mileage out of this parody and dissection of the 'adult academic' and conference-attending world, and if you know something of English Literature critical theories you won't need to skim the many references to them and will thoroughly enjoy every aspect of the book. Yes, there are references to sexism, and chauvinism and many other '-isms' besides, but this a part of the book that plants it firmly in the early 80s, just as Dickens was very much a product of late-nineteenth-century Victorian realism. It's a book that is very much a product of its time, and yet in many ways is exceedingly relevant today. The characters are fun and funny, and if you've been to a University (especially an Arts department, dare I say it) you'll recognise many of them. There is sex in abundance, slapstick coincidental humour, academic infighting, intrigue, suspicion and idiocy, yet you will also come across some more poignant moments too.

There are so many excellent characters that it would be shame to mention them all. Far more fun to discover them for the first time within the pages of the novel. Loosely plotted, the book follows the fortunutes (and misfortunes) of young Irish scholar of English Literature and part-time poet, Persse McGarrigle, as he ventures away from his lecturing post (an obscure position at a new department of a largely agricultural college in Ireland) to a conference of Literature in Rummidge. Here his eyes are opened to a number of literary theories and academic intrigues and he meets for the first time the divine Angelica L. Prabst, a PhD student of supreme intellect and outstanding beauty, with whom of course Persse falls instantly and irrevocably in love, sparking off a series of adventures which lead Persse chasing his dreams half way around the globe. Many other characters cross paths again and again, with numerous themes doing likewise, but if you've read this far through my review it's enough to say, 'read the book, you won't be disappointed.' I've had the triology on my reading list for some years, and do now wish I'd picked them up sooner. I'm now looking forward to reading the prequel and sequel and hope they are just as funny and entertaining. An unreserved 5*s from me. Happy reading.

A classic
This is probably David Lodge's best novel, and probably the best-ever British academic satire (way better than either 'The History Man' or 'Lucky Jim').

A 'small world' itself, it packs an amazing amount of plot and incident and a huge cast of characters into a medium-length novel. It is a book that is still very funny after a number of readings.

My favourite subplot is the man with a conference paper to present, who just can't get past the first page, and his increasingly desperate attempts to complete it.

Other minor characters are hilarious, such as Fulvia Morgana, the seductive, decadent and improbably rich Italian Marxist professor. Or the Japanese translator struggling to understand a novel he is working on in Black Country dialect.

This is a novel so influential that I have seen it cited in two academic books for its satire of certain intellectual trends.

An excellent academic book
Small World is the second book in the Rummidge University trilogy. In this novel we re-meet Professor Philip Swallow and Professor Morris Zapp, both of whom are still getting up to their old antics (see "Changing Places").

From conference to conference, country to country, continent to continent, Persse McGarrigle devotedly woos the beautiful, and intelligent, Angelica Pabst. Yet her irregular flight patterns and love for lectures do as much good to Persse McGarrigle's bank balance as Mount Vesuvius did to the ancient inhabitants of Pompeii. In the same way her morals leave the young catholic in a state of Mortal Sin just thinking about them.

As the novel unfolds we are overwhelmed by the author's extensive knowledge, and find out more useless information than you would ever extract from a months viewing of National Geographic.

The story line of this book is so excellently portrayed, that just by reading the first page you will have been overcome with intrigue and mystery, and will not only want to read on, but will try to finish the chapter in one night. Which is practically impossible, as the first chapter of Small World is 57 pages long.

Thus, if you are looking for intense humour, sentimentality, and a good read, Small World is certain to tickle your taste buds (or at least prove a fascinating read).