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Book Review of Changing Places

Changing Places
Changing Places
Author: David Lodge
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
alleigh avatar reviewed on + 15 more book reviews


David Lodges Changing Places is a boring 250-page exercise in navel-gazing. The book tries to take a humorous look at life in academia, but instead it is a pretentious and pompous. Additionally, while it is not his fault, the book is very dated. Originally written in 1975, it has references to women flying to England for abortions because they are illegal in the United States, to the change in music that has the younger generation gyrating on the dance floor, and to the sexual revolution and its overindulgences in partner-swapping and drug use.

The unfortunate aspect of Changing Places being an uninteresting read is that the writing style is unique and beautiful. There is no question as to why people what to read David Lodge from a purely rhetorical standpoint, as his prose have almost a poetic feel and his descriptions are vivid and realistic.