Steve's Reviews > Lucky Jim

Despite the title, you don’t start out thinking of Jim Dixon as particularly lucky. He was low man on the totem pole at a provincial English university where the one on top, Professor Welch, was a quirky twit of a man —- absent-minded and egocentric with an excess of class prerogative. Jim was not so lucky in love either. The woman he was with, a fellow academic, plied whatever feminine wiles were available to one with a rather plain appearance. Christine, the more striking young lady Jim met and liked, was spoken for by Professor Welch’s son, a pretentious snob and complete lout. Jim himself was not dashing, he lacked ambition, and he had a penchant for the bottle that could get him in trouble. He was likable, though. Amis blessed him with a keen, sardonic wit and an ability to see through the BS. Jim would be a great model for a Judd Apatow movie: the slacker with a brain trying to get what he wants without stepping on any but the most deserving toes. I suspect most readers, like me, end up wanting to see the residue of Jim’s designs pay off.

The book was funny and well-written, but was also good for showing a different slice of life. It was published in 1954, an era when protocols were more proper and snide remarks were often just unspoken asides. At the same time, a certain political incorrectness seemed de rigueur, especially regarding women. This was also a period when the English equivalent to the G.I. Bill was in place and Amis knew from his own experiences as a university lecturer that cultural dynamics were changing. Lucky Jim was viewed as a victory for the common man. The snobatorium, with all its stultifying disdain for the masses, was given a right good comeuppance.