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Rating: 
Summary: In response to Mike Stone's review
Review: "Nice Work", given the acclaim David Lodge's books have received, starts rather slowly. The first chapter lugs along without inspiration, tepidly cataloging the unremarkable events of an unremarkable man's morning routine. Vic Wilcox is a middle-class, managing director at a floundering casting and general engineering firm. He works hard, and has no time for the self-serving attitudes of university people, unwilling to get their hands dirty and help revive his England's precious economy. Vic has horrible musical tastes, favouring 1980s female yuppie soul singers (Sade, Jennifer Rush) in the privacy of his Jaguar. Rush's song 'The Power of Love' even provides a laughable soundtrack to a cringe-worthy love scene. This introduction is not very stimulating, and the prose and narrative techniques Lodge uses are rather amateurish. It turns out, though, that this was Lodge's intention, for he has other tricks up his sleeve.The second chapter makes it clear that Lodge, the author, is well aware of the rhetorical devices he's using, and of the expectations we have for the character(s) he's created. It begins with a nifty bit of self-referentiality, and regular readers of this space will know of my fondness for that device. Hopefully meta-fiction will save the day again. The chapter introduces Robyn Penrose, a feminist literary theorist, specializing in the industrial novel of the 19th century, who, and here's a great irony, has no practical knowledge of industry whatsoever. This is Lodge spitting in the face of his theory-minded colleagues (he spent 27 years teaching English at the University of Birmingham), stuck in their ivory towers, turning their noses up at the real world. Robyn, as opposed to Vic, is a beguiling creation. I thought she'd sustain her status as a humourless member of the intelligentsia throughout the novel, but she redeems herself about halfway through, with this startling realization: "You know, there are millions of people out there who haven't the slightest interest in what we do." She neatly articulates my longtime criticism of advanced academia: that it is incestual, masturbatory, and ill advised of the actual problems of the real world. Robyn manages to break through its outer veneer (thanks to her participation in the Shadow Scheme, a kind of exchange program between the university and the industrial community, in which she must follow Vic around while he does his job). Unfortunately, Lodge seems to be saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Witness a later exchange between Robyn and her brother Basil. When told that she's writing a book, he asks, "Does the world really need another book on nineteenth-century fiction?" To which she pompously replies, "I don't know, but it's going to get one." The more things change, the more they stay the same, I suppose. So how does the relationship between the seemingly disparate Robyn and Vic manifest itself? Well, it allows the novel to make a point of education's need to become more like industry in a Thatcherized England, but with comic results: One memo requests that all official university correspondences use acronyms when possible, in order to save paper. This leads to someone reacting to a line about the proposed Shadow Scheme ("The SS will advertise our willingness to inform ourselves about the needs of industry") by saying "Got his own stormtroopers, now, has he?" Lodge periodically shows a neat knack for bon mots like this. When they came up, I'd always wish he'd use them more. It might help to bring out the hidden satirical elements of the book, and in general they would entertain the reader. The characters' relationship also tries to make the point that maybe industry needs to become more like education, by accounting for its workers needs to be intellectually stimulated instead of giving them jobs that necessitate standing on a dirty, dark assembly line 8 hour a day. Although, the sight of Vic trying to digest the Brontes or Tennyson puts a pin in this utopic balloon rather quickly. Lodge's greatest success here is that he is able to write a kind of modern Industrial Novel, such as the ones Robyn Penrose is studying. The concerns of the post-post Industrial Age are delineated nicely, and he manages to throw in some entertaining hanky-panky for good measure. However, Lodge stumbles greatly with a howl-worthy ending that appears to have been written by another author entirely. It features scenes of amateurish exposition (one character neatly ties up his own loose ends with a timely letter), and deux es machina after deux es machina. I felt cheated, and a little frustrated, that an author of such skill and self-awareness as Lodge would so lazily end an otherwise fine novel. Am I missing something here? Are the final chapters meant to be ironic, poking fun at the shoddy plotting and melodrama of other books in the same vein? I'm willing to give Lodge some benefit of the doubt on that point, but not a lot. It's truly a pity, because he was on his way to a fine, if unspectacular book. As it stands, it only barely deserves its passing grade.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Work
Review: A young woman called Robyn Penrose, working as an lecturer at the University of Rummidge, gets involved in a project called Industrial Year Shadow Scheme. She is supposed to shadow Victor Wilcox, a managing director at Pringle's engineering company. Robyn is not enthusiastic about shadowing Mr. Wilcox, especially since she knows that nobody else wanted to do it, but finally she gives in. At the beginning she causes a lot of trouble with her anti-capitalistic and feministic point of view. The characters appear to be very stereotypical, two completely different worlds are meeting personified by Victor Wilcox and Robyn Penrose. Victor Wilcox on the one side is an industrious, hard-working managing director with a big Jaguar and a decaying family. Robyn Penrose on the other side is a woman who is well-read, has a socialistic leaning and fights for a better position of women in the society. Robyn has never been in the business world and says openly if she does not agree with something. At one time she causes a lot of trouble by telling a worker the he is supposed to be layed off, which she has heard in a confidential meeting. As a result the workers go on strike. A lot of negotiations follows. Finally the management has to make confessions to the workers concerning the working hours. Tension rises between Robyn and Mr. Wilcox, their relationship is characterized by amibivalent feelings. On the one hand there is mutal dislike but on the other hand also a certain interest in the other person. Finally Mr. Wilcox discovers that he is in love with Robyn because she is so entirely different from all the women he knows and brings some fresh air into his life. All he has from life is a lot of work, a depressed wife in her menopause and children in their puberty. He is seeking for a change.
David Lodge has written a fantastic novel full of subtle humour and intelligent dialogs. At the beginning of the novel the introduction of the charcters drags on for quite a long time, which should later be more than forgiven by the reader, as soon as the story gains drive. Then the reader is enchanted and captivated by the story and its fascinating characters. David Lodge has written a fantastic book, giving the reader a critical insight into Britains` working world in the eighties. He never leaves out on cynical or critical innuendos. He has created a book that is fun to read for everybody who is, or has been, earning money by working. That of course means this book is suitable for almost everyone.
I personally liked the book very much but I have to admitt in the retrospect that the beginning of this novel was dreary and tenacious. Fortunately the last three quarters of the novel really compensate for the beginning. I consider this book with its witty content and awesome story line worth reading. It is really fun as soon as you pass the first quarter of the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Up the Academy!
Review: After I finished grad school, a fellow student bought me this book as a going away gift. She had written on the frontispiece, "This book helps me keep perspective on how the rest of the world sees us academics." It was the first David Lodge book I read, but certainly not the last. Robyn Penrose, Ph.D. in English, has been assigned to shadow Vic Wilcox, factory manager in industrial Rummidge (a fictional version of the English city of Birmingham) for a semester. Of course Mr. Wilcox is going to learn something about feminist criticism; what you might not realize is how much Dr. Penrose will learn about English industry. David Lodge's familiar characters from his other novels, _Changing_Places_ and _Small_World_, are back here in supporting roles. But the real stars here are Robyn and Vic, two people who are very adversarial at first, only to become quite understanding of the other's point of view. Lodge's resolution of his plot seems a bit forced, but the writing is extremely intelligent: Lodge effortlessly provides humorous examples of the seemingly difficult literary theories that Robyn espouses. This book did more for my appreciation of critical theory than anything other text--and without the pain of reading Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, or Julia Kristeva. Anyone who's worked in academia will not only recognize the truth that is contained in this novel; (s)he will also recognize several of the people. Others might wish to start with _Small_World_, but _Nice_Work_ will let you know what you think of David Lodge in short order.
Rating: 
Summary: outdated
Review: I stayed up late reading this novel and thought it was a terrific read.
You may feel a bit taxed at first. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book starts slow, but then really picks up as the plot gets impossibly complicated. The ending is clearly a parody of the endings of deux-ex-machina Victorian novels. Perhaps this factoid will shed some light on Lodge's inspiration for the novel ... One of Lodge's favorite writers is Henry Green, who wrote one of the great factory novels of the 20th Century, Living. Green and Lodge both worked in Birmingham, and Lodge himself says the fictional town of Rummidge is located on the map exactly where Birmingham is. With the parodies of 19th Century novels, and this inspirational aspect of Living, there's a lot of referencing going on and I'm probably not the only reader who couldn't keep up. Where the book stumbles, that is, falls just this short of being an all-time classic, is Lodge's handling of the factory half of the novel. Part of the problem is Lodge handles the academic scenes with ease and authority, knowing exactly what's important and exactly what's not. Not so with the factory. Lodge's narrator comes across as a reporter, that is, not from lived experience (his filtering the factory through Robyn Penrose was perhaps necessary but tipped the balance of the book in favor of academia) and perhaps that's why the novel moves so slowly in the early going. Lodge didn't quite have the same level of confidence as he does with his rendering of academic life (or Green does with factory life), it seems to me. A second quibble seems the affair between the two main characters. The plot seems forced at times and the closure twenty times as forced ... but this criticism runs into the intertextuality issue I mentioned above. Perhaps I'm showing my own biases in this review ... I would've preferred to see the values of the business world set in equal play with the values of the academic world and seem where things ended up ... but Lodge may have had nothing of the sort in mind when he wrote the novel.
Rating:
Summary: NICE is a word you use when you have nothing else to say
Review: I was reluctant to read this book, but I let the reviews on the jacket and the prizes it won/nominated for influence my decision. Nice Work isn't a bad book, but it isn't a good book either. It is the story of a businessman and a Literature and Women's Studies professor who are thrown together due to a project that is part of Industry Year in Great Britain. It is the very cliche tale of two people who are different in just about every way who discover that they have things in common and can learn from each other. No offense, Mr. Lodge but how many times has this tired formula been used in books, films, etc. The problem with this book is that there is nothing distinguishing about it. It is rather generic. It isn't comical enough or enough of a true social commentary to have any sort of an impact on you. However, the saving grace of this book is that it is well paced. Despite the fact, that I found the writing and story banal, the author kept it moving along and kept me reading until the conclusion. The conclusion is the most unfortunate part of the book. Without divulging it, beware that the conclusion is contrived and from the school of happy endings. I believe that with a more original story Mr. Lodge has the talent to produce a good novel and will probably try another one of his books. I recommend that you don't read this one.
Rating:
Summary: NICE is a word you use when you have nothing else to say
Review: I was reluctant to read this book, but I let the reviews on the jacket and the prizes it won/nominated for influence my decision. Nice Work isn't a bad book, but it isn't a good book either. It is the story of a businessman and a Literature and Women's Studies professor who are thrown together due to a project that is part of Industry Year in Great Britain. It is the very cliche tale of two people who are different in just about every way who discover that they have things in common and can learn from each other. No offense, Mr. Lodge but how many times has this tired formula been used in books, films, etc. The problem with this book is that there is nothing distinguishing about it. It is rather generic. It isn't comical enough or enough of a true social commentary to have any sort of an impact on you. However, the saving grace of this book is that it is well paced. Despite the fact, that I found the writing and story banal, the author kept it moving along and kept me reading until the conclusion. The conclusion is the most unfortunate part of the book. Without divulging it, beware that the conclusion is contrived and from the school of happy endings. I believe that with a more original story Mr. Lodge has the talent to produce a good novel and will probably try another one of his books. I recommend that you don't read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Work Indeed, David Lodge
Review: Lodge presents to his readers an intelligent and humorous novel set in an early 1980's Great Britain adjusting to, if not reeling from, the era's Thatcherite reforms. The book's two main protagonists are Vic Wilcox, a business-minded plant manager in the fictional industrial town of Rummidge, and Dr. Robyn Penrose, a college lecturer and feminist deconstructionist at the local liberal arts college. The characters are opposites in each and every aspect of their lives: from family of origin, to type of education, to goals, priorites, tastes in food, pets, and even automobiles. Lodge takes great pains to trace their divergent paths and preferences until the two seridipitously meet through a government plan to bring together academics, who see little use for the polluting and exploiting industrialists, and the business leaders, who conversely see little need for the ivory-tower-produce-nothing-really-useful academics. With smart humor and delicious tension the author weaves a delightful story as Vic and Robyn spar over ideological differences as well as personal preferences. But eventually the government plan's goal is achieved as they both begin to acknowledge and understand the other's point of view. Without spoiling the novel for you, late in the story there are some unexpected plot twists as well as an interesting resolution and conclusion. Definitely a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Work Indeed, David Lodge
Review: Lodge presents to his readers an intelligent and humorous novel set in an early 1980's Great Britain adjusting to, if not reeling from, the era's Thatcherite reforms. The book's two main protagonists are Vic Wilcox, a business-minded plant manager in the fictional industrial town of Rummidge, and Dr. Robyn Penrose, a college lecturer and feminist deconstructionist at the local liberal arts college. The characters are opposites in each and every aspect of their lives: from family of origin, to type of education, to goals, priorites, tastes in food, pets, and even automobiles. Lodge takes great pains to trace their divergent paths and preferences until the two seridipitously meet through a government plan to bring together academics, who see little use for the polluting and exploiting industrialists, and the business leaders, who conversely see little need for the ivory-tower-produce-nothing-really-useful academics. With smart humor and delicious tension the author weaves a delightful story as Vic and Robyn spar over ideological differences as well as personal preferences. But eventually the government plan's goal is achieved as they both begin to acknowledge and understand the other's point of view. Without spoiling the novel for you, late in the story there are some unexpected plot twists as well as an interesting resolution and conclusion. Definitely a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book
Review: OK, we all know David Lodge is a very witty man, and his hilarious creations in "Changing Places" and "Small World" are some of his most famous. Well, here they are, back again, in another Rummidge Campus novel--this time the main characters are Dr. Robyn Penrose and local plant manager Vic Wilcox (with special cameos by Philip Swallow, Hilary Swallow, Morris Zapp and even a mention of Desiree, of course). They meet up when Robyn is chosen to 'shadow' Vic on an Industry Matters type scheme. Their opposing view points grate off each other for the first hundred or so pages--but halfway through the novel we get hints of something very special beginning to flower. It's not as funny or as well-plotted as "Changing Places" or "Therapy", his two greats, but then again that's hardly much of a condemnation. The man's only mortal, after all---and this novel, while not his best, is still a brilliant read and an essential conclusion to the Rummidge Campus trilogy. Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Nice Work
Review: The novel "Nice Work" by David Lodge tells the story of two protagonists.
One is Mr. Vic(tor) Wilcox, the other one is Dr. Robyn Penrose. At first the novel starts by following two main paths: Wilcox' life and Penrose's life. Because of the "In-dustry Year Shadow Scheme", their paths cross and the novel tells the story of Vic and Robyn together. Later it changes again, to how it was before, meaning that two different stories are told but with the difference that the persons' thoughts and actions are (from time to time) related to the knowledge of the other person. In my opinion, David Lodge has had a very interesting idea. He presents two different characters. One is a rational thinking businessman, the other an emotional thinking, feminist lecturer. Especially the beginning of the novel seems a bit strange and bor-ing because Lodge takes about hundred pages to introduce the characters. He does that in great detail, which in the end is important, because you can understand the characters much better. However, because of missing action the first part is rather not so good. It would have been better, if Lodge had let the characters describe themselves through actions and thoughts, rather than describing them from the per-spective of an omniscient narrator. However the advantage of the more boring way is that you can concentrate on the very details. You are not distracted by some actions. I think that is why the author chose it the way he did. The following part I like better than the first one. It is interesting to see the develop-ment of the characters when it comes to the stage of the Shadow Scheme.
Robyn, who used to be interested in studies and literature, only starts to get increas-ingly interested in economy and competition. She offers some good ideas and seems like a competent person who is willing to learn something from Vic. She acts in a very clever way (e.g. in Frankfurt in the Restaurant). The same changes, only vice versa, l apply to Vic. He distances himself a bit from the idea that economy and work is everything in life. He starts to read novels and he of-fers good ideas, too (e.g. in the tutorial). Although he has never really read novels before he enjoys it.
I really liked to see, characters undergo certain changes. Robyn makes changes to-wards a rational way of thinking and Vic to an emotional one. An interesting matter, which should be mentioned as well, is the relation(ship) between him and Robyn. It is interesting that Robyn attracts Vic but he does not attract her. While reading the book and especially the scene in the Frankfurt hotel room, you think that there might be the possibility that something would happen between Vic and Robyn. I, for example, thought that Robyn would start to love Vic (especially after Charles "broke of" with her) and that Vic would get divorced. Probably that is what Lodge intended to do. He wants to show how quickly things can change again. Namely, in the end, Charles comes back to Robyn and Vic realises that Marjorie still loves him and that he loves her. Until you read the last sentence, you think that Robyn will leave Rummidge in order to go to America and work for Professor Zapp. However, she decides not to when she hears that the Rummidge University can afford her as a lecturer.
Steadfastness is another thing Lodge implies. Vic stands by his family and Robyn by her university.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book except the boring beginning. It was very interest-ing and it would be good if there was a film to compare it to.
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