Oh how sad. David Lodge has died.

[MorrisZapp]

He gave me my name! The original and best campus novel writer. Vic Wilcox in Nice Work is my all time favourite fictional character, though Robyn Penrose gets points for scratching her backside through a long cotton nighty.

He was 89. Nice work Mr Lodge, and thank you.

He has three children, one of whom has Down's syndrome. He wrote very movingly about all his children in his autobiography. It will be hard for all the children to lose their father but perhaps particularly Christopher.

I devoured his books back in the 80s and 90s. I’ve never reread them for fear that that they might disappoint.
a very talented writer

Oh I loved his work too! Rest in peace

aw. I always loved that Small World was set in the University of Limerick at a time when there was no such place, but now there is. And the observation in Nice Work of the new phenomenon of houses with more bathrooms than bedrooms - which was typical of the tiny detailed observations around both character and the world in general that made his books so true and so funny..

I did a re-read marathon a few years ago, but will surely do a selective return soon.

Perpetual light shine upon him, may he rest in peace.

I still play the "When We Are In Power" game from The British Museum Is Falling Down. A LOT.

I absolutely loved his novels. He was a rare talent, his work was intellectual but readable and never ever pretentious.

Have all of his novels, great writer. RIP.

I wish he could have read this and know how interesting, informative and funny many of us (not just the lit.crits) found him.

Small World was part of the wide reading list (i.e. the one beyond just the texts themselves) for the Medieval Romances & Ballads paper that I did for my finals at Cambridge (along with Monty Python & the Holy Grail)!

I always loved that Small World was set in the University of Limerick at a time when there was no such place, but now there is.

Didn't he have a university of Gloucestershire before it existed too, or was that someone else?

Thanks you so much for this thread @MorrisZapp It’s nice to read about how many other people loved David Lodge as much as I did. I think I also need to dig out the campus novels for a re-read. When I went to Waikiki a few years ago I couldn’t help but think of changing places

(I definitely need to re-read, have just remembered Paradise News is the one in Hawaii not Changing Places 🤦‍♀️)

I forgot Persse McGarrigle was at UL before it existed!

I read the lit crit and the early novels side by side when I was at university.

A favourite writer and thinker ever since

@SqueakyDinosaur what an excellent course leader!

Yes, there were definitely quirks in the syllabus and exam setting - in the same year, you had to do a Tragedy paper and one of the essay questions quoted the Bee Gees song and asked you to assess at least 3 tragedies with reference to it!

I love Deaf Sentence. So brilliantly written.

Such a brilliant explanation of so many concepts around deafness. The Lombard Effect, where in a loud room people speak more loudly to be heard. Deafness as comedy versus blindness as tragedy - 'damn your eyes'. And a pretty good explanation of the Birmingham canal system. And Center Parcs 🤣

Oh I had forgotten Center Parks and the solid earwax and not being able to find his glasses. 😂😂😂 The puns too - Deaf Row, Deaf is not the End etc.