mple, are funny, but in more subtle ways that usually require an appreciation for nuanced dialogue. One of AmisÆs greatest skills as a writer lies in his ability to let us see the inane in the regular. He has the ability to distance himself from characters enough to get an accurate assessment of their follies but never get so distant from them that he loses an appreciation for their humanity.
Lucky Jim captures the sense that many college students have felt at realizing that a faculty member is about to start on a long tirade about his favorite topic and go prattling on interminably. The book also gets to the core of why self-important bores (whether from inside the academy or outside it) are so awfully loathsome.
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