Since it deals with loss - of hearing, of professional purposefulness and of a parent - this might seem likely to be a spirit-lowering read. In fact, Lodge's satiric flair, acute perceptions and keen involvement with his characters make it exhilaratingly entertaining and thought-provoking. /Sunday Times When the university merged his Department of Linguistics with English, Professor Desmond Bates took early retirement, but he is not enjoying it. He misses the purposeful routine of the academic year, and has lost his appetite for research. His wife Winifred's late-flowering career goes from strength to strength, reducing his role to that of escort and househusband, while the rejuvenation of her appearance makes him uneasily conscious of the age gap between them. The monotony of his days is relieved only by wearisome journeys to London to check on the welfare of his eighty-nine-year-old...
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2009-05-15
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Dråpligt komisk som Lodge alltid varit. Rörande och sorgsen som Lodge alltmer blivit. En pensionerad brittisk lingvistikprofessor brottas med tilltagande dövhet, framgångsrik fru, psycho doktorandtjej, gaggig farsa och är allmänt grumpy över världen. Oerhört witty och vitsigt skrivet (som alltid). Möjligen inte så dramaturgiskt rafflande som när Lodge var som vassast (small world), men ljuvlig läsning i alla fall. Och Philip Larkin dyker upp redan på de första sidorna och finns sedan med, då går det aldrig fel.
