Lucky Jim

I picked this up after seeing reviews comparing it to A Confederacy of Dunces and other reviews describing it as one of the “funniest novels of the 20th-century.” This was a really excellent and entertaining read. I liked it as much as A Confederacy of Dunces but it was nowhere near as hilarious. [b:A Confederacy of Dunces 310612 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562554946l/310612.SY75.jpg 968084] revolved around characters who were odious and absurd and the plot was pretty outlandish. As good as it was, it wasn't really believable. Lucky Jim feels populated with people you might know in real life.The title character, Jim, is someone I could understand even if he's not especially nice or honorable. He's misanthropic and insecure to the point it had me cringing. It works well as these traits play into each other. He doesn't like people because somehow they hurt your feelings. He doesn't see in yourself how he might hurt other people's feelings. He drinks too much, schemes and lies to save face, and tries to avoid any real work. Yet somehow he is the most human compared to the other characters, most of whom are bullying, manipulating, or using him in some way. On top of the heap is Professor Welch, the clueless department head. He has the future of Jim's employment as lecturer at the university in his power. Jim is jumping through hoops trying to stay on his good side. Then there's Welch's son, Bertrand, artistic poseur, who takes an instant dislike to Jim. The feeling is mutual and Jim shows some nerve in openly challenging and defying Bertrand. Living with the Welch family is Margaret, who is recovering from a suicide attempt. Using guilt as a weapon, (he was supposed to come to see her the night she swallowed the pills) she manipulates Jim into taking care of her companionship and emotional needs, even though they don't actually like each other. Jim manages to squeak out a little romance out of his circumstances with Christine, though it's not much of a love story to root for since he begins it in order to piss off her boyfriend Bertrand. He does show more honesty and candor in dealing with Christine, however. He also finds a new ally in the form of her uncle. “Lucky Jim” is an apt title since throughout the book, Jim's questionable behavior seems sure to find him unemployed, alone, possibly physically assaulted by the various people he crosses. He's far from a heroic character, but I found it oddly satisfying that he got the better of the smug and myopic Welch family.