The British Museum is Falling Down is a brilliant comic satire of academia, religion and human entanglements. First published in 1965, it tells the story of hapless, scooter-riding young research student Adam Appleby, who is trying to write his thesis but is constantly distracted — not least by the fact that, as Catholics in the late 1960s, he and his wife must rely on ‘Vatican roulette’ to avoid a fourth child.
The British Museum Is Falling Down
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David Lodge's novels include Changing Places, Small World, Nice Work, Thinks..., Author, Author and, most recently, A Man of Parts. He has also written stage plays and screenplays, and several books of literary criticism, including The Art of Fiction, Consciousness and the Novel and The Year of Henry James.
About the Author
David Lodge is the author of ten previous novels, a trilogy of plays and a novella. He has also written stage plays screenplays and numerous works of literary criticism. His books have been translated into twenty-five languages. He is Honorary Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Birmingham, where he taught for many years, and lives in that city. David Lodge’s books have sold over 2.5 million copies.
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Format:Paperback
Relatively early Lodge (1965 - his third book), and more driven by form than insight. While he's still working with a persona he's familiar with - a young Catholic academic - the book is less honest and quasi-autobiographical than usual (although he clearly understands the procrastinating nature of the student too well). Rather it's a deliberate, often quite broad, comic piece and while he's better at it than many others I don't think humour is his strongest asset. Perhaps the book was something of a way of working on his skills, and as such a lot of the situations felt contrived (of course all the situations in novels are contrived, but the best ones don't usually feel that way). Indeed, as he notes in his interesting afterword (it's nice when later editions include some 'DVD' type extras), there are no less than ten passages of deliberate and at times extended parody of the styles of famous novelists such as Conrad, James and Hemmingway, and half the trick is making the story work while playing with these forms. Alas, with only the gnostic secrets of a dimly remembered B.A. in Lit. at Macquarie Uni at hand, these in-jokes went right by me; a more literate reader could enjoy the book a lot more I dare say.
Thematically much is made of the issue of birth control and Catholicism, an issue he explored more effectively in How Far Can You Go? Lodge tragic-comically presents the picture of couples torturing themselves with the absurd (and ineffective) complexities of things like the 'safe' and 'rhythm' methods, when assumed by Lodge (as implied in the text and stated in the afterword) the only possible alleviation of this awful state is contraception: the Catholic church is simply cruel and wrong to deny this.
Thematically much is made of the issue of birth control and Catholicism, an issue he explored more effectively in How Far Can You Go? Lodge tragic-comically presents the picture of couples torturing themselves with the absurd (and ineffective) complexities of things like the 'safe' and 'rhythm' methods, when assumed by Lodge (as implied in the text and stated in the afterword) the only possible alleviation of this awful state is contraception: the Catholic church is simply cruel and wrong to deny this.
Admittedly he does give a good alternative line to a Catholic priest: "Practise some self control: I do," but even this paints the picture of the devout catholic couple having to undergo great sacrifice and suffering ... as if there are no other means (perhaps even preferable ones for the woman) of achieving sexual pleasure than intercourse. The naivety surprises me, but I suppose sex was so little talked about in the fifties that a lot of 'nice' people did assume that sex meant merely the 'act' (part of me feels sure, however, that a lot of people in pre-pill times would have been better at finding ways of 'safe-sex' than today's condom-culture knows). Conversational mores have changed - previously the bible was something social pressure pushed you to make time for, discuss and pursue, but sex was embarrassing to talk about, something of a faux pas, and characterised by much ignorance: now the roles are reversed. Whatever, I can't feel the degree of sympathy Lodge wants to evoke given the knowledge that it's not an either/or of celibacy or conception, of contraception or rare and fearfully anxious sex.
Moreover he doesn't begin to address the uncomfortable notion that just maybe the catholic church does have a case: that it would be no bad thing if society felt that if you weren't prepared to potentially raise a(nother) child you shouldn't be having intercourse; that sex should be treated with a lot more reverence and respect. The denial of consequence in sex is immediately convenient, but hardly morally courageous, or even intellectually admissible. I'm not saying a case can't be made for contraception, I'm just saying that Lodge doesn't seem to acknowledge that some intelligent and sincere people have made a reasonable case against it. Clearly in the last generation there's been a massive increase in casual sex due to the easy acceptance of contraception: whether or not this is a GOOD thing, either morally or even in terms of the ultimate felicity of the individuals involved, is hardly a closed question.
Format:Paperback
David Lodge is a favorite author of mine, and his other three immensely entertaining and funny novels are Paradise News, Therapy, and Small World.
Lodge is a craftsman, and it is sheer pleasure to read his sentences. His knowledge of and facility with Anglo-Catholicism is unique, especially since he can turn it into laugh-out-loud comedy. His characters are well developed and garner your sympathy, and he leaves you with a rare sense of our humanity and shared irony. Again, he is a craftsman, and his writing is superb. This novel is short and especially funny. Don't miss it!
Format:Paperback
David Lodge is a favorite author of mine, and his other two immensely entertaining and funny novels are Paradise News and Small World.
Lodge is a craftsman, and it is sheer pleasure to read his sentences. His knowledge of and facility with Anglo-Catholicism is unique, especially since he can turn it into laugh-out-loud comedy. His characters are well developed and garner your sympathy, and he leaves you with a rare sense of our humanity and shared irony. Again, he is a craftsman, and his writing is superb. This novel is short and especially funny. Don't miss it!
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun comedy of an Anglo-Catholic academic and birth control
_The British Museum is Falling Down_, published in 1965, is the book in which David Lodge seems to have found his metier -- the comic novel. Read more
Published on Jan 1 2003 by Richard R. Horton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good "historical" reading for Lodge fans
This is Lodge's third novel and first comedy, written while he was a young lecturer on a fellowship in the U.S. Read more
Published on Oct 22 2001 by Michael K. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank God for the Pill
Adam Appleby's day of feared pregnancy will bring a smile to the face of any reader who is old enough, or Catholic enough to remember what life before contraception was like. Read more
Published on Dec 4 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real reading adventure!
You will enjoy reading Lodge's British Museum even more after you have spent an afternoon in its Reading Room. The novel is witty, funny and highly critical of Catholicism. Read more
Published on Oct 3 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yes its funny but not too much
In the back cover, the publisher promoted this book as incredibly funny. Being familiar with some humor writers such as Tom Sharpe, I thought that that he fell on the same... Read more
Published on Aug 28 2000 by Juan Carlos Uribe
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best books I have ever read!
Adam Appleby feels the terrible Catholic anxiety of another unwished pregnancy. Throughout an entire day of mirabulant, fascinating experiences one discovers how David Lodge... Read more
Published on July 20 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious; wonderful diversion from academic work
This short novel is a great way to relieve the anxiety of academic work. I recommend that all academics and students read it about once a year to keep sane. Read more
Published on July 7 1998 by Richard Briggs (atxrsb@brn9.reg.nottingham.ac.uk)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flustered student attempts to focus
Frazzled, brainy, and distractable doctoral candidate Adam Appleby spends a day (among many) in the Reading Room of the British Museum. His wife is home with their young children. Read more
Published on April 27 1998 by Eileen Galen
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