Nice Work by David Lodge

The thing I liked about the book was how it was composed. The first chapter tells us about Vic and what kind of person he is and how he lives. Then the author continue with the story about Robyn, how she lives a complicated life with Charles and her work at the university. In the second part of the book, Robyn and Vic lives come together; she started as a shadow at his work and the troubles begins…

In the second part of the book, I really saw the opposite of the characters. Robyn, as a modern woman with new and feminine ideas and Vic, as a conservative man that only wanted to earn money. I think that Vic truly express himself when he says “Won’t pay the rent, will they – ideas, feelings?” (s. 115). In this part are Vic and Robyn talking about boys that study feminine literature instead of mechanical engineering that Vic thinks is much more appropriate subject for boys. I get the feeling that he thinks that boys should work with in the industries and earn a lot of money not study literature and other philosophies.

These two characters struggle with each other about their different thoughts and I think that this book do not really shows how different times where at the time it was written, 1989, because sometimes I can feel that it is the same today. A young man or woman with new ideas, steps in to a new office with elder people. It can be the same here, when some thinks that they should keep the old working way when other have new ideas about it and they want to do some changes. Sometimes changes can be good for a company. How would it if no one did any changes??

Since we only had to read to page 150 in the book (nothing stopped us to continue but..) I wonder how it ends. When I first started to read I had my ideas, of course these two people are going to met each other but how? I voted for a romantic story that he would see her on the streets or they would meet at the supermarket. But know when I know how they met each other I think the story will end with Vic waving goodbye to her when she leaves his factory for the last time. Probably she has changing him and his way of thinking and I hope she also had some new thoughts and ideas of her own. Robyn never had been to a factory before so now she knows how it is like to work in one and I think she did a nice work.