Jill (edition 1976)

An unusual campus novel by Philip Larkin, the famous poet from Hull. I never knew he wrote fiction, but this makes me wish he had written more novels. Jill leaves you waiting and wondering about the identity of its eponymous character for most of the first half of the book. Larkin has a superb eye, discerning the experiences of an inexperienced fresher from a lower middle class provincial family at Oxford University. We are left to contemplate the different meaning and impact of higher education for the various class strata of England society. This is a very worthwhile short read. ( )

Strange book of extremes of class and character, north and south, interweaved with fantasy that becomes reality, not particularly enjoyable, but had to finish it ( )