Nice Work. David Lodge

The economic crisis is changing the rules of the game in Great Britain: the state is trying to bring academia closer to industry. As part of this initiative, Robin Penrose, a researcher of English literature and feminist theory, finds herself at a machine-building factory that is slowly falling into disrepair, despite the efforts of its persistent manager, Vic Wilcox. Robin is a convinced intellectual, Vic is a practical engineer. Their worlds have almost no common ground, but they are forced to collide. Is understanding between academic theory and industrial reality possible?