Rating: 
Summary: One of the funniest and most charming books. . .
Review: . . . that I've read in a long time. Anyone who is in any kind of therapy (and I include aroma-, physical-, and psycho- in that list) should enjoy this clever novel and the endearing narrator
Rating: 
Summary: Something to look forward to
Review: As an American female twenty something, why would I want to read about a British middle aged male? The answer is because from Tubby's perspective I can see how the middle of one's life is only the beginning. David Lodge has created a hysterical novel. Yet his in-depth look at what happens when one's life falls apart demonstrates how enjoyable it can be to pick up the pieces.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wry Look At A Midlife Crisis
Review: August 25th. Picked up this novel about a fiftyish writer (male) of a popular British sitcom going through a midlife crisis because I can identify a bit with someone that age, because I am curious about what being a sitcom writer is all about, and because I am keen to compare midlife crises. And because I've been to London where much of this book is set and liked the city.
August 28th. Hmmm, Lodge's book is described as a comedy (syn. "laughable"), but I haven't had even a chuckle yet. I'd rather describe his writing here as wry. Better look that up in the dictionary. Let's see, "wry: cleverly and often ironically or grimly humerous". Yes, that fits.
September 3. Refreshing to see a writer knock socialist icons like the incompetent and inadequate British Health Care System and punitively high income taxes. The use of Brit terms like "boot" for trunk and "fry-ups" for fried food and "fancy" for "want" is fun for readers who are also amateur students of language.
September 5. This novel could be subtitled, "Or My Obsession With Kieregaard and Existentialism". The reader gets as a side benefit a bio of the sad philosopher and a brief overview of existentialism, much of which is superfluous to the story.
September10. On the whole, I recommend "Therapy". The main character is likeable and the story unfolds with attention-holding twists and turns after a slow start.
Rating:
Summary: hysterical and moving
Review: but the moving part is what will move you. I think I've maybe liked this book more than any new fiction I've readin 20 years. I've read the book 3 times spaced over maybe 4 or 5 years - it's sharp, funny, and kind, the ending is one of the richest and most satisfying I've ever encountered. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Satire and sensitivity in a happy marriage
Review: But the only happy marriage in this novel is the one between satire and sensitivity. I had expected comedy and satire throughout, but, though Lodge gives us a good dose of it, the book turns poignant and touching. I think I was in love with Maureen by the conclusion. I read the book initially with reluctance because it had been, as I viewed it, foisted off on me by a book club. I ended thoroughly caught up and engrossed, even shaken at times. I am in that book. He did he know me?
Rating:
Summary: Satire and sensitivity in a happy marriage
Review: But the only happy marriage in this novel is the one between satire and sensitivity. I had expected comedy and satire throughout, but, though Lodge gives us a good dose of it, the book turns poignant and touching. I think I was in love with Maureen by the conclusion. I read the book initially with reluctance because it had been, as I viewed it, foisted off on me by a book club. I ended thoroughly caught up and engrossed, even shaken at times. I am in that book. He did he know me?
Rating:
Summary: Dry, dark humor-- well written
Review: David Lodge is an extremely good writer, and his book is a joy to read. The British colloquialism make this story diffrent from the usualAmerican viewpoint. His jabs at the British medical system, rail system, etc are priceless. One note: the use of a "private consultant" physician led to unnecessary surgery, which perhaps is a backhanded compliment to the socialist "tincture of time" approach after-all.A good read by a good author.
Rating:
Summary: Dry, dark humor-- well written
Review: David Lodge is an extremely good writer, and his book is a joy to read. The British colloquialism make this story diffrent from the usualAmerican viewpoint. His jabs at the British medical system, rail system, etc are priceless. One note: the use of a "private consultant" physician led to unnecessary surgery, which perhaps is a backhanded compliment to the socialist "tincture of time" approach after-all. A good read by a good author.
Rating:
Summary: Although not his best an excellent book
Review: David Lodge is one of our best writers. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, well paced and thought-provoking. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: fusion of brows (middle and high)
Review: David Lodge writes in such a breezy, amusing fashion that you might not think to look for anything more in _Therapy_ than a funny story about a neurotic middle aged guy. But, in fact, there is a lot going on in this book. Kierkegaard is not merely added to the plot as some sort of comic device to indicate that Tubby Passmore is off his head. This book actually explains how the thought of the "father of existentialism" is relevant to our lives in the late, late 20th century. There is a fair amount of social class consciousness in _Therapy_. Tubby is from the working class but has made a fortune by writing a successful television series. In a certain sense he is the best that we can hope for from the nouveau riche: he is humane in spite of his wealth. His wife came from genteel poverty and has aged into a rather severe and vain woman. His friend Amy has risen from the working middle class into the show biz upper middle and more fully embraces the materialism and pretension than does Tubby. The quest to rediscover the whereabouts of his childhood girlfriend combines the themes of existentialism and class consciousness in a way that is both effortless and admirable. The entire book is told from Tubby's point of view, written in the form of a journal and monologues. His reliability as a narrator is called into question by the content of the monologues until you realize who the author is. A very clever narrative device, but not overly clever. You don't feel manipulated because of the revelations that it produces. I think perhaps that the only reason I have for not giving the book 5 stars is that I am not yet middle aged and so I didn't experience the Internal Derangement of the Mind that I might if (or when) I read this book 20 years from now.
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